ECB ACO 2011 Conference

[jaybee]

The AGM and ACO National Conference will be held at Lord’s on Saturday 19th November. I got this info via an email from my county ACO.

Details are in pages 24/25 of the October Newsletter which still hasn't reached me - apparently all the ECB stuff is sent out using 'Walksort' which ensures it's delivered more slowly than either 1st or 2nd Class mail!
The deadline for booking is either 26th October (per the Newsletter) or the 29th (email from ECB ACO asking counties to distribute details).

The Newsletter can be downloaded using this link

Incidentally they've put the conference cost up to £40 and live use of Hawkeye won't be available!

[jaybee]

Did you go to the conference and if so what did you think?

If you didn't attend and are mystified by the title of this post perhaps I should explain that for me the highlight was the session on 'The Psychology of Officiating' by Raj Persaud. It (almost) proved that most of us couldn't see a gorilla walking in full view across the screen though the real point was that the brain can concentrate attention on one task to the exclusion of other things going on at the same time and that memory often isn't as reliable as we'd like to think - at least that's how I remember it!

There was much more besides including techniques for averting confrontation over decisions and for helping to put errors behind you so they don't affect the rest of the game.

I only saw the last few minutes of Howard Webb (Officiating the World Cup Final/ Elite Officials Q&A) but it was clear that everybody really enjoyed that.

Did you go and was it worth double what they charged in 2009?

[swerveman]

I did go, and I enjoyed it. I also saw the gorilla!

Howard Webb's presentation was really interesting, it's a shame you missed it. I expect the Conference DVD will be available at some point, so you can see it again.

I don't know if it was worth double what was charged in 2009, but I do think it was worth the £40 charged in 2011.

[snicker]

I went to the conference and found it excellent. Can not compare with previous as this was my first visit but felt worth the £40.

I didn't see the gorilla but thought Howard Webb presentation was excellent.

Also took the tour of Lords but was a little rushed due to the time constraints. Similar with the Q & A at the end, could have gone on longer but hard to fit everything in.

Will definitely look to go next year.

[Scrooge]

I could have done without the keyring and the bag if that would have made it cheaqper.

[swerveman]

Probably wouldn't have made a lot of difference. I quite like the bag, and last year's portfolio, because the ECB ACO logo helps to create a good first impression with trainees and players.