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Post by Number 6 on Mar 13, 2008 13:11:42 GMT
Taken from the ACU&S newsletter:
---------------------------------------------- All ACU&S qualifications will be recognised by ECB ACO up to 30 April 2008. After that date individual cases will be considered with ECB ACO reserving the right to make the appropriate judgements.
------------------------------------------------
So what does that mean?
Pete
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 13, 2008 13:24:42 GMT
All current ACUS Examinations/Training will be recognised up to 30th April 2008. After this date i.e. May 2008 you will be expected to take the ECB ACO courses and examinations. The reseverving of rights is because quite a few counties will not have tutors, so ECB ACO will instruct those counties to hold ACUS courses and these would be recognised, but no other unofficial courses/examinations.
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Post by Number 6 on Mar 13, 2008 13:40:39 GMT
1. How can you take the ECB exams if the courses don't exist?
2. Does it also mean that any ACU&S qualifications will cease to be recognised after April???
Pete
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 13, 2008 13:51:09 GMT
No. If the ECB exams do not exist in your area, they will ask the county to arrange ACUS courses under thier control, and would recognise any exam passes. They will have to acknowledge ACUS in that respect. Which makes it a farce of ACUS who supposedly stop trading on 1st January, which it clearly has not. Without ACUS running courses after January they would be in a worse state than they already are.
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Post by Number 6 on Mar 13, 2008 15:47:40 GMT
I've just received the first confirmation from my local panel that this "merger" has stuffed things up. Certain games that our umpire panel selects for require that the umpires are Fully Qualified and so obviously I have been unable to put myself forward for these games. These are prestigious games involving university and public school teams. I had every confidence that during or at the end of this season I would attain FQ status and thus be elligible for these. My local appointments secretary has just emailed me to state that they will only appoint umpires that have the old ACU&S fully qualified status. This will only change when the new ECBACO Level 2 exam comes into being and can be taken and passed. This means that it will be at least two years before I can achieve such status, possibly longer. Our local officials actually recommended a vote in favour of this farce - at least I can slightly console myself with the knowledge that I voted against. Words fail me, they really do. I thought I couldn't get any more angry....... Pete
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 13, 2008 16:13:51 GMT
Peter
This surely is a case for Chris Kelly and the interim board. ECB took over 1st January 2008 therefore your league is discriminating between ECBACO and non existant ACUS? Iwould certainly e mail C Kelly with this information, after all technically he is our boss? I appreciate they want the best umpires, but how do they know who these are unless they are willing to give them a go.
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Post by youngumpire on Mar 13, 2008 20:14:51 GMT
blackbeard, i am not trying to be rude just stating that taking the old boy approach and shunning any change and is actually good for our future as officials is the wrong approach to mine and OUR future
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 13, 2008 20:42:42 GMT
youngumpire
A few Questions and answers for you:
How many instructors did ACUS have = 400 How many instructors do ECB have = 6 How many exams do ACUS have = 10 How many exams do ECB have = 1 prototype? How many counties have the new Level 2 training and exams = 1
This one you can answer: where do you book your course this year?
ECB training and examinations are produced by 1st4sport, explain to me how I can help in this, as this is a sports qualification and can only be done by an acredited agency? I am/was a senior instructor for ACUS, BUT I cannot teach the ECB courses unless I am acredited which incidently costs £1500 and a waiting list of 2 years, to which my name is on the waiting list.
When courses are available they will cost you, and all new umpires between £250 and £500 this is fine for those who's daddy is paying but when you are supporting a family umpiring would be at the bottom of the agenda. My point is we are going to lose umpires and go back 50 years to the days when umpires were self taught. No matter how positive you want me to be I cannot fund new umpires or produce instructors or exam, so what do the new umpires do now. I am fully prepared to back a properly organised ECB but at the moment they are a joke, and are not asking for our help? In the early days of ECB OA I was a ACUS advisor to ECB? I soon realised they did not want outside suggestions, Chris Kelly and 1st4sport had thier own plans.
We are all waiting for your pearls of wisdom.
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Post by Number 6 on Mar 13, 2008 23:00:58 GMT
I really cannot believe that courses will cost that amount, well in a way I can, I wouldn't puit anything past the can't-arrange-a-***-up-in-a-brewery group now in charge.
But in reality if a course + exam costs the candidate, lets say more than £50 it isn't going to happen so in some way the county boards have to fund this otherwise there are going to be very few trained umpires over the next few years. I paid £40 for my GL4 - £20 for the course and £20 for the exam. Not a lot in real terms but over the course of a season it's 50p - £1 per game out of the match fee. If the courses were to cost £250 then that's £10+ per game so I simply would not be prepared to stand the cost unless the match fees went up by at least £10+ per game per umpire.
Pete
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 14, 2008 8:25:35 GMT
Peter
It is up to the counties to subsidise this cost, Chris Kelly stated that some counties would fund more than others. If you look at the coaches they are charged £175 for a weekend course, but they can charge up to £75ph for thier services? Until we know how much the county will subsidise this cost we are yet again left waiting, nothing unusual there.
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Post by youngumpire on Mar 14, 2008 10:53:39 GMT
Blackbeard your last comment was uncalled for but I will take that as your pessimistic impatient and angry approach to Officiating.
Umpiring exams have needed to be updated for years. The coaching programme that has been in place has changed the face of coaching making the game in England and Wales better and more professional. Who organised that? The ECB so why when officiating exams and course are being rewritten for the better, why do you appose that?
I think you made it pretty clear that the problem is that you WEREN’T involved in this process.
I think you should offer to aid the new transition by asking/talking to Chris Kelly, like I will do now, to see if there is anything I can do to help.
If not, I will wait and go to my local County board and be asked to be mentored by one of the older and wiser umpires for the season until a course is available.
From what I understand the ECB is about performance on the field and not what I know off the field. So I will continue to try and learn as much on the field as I can so that I improve. I strongly recommend this to any other young umpires out their.
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 14, 2008 11:12:45 GMT
youngumpire
you have not come up with a solution?
So you think the current situation is better than ACUS? Who incidentley in 2005 - 2007 updated all examinations and training matterial to bring it in line with current technology, and would have, if we were still trading, gone for NVQ accreditation?
I am not involved but your previous post said I should get behind the ECB, I explained that I and 400 other instructors are not allowed to help. I am willing to commit whole heartedly but ECB are making it difficult to do this.
What do new umpires do now??? please advise as you are so keen to defend this farce. I take it you are prepared personally to pay £500 for training and further costs similar to this for refrsher courses. No matter how positive you want people to be it will not happen until ECB come up with thier promises. They even had a meeting of the interim board recently which was not advertised so that member could not put suggestions or comments forward?
I hope your next post will be constructive and something we can all work on? You should not be throwing insults, but making comments on the situation not the members who are not OLD BOYS but very concerned members, concerned about there future umpiring, which when there is a farce such a this, it will understadably make members angry as we cannot see the future as it is so clouded, and we vent this on a freindly forum.
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Post by missingleg on Mar 14, 2008 11:37:41 GMT
Would I be right in assuming that Level 3 will only be available for a tiny percentage of umpires then? The majority of us will get to level 2 and no further qualifications will be available?
I know this is off topic, but can somebody send me a private message to inform we as to where (online or not) I can buy a white coat for umpiring next year? I would very much appreciate it.
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Post by blackbeard on Mar 14, 2008 11:55:16 GMT
Level 3 is a long way off yet, when it is ready it will concentrate on multi day cricket and will be open to all? If you still have a copy of hows that there is an address for coats there, or check out the multitude of cricket equipment suppliers on the internet.
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Post by Acumen on Mar 14, 2008 15:40:31 GMT
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