2000 Umpires Clinic

Information Update

East Coast Clinic

The East Coast Clinic, sponsored by the North Carolina Tigers, will be held in Durham, NC on 24-26 March 2000. The tentative schedule for the weekend is:
Friday Evening - Introduction and Classroom Work
Saturday Morning - Meet to go over assignments for the games that day
Saturday Afternoon - Tournament games. Umpires will be able to get game experience under the supervision of senior umpires.
Saturday Evening - A chance to get to know each other
Sunday Morning/Afternoon - More games, set piece work

Umpires should arrive at the hotel by 6pm on Friday evening. Class work will begin at 7:00. Return flights should be scheduled after 5pm on Sunday if possible.

Travel Details:
Fly into Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). This airport is served by a number of carriers.
Arrangements have been made to stay at the Courtyard by Marriott in North Durham. This is also where the meetings will be held. The Tigers have worked out a discounted rate of $65 per night for a double room. The phone number for reservations is (919) 309-1500. Say that you are with the "Australian Rules Football Group" to get this special rate. If you are travelling alone and want to split the cost of the room, contact Jim Bradley and he will pair you up with someone.
Ground transportation will be provided. PLEASE get your flight info into Jim as soon as possible and we will all make sure someone is there to pick you up.

Please get back to Jim Bradley (umpires@usfooty.com) if you are interested in attending. Based on the preliminary responses, it looks like we are going to have a successful weekend.

West Coast Clinic

Due to ground unavailability, the date and location for the West Coast Clinic has been changed. The new clinic will be held April 29-30 in Santa Cruz, CA in conjunction with the ANZAC Day Carnival. All West Region teams are scheduled to be in attendance, which should provide and excellent opportunity for all umpires in attendance.

Contact information about this clinic will be available shortly.

This year, in order to better accommodate umpires across the country, there will be two clinics offered.

West Coast Clinic
March 4 & 5
Hosted by: CAFL

East Cost Clinic
March 25 & 26
Hosted by: North Carolina Tigers

All USAFL affiliated clubs are encouraged to send at least one umpire to one of these clinics. To help offset the cost of attending, the USAFL will reimburse umpires who attend from out of town a) $100 if they come from within the same time zone as the host city or b) $200 if they come from outside that time zone.

Last year's inaugural clinic in Denver was a great start, and we look to build upon that success this year. The goals for the Umpire Clinics are:

Assist in the training and development of umpires
Work towards a consistent understanding and application of rules across the country
Provide a forum, both at the clinics and throughout the year, for umpires to ask questions and receive support
Develop a network of trained umpires available to officiate individual games and tournaments.

The format of the clinics will include classroom work, field training in "set piece" situations, and umpiring a live game with the assistance of experienced umpires.
The West Coast Clinic is being held in conjunction with a CAFL double-header, and the East Coast Clinic will be the same weekend as a tournament hosted by the NC Tigers, so there will be plenty of game action to call.

The recruitment, training, and retention of umpires is of prime importance if the game of Footy is to continue to grow in the United States. Clubs will be expected to provide qualified umpires at games and major tournaments. Attendance at these clinics is a good way to get started on developing your own umpires.

Detailed schedules for each clinic and travel information (including hotel arrangements) will follow shortly. Additional information will also be posted on the Umpires' page at USFooty.com.

All interested clubs and individuals should contact Jim Bradley, USAFL Umpire Development Officer, at umpires@usfooty.com.

- Jim Bradley
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