HKHDCUA
27 Bungowen Avenue
Thornleigh NSW 2120
Phone: 9481 8158 or 0412 688 629
E-mail: hkumpsec@hotmail.com
Website: www.cricketnsw.com.au/hkhcua/
Hornsby, Ku-ring-gai & Hills District Cricket Umpires’ Association
Annual General Meeting
8.00pm – Monday, 14th July 2008
Pennant Hills Bowling Club, 52 Yarrara Road, Pennant Hills
MINUTES
Attendance
Bruce Wood, Barry McDonald, Alf James OAM, Simon Moore, Geoff Hasler, John McQuillan, Scott Burrows,
Ian Paterson, Tim Davidson, Alex Terry, Scott Reid, Jon Loveday (12)
 Special guest – Merilyn Fowler, Director, NSWCUSA.
Apologies
Stuart Wood, Brad Cole, Peter Schouten, John Patten, Murray Hutton, Mark Rushton, Steve Wilson,
John Acheson, Nathan Tilbury, Cameron Riddett (10)
1. Welcome
HKHDCUA President John McQuillan welcomed the umpires to the AGM. He also thanked our special
guest, Merilyn Fowler, Director, NSWCUSA, for her attendance.
2. Apologies
There were 10 apologies, as noted above.
3. Confirmation of Minutes from last AGM held on 23 July 2007
Bruce Wood tabled the draft minutes from last year’s HKHDCUA AGM.
Motion – “That these Minutes be adopted as an accurate record of the meeting’s business.”
 Proposed – Barry McDonald; Seconded – Geoff Hasler; Carried – unanimously.
With regard to business arising from the AGM held on 23-7-07, Bruce Wood advised that the rate of
payment for umpires was increased, as sought in the AGM’s Minutes, however the HK&HDCA Council
agreed to a $2 per hour increase rather than the $1 per hour mentioned in the Minutes.
For the record, effective of November 2007, HK&HDCA umpires operating on their own (bowler’s end all
match) receive $19 per hour; while the rate of payment when two umpires are officiating is $16 per hour.
4. Presentation of Annual Report for 2007-08
Bruce Wood distributed copies of an edited version of his Umpires’ Secretary report, which will appear in the
HK&HDCA Annual Report for 2007-08.
In brief, Bruce welcomed Scott Reid to the senior panel and noted that our numbers of regular umpires has
remained static at 10. He thanked these umpires for their continued long-term commitment.
Bruce thanked all the part-time umpires for making themselves available for Sunday rep. matches and
HK&HDCA semis and finals matches. He advised that the opportunity exists for some of these umpires to
join the senior panel if they are in a position to commit to more regular club and/or rep. match appointments.
Bruce noted that HKHDCUA
approximately 78 players, with
Ticket holders has been added
Simon Moore, John McQuillan,
Ticket courses.
conducted two Captain’s Courses in 2007-08, which were attended by
the majority successfully passing the course. The list of current Captain’s
to the new Umpires’ website – www.cricketnsw.com.au/hkhcua/. Thanks to
Barry McDonald, Steve Wilson and Bruce Wood for running these Captain’s
Bruce confirmed that HKHDCUA held a local badge umpiring course in February 2008, with 10 successful
graduates out of 12 attendees. Thanks to Simon Moore, John McQuillan, Bruce Wood, Barry McDonald &
Alex Terry for conducting this 3-night course.
The newly qualified umpires were presented with the
impressive new HKHDCUA local umpires’ badge, which was introduced in 2007-08 (see header on page 1).
Motion – “That the Umpires’ Secretary’s 2007-08 report be adopted.”
 Proposed – John McQuillan; Seconded – Simon Moore; Carried – unanimously.
Alex Terry addressed the meeting to express his gratitude for the tremendous job done by Bruce Wood
since taking over as the HKHDCUA Umpires’ Secretary in 2007. He understood the difficulties associated
with lining up sufficient umpires to cover our 200+ club and rep. match appointments each season, and
noted that Bruce had shown great persistence to ensure that we met our obligations in this regard. Alex
added that HKHDCUA is now acknowledged as a respected and professional organisation through our
umpiring duties, training courses and informative website.
Geoff Hasler wished to record his appreciation of the efforts of Bruce Wood, especially with regard to the
terrific job he does with the club and rep. match umpiring appointments, and the excellent new website. He
added that we should look into getting some umpiring training videos on the website to facilitate on-line
learning and revision.
John McQuillan also thanked Bruce for his work during 2007-08, including introducing a new official
HKHDCUA umpires’ badge / logo, and organising a mid-season meeting of umpires, as well as a couple of
social evenings, which were very much enjoyed by those in attendance. John further thanked Simon for
setting the exam paper for our umpires’ ‘badge’ course, and Barry for his presentation at the courses.
5. Introduction of Merilyn Fowler, Director, NSWCUSA
John McQuillan was pleased to formally welcome Merilyn Fowler to our AGM.
Merilyn has been a NSWCUSA Director since 2006 after joining in 1997. She is on the Scorers committee
and has been a scorer at Club, One-day, First Class and men’s Test levels. She is also an accredited
Scorer Trainer as well as being the Association’s Future Planning Manager.
John invited Merilyn to speak to us.
Merilyn thanked Bruce Wood for the opportunity to attend our AGM as a representative of NSWCUSA. She
passed on her organisation’s appreciation of our continued affiliation with NSWCUSA and greetings from
the Board and, in particular, on behalf of Tim Donahoo (Chair of the Board) and Peter Hughes (Executive
Officer).
Merilyn advised that NSWCUSA’s role includes providing high level leadership and direction concerning
umpiring and scoring matters in NSW, as well as running accredited training courses and providing
assistance as required to affiliated Associations.
She advised that NSWCUSA continues to be strongly represented in the top echelons of the game, with
Simon Taufel and Darrell Hair on the ICC’s Elite panel of umpires; Rod Tucker on the International panel,
and many other umpires officiating in country cricket representative panels.
Merilyn advised that Darren Goodger had replaced David Townsend as the NSWCUSA Education and
Development Manager, and he spends part of each year training umpires in other countries, currently being
in Bangladesh. She advised that we could contact Darren who would assist us if possible to obtain some
training CDs.
Merilyn emphasised the importance of umpires working closely with scorers, describing them as “the third
team”. She advised that NSWCUSA would be happy to run a training course for Scorers if there was
sufficient demand.
She said it was pleasing to see that the majority of our umpires possess the NSWCUSA umpire’s
accreditation, and advised that the on-line examination on the NSWCUSA website is free for members.
Merilyn mentioned that it would be nice to see some of our umpires at the annual NSWCUSA Convention at
Riverside Oaks Golf Club on 23-24 August 2008.
She advised that Peter Hughes would be retiring at the end of August 2008 after well over 10 years as the
NSWCUSA Executive Officer (16 years in total with NSWCUSA). He will be replaced by an Executive
Officer and an Admin. Assistant.
She invited HKHDCUA to submit articles in NSWCUSA’s Black & White publication.
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Merilyn advised that NSWCUSA presents an Association Medal each year, which is a prestigious honour for
both the individual winner as well as his/her Association. She informed us that nominations will be sought
in the New Year.
Incorporation – Merilyn advised that NSWCUSA recommends that umpiring Associations become
incorporated, thereby becoming a legal entity, which safeguards its office bearers from personal litigation.
She advised that the Office of Fair Trading’s website has proforma documents (Draft Rules) for the
development of Constitutions. She believes there is an application fee of $105, plus annual fees of $45.
She also advised that the NSWCUSA has proforma Constitutions, etc. and that Peter Hughes was available
to assist where possible in the process.
There was general agreement that it would be wise for our umpiring Association to become incorporated,
however this would require us to appoint a Treasurer, do its own banking, submit an Annual Return to the
Office of Fair Trading, take out Public Liability Insurance, etc.
It was resolved that we will investigate what is required to become incorporated, including downloading the
relevant Draft Rules from the Fair Trading website. A sub-committee of approximately three people will then
be formed to finalise the necessary paperwork. An Extraordinary General Meeting would then be called to
consider the matter, with a view to proceeding with the incorporation during the 2008-09 cricket season.
6. Election of office bearers for 2008-09
All 2007-08 offices were declared vacant to allow the committee elections for next season.
The following HKHDCUA office bearers were formally elected for 2008-09:
Patrons – Barry McDonald and Mark Rushton
 Proposed – Bruce Wood; Seconded – Geoff Hasler; Carried – unanimously.
President – John McQuillan
 Proposed – Alf James OAM; Seconded – Scott Reid; Carried – unanimously.
Vice-President – Alex Terry
 Proposed – Simon Moore; Seconded – Geoff Hasler; Carried – unanimously.
Secretary – Bruce Wood
 Proposed – Geoff Hasler; Seconded – John McQuillan; Carried – unanimously.
Assistant Secretary – Simon Moore
 Proposed – Barry McDonald; Seconded – Scott Reid; Carried – unanimously.
Training Officer – Simon Moore
 Proposed – Barry McDonald; Seconded – Jon Loveday; Carried – unanimously.
Examination Committee – Barry McDonald, John McQuillan & Alex Terry
 Proposed – Bruce Wood; Seconded – Simon Moore; Carried – unanimously.
Delegates to HK&HDCA – John McQuillan & Alex Terry (with Geoff Hasler as an Alternate)
 Proposed – Barry McDonald; Seconded – Alf James OAM; Carried – unanimously.
7. General Business
Captain’s Reports (on umpires) – new form; strategies to increase lodgement; evaluation of feedback
Bruce Wood tabled an impressive, new Umpire Grading Report template, which had been developed
following feedback that the old form was somewhat limiting for the captains to fill out, as it just had 3 grading
levels and insufficient criteria to properly assess an umpire’s performance. The new form was unanimously
accepted by the HKHDCUA umpires and will be introduced at the start of the 2008-09 season.
Bruce also raised the on-going problem of not enough A Grade & Colts captains (and rep. coaches /
managers) submitting assessment reports on umpires. He advised that this requirement is adequately
covered in the Senior Competition rules, and reinforced by the Umpires’ Secretary at HK&HDCA Council
meetings, however last season less than 25% of these forms were lodged, with no penalty to those who
failed to do so.
Bruce advised that in a recent discussion with Steve Wilson (Co-ordinator, HK&HDCA Senior Competition),
they agreed that there needs to be a penalty for repeat offenders, such as the loss of one competition point
for each instance of failure to submit a report.
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Geoff Hasler advised that although a deterrent was needed to significantly improve the rate of lodgement of
the Umpire Grading Reports, he is not keen to see teams lose a competition point, nor does he think that
the recommendation would be adopted by the HK&HDCA Council.
Jon Loveday suggested that one option might be to not allocate teams an official umpire if they repeatedly
fail to lodge an umpire’s report. Geoff Hasler over-ruled that suggestion as he pointed out that the main
reason we have official umpires is to cover the turf fixtures (A Grade, Colts, U/15 & higher reps).
Scott Burrows suggested that perhaps consideration needs to be given to punishing the captains who fail to
lodge the form, however it was felt that this option would not be supported by the Association.
After much discussion, it was resolved that Bruce Wood will send the new Umpire Grading Report to the
club Secretaries, via Andy Bayles, at the start of the season, advising that this form must be completed by
the captain of each team that has been allocated an official umpire.
It was also resolved that in 2008-09, the official umpire will hand each captain an Umpire Grading Report
form at the start of the match (at the toss of the coin) and advise that it must be completed and returned
after the match. Captains also have the option of submitting the form electronically via e-mail to the
Umpires’ Secretary within 5 days of the completion on the round. The captains will be warned that failure to
submit a form will result in them being reported to the Association.
Simon Moore asked if the umpires could receive more feedback regarding their gradings, etc. Geoff Hasler
explained that the normal practice was to monitor trends in the reports on each umpire and identify problem
areas, if any. Where it is evident that a range of reports on a particular umpire note the same problem, the
Umpires’ Secretary would consider ringing the respective captains to elaborate on their reports, and then
have a constructive discussion with the umpire in question.
Bruce Wood advised that in many cases, so few Umpire Grading Reports had been received that it was
impossible to form an accurate assessment as to how each umpire is performing. It is expected that this
unsatisfactory situation will improve significantly in 2008-09.
Bruce added that in view of his overall
workload, he may call for assistance with this analysis function from the HKHDCUA Assistant Secretary.
Bruce advised that the official umpires will continue to submit turf wicket reports each week to the
HK&HDCA Grounds Officer in 2008-09, as that arrangement worked well last season.
Proposed introduction of HKHDCUA Spirit of Cricket award(s)
Bruce Wood advised that after a decade’s involvement in HK&HDCA club & rep. cricket and umpiring, he
believed that the Association would benefit from having a Spirit of Cricket award to reinforce our stance on
teams playing cricket with respect for the opposition, umpires (& other officials), and the laws of the game.
He pointed out that since the Spirit of Cricket charter was formally added to the MCC Laws of Cricket in
2000, many other cricket organisations had introduced a similar award, which had become prestigious to
win and had helped to raise the standards of on-field behaviour.
Bruce proposed the introduction of a HKHDCUA Spirit of Cricket award for rep. teams in 2008-09, to be
judged each week by the official umpires, with the perpetual trophy awarded by the Umpires’ Secretary to
the winning team at the end-of-season HK&HDCA Presentation Night.
Simon Moore commented that this was a wonderful initiative and would become a highly sought after award.
Geoff Hasler also strongly supported the proposal, however asked why it was just intended for the various
rep. teams, most of which conduct themselves well under experienced and accredited Coaches and
Managers. Geoff suggested that the award be extended to cover the A Grade and Colts teams as well,
which are allocated an official umpire due to the ‘turf’ wickets and higher standard of cricket. He added that
the A Grade sides were the ones which most needed a reminder to play within the spirit of the game.
Barry McDonald applauded the initiative however advised that it would be necessary for the umpires to be
given some guidelines regarding the allocation of points so that the judging is as consistent as possible.
This was agreed to and Bruce Wood undertook to draft some guidelines for comment and endorsement.
Alf James advised that many years ago, the Association had a Dave Gawler Club Sportsmanship Award,
which was scrapped after the 1990/91 season as it was apparently becoming too contentious to award due
to the lack of an agreed criteria for the award and the subjective nature of the decision-making. However
he supported Bruce Wood’s proposed Spirit of Cricket award(s), as this aspect is now formally indoctrinated
in the MCC laws of the game, and we will have clear guidelines to ensure a consistent approach to judging.
After considerable debate, it was resolved that HKHDCUA would recommend that the Association
introduces two Spirit of Cricket awards from 2008-09 onwards, with the Dave Gawler Sportsmanship Award
perpetual shield being resurrected for the A Grade and Colts award; and a new Spirit of Cricket trophy
available for rep. teams (junior & senior), which would be donated by Bruce Wood, Umpires’ Secretary.
Bruce tabled a revised Umpire’s Match Report form, which included boxes for the umpires to add their
Spirit of Cricket points against specific criteria.
This form was accepted by HKHDCUA and will be
introduced from the start of the 2008-09 season, and also built into the My Cricket database.
Action: Bruce Wood to prepare a proposal setting out HKHDCUA’s Spirit of Cricket awards initiative for the
consideration of the HK&HDCA Council at the first meeting for 2008-09.
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Captain’s Ticket Training Course
Although we conducted two HK&HDCA Captain’s Ticket training courses in 2007-08, it was agreed that
HKHDCUA will revert to normal practice and just run one course in 2008-09. The venue will most probably
be the Hornsby Heights Sports Club, Montview Oval, as this is the new meeting headquarters for
HK&HDCA.
As 78 people attended our two courses last season, it was presumed that most current captains now had
this accreditation. Obviously there will be some new senior captains in 2008-09 who require this training,
plus it was decided to target those ‘older’ captains who last attended a HK&HDCA Captain’s Ticket training
course in 2000 when the MCC Code was significantly revised. The advertising for our Captain’s Ticket
training course in 2008-09 will specifically invite these captains who require ‘refresher’ training in the laws of
cricket and umpiring techniques. The HKHDCUA website Library contains an up-to-date list of Captain’s
Ticket holders since 2000-01.
HKHDCUA local ‘badge’ umpiring course
It is not planned to conduct a HKHDCUA local ‘badge’ umpiring course in 2008-09 unless there is a very
strong demand for one. Our umpiring association ran a successful 3-night ‘badge’ course in February 2008,
however it is not intended that these local umpiring courses be conducted annually. Prospective umpires
can still attend the NSWCUSA accredited State badge courses, which are held twice a year at Cricket NSW
headquarters (SCG Indoor auditorium).
In line with previous practice, HK&HDCA will reimburse our
umpires who successfully pass the State badge exam (limited number).
HKHDCUA Umpires’ website
Bruce Wood advised that he is constantly developing the HKHDCUA website, which is linked to the
Association’s isport Multibase system (link – www.cricketnsw.com.au/hkhcua/). The on-line Library now
contains a wealth of relevant information, which will be further expanded during 2008-09.
Umpires’ qualifications / accreditation
Bruce Wood confirmed that he maintains a register of HKHDCUA umpiring qualifications, which indicates
that most of our umpires have accreditation through the NSWCUSA State course or by obtaining our local
HKHDCUA umpire’s badge.
He asked the umpires who have not yet provided their NSWCUSA
membership number (where applicable) to please do so shortly so the list can be finalised by the start of the
2008-09 season. Bruce emphasised that it is important that all our umpires who are booked to officiate in
HK&HDCA fixtures have current umpiring qualifications.
Umpires’ availability in 2008-09
Bruce Wood advised that he was aware that some umpires’ availability would be changing in 2008-09 due
to a range of factors. He asked the umpires to update their availability on the HK&HDCA My Cricket
database www.hkhdca.com.au/ and also send him an e-mail outlining their likely availability for Saturday
and/or Sunday matches in 2008-09, as this will assist in the planning for next season.
Insurance coverage for HKHDCUA umpires
Bruce Wood advised that he had been asked by a couple of umpires what the insurance arrangements are
for HKHDCUA umpires if they get injured while officiating in a match. Geoff Hasler advised that the umpires
have the same coverage as the players through JLT Insurance, however it is a limited coverage
(reimbursement of some expenses after all medical rebates had been obtained). He advised that any
umpire contemplating an operation as a result of an injury incurred while on duty should ensure that the
relevant paperwork is properly completed and contact is made with the insurer and the hospital before
proceeding with the operation. Geoff stressed that it is not a ‘blanket’ cover for all medical, hospital and
physiotherapy expenses incurred.
Player behaviour / HK&HDCA D & D judiciary committee
Geoff Hasler expressed his concern that HK&HDCA did not formally establish a D & D judiciary committee
at the start of the 2007-08 season, which didn’t convey a strong message that the Association was serious
about stamping out poor on-field behaviour, such as players engaging in excessive personal sledging,
showing dissent at an umpire’s decision, or generally bringing the game into disrepute. He will be ensuring
that this oversight is not repeated in 2008-09.
There was considerable discussion regarding the procedures needed to deal with incidents which are
clearly outside the spirit of cricket, ranging from formal citing of players to possible informal warnings to club
secretaries. Geoff Hasler advised that it may be worthwhile reconsidering a proposal previously raised by
Bob Somerville in relation to the possible appointment of a legally qualified Commissioner to independently
assess cases of misconduct.
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Geoff further advised that while it is not intended that HKHDCUA umpires significantly increase the number
of citations, it is important to formally charge players when their behaviour clearly warrants this action.
Failure to do this sends the wrong message that some umpires may not be prepared to take this important
action. Furthermore, repeat offenders often get a shorter suspension when they finally get charged with an
offence, as they can present before the D & D Committee as ‘clean-skins’.
Scott Reid mentioned that one of the existing problems is that there is often a lengthy delay from when a
disciplinary matter is referred to the D & D Committee and the actual hearing, which results in witness
reports being less reliable and the impact of the charge and likely suspension having less relevance. It was
agreed that this situation needed to improve in 2008-09.
Geoff Hasler undertook to raise these issues at the HK&HDCA Executive meetings early in the season in
order to seek a resolution to the current deficiencies in the process.
Bruce Wood tabled a draft new Player Behaviour Report, which was designed to assist umpires with
recording the important details when documenting a charge against a player.
He advised that this
document was a ‘work in progress’ and needed further refinement, having regard to the form used by
Sydney Grade Cricket, and also the wording of the HK&HDCA Constitution. He undertook to circulate an
advanced draft template for comments / endorsement when it is ready before the start of the 2008-09
season.
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John McQuillan closed the AGM at 9.35pm, thanking everyone for their attendance, particularly our special
guest Merilyn Fowler from NSWCUSA.
Bruce Wood
Honorary Secretary, HKHDCUA
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