Umpires: the unsung heroes of racing

Like most sports at a grassroots level, ours is run by volunteers. This article puts a spotlight on one group in more detail: the umpires.

Umpires are critical. They are present at all British Rowing and international events for two main reasons: to ensure racing is both safe and fair. Without enough of them, there is no event.

As a competitor, your first experience will likely be at boat pairing, or, as we call it, Control Commission.

Here, the safety part of the remit comes into play; you need to demonstrate to us that you are confident that your boat is safe for you to row in, and safe to others that are also sharing the water.

For example, we look for a securely fitted intact bow ball. In the event of a capsize, we want to know if you can easily extract your feet from the shoes and that your buoyancy compartments are intact. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, umpires have generally been less hands-on at inspection, but checks will always still be made.

That being said, seats are not something we check, but more often than not, there will be a crew that leaves them on the trailer, or worse still at their home club.

Occasionally, an umpire has to disqualify a crew. We don’t relish doing this to any crew regardless of age, but our remit is to uphold safety and fairness. We encourage crews to treat this as a learning experience, to hopefully avoid any embarrassing repeats.

The easiest umpires to spot are in Control Commission, at the start and finish of a course, or in a launch if used. Other umpires are dispersed along the course, and will always make themselves visible.

They are arranged in such a way that every crew is always visible by an umpire, so that a fair assessment can be made of the progress of an event. If something happens to go wrong, racing can be stopped with immediate effect and, if necessary, the safety team called in.

To stop racing, umpires use a range of methods: waving a red flag, ringing their bell, using a megaphone, and radioing the other umpires on the course to stop racing.

Why do umpires do it?

Wet and cold days can be thoroughly miserable when you’re sitting on the riverbank and the water is seeping through your ‘waterproof’ clothes, but a good day of racing more than makes up for it.

And on a lovely day, where better to be than the riverbank?

It’s a good feeling to know we have done our part in helping other rowers have their chance at a race and hopefully they leave the venue happy with their performance.

Then there is the nervous novice you’ve spoken to in control commission coming up to let you know they did their race and enjoyed it.

As many umpires have raced or are still actively racing, they know what race nerves feel like. They want you to go out there, enjoy your event and to be eager to come back for more next year.

If it’s your first race or you’re unsure what to do, just ask.

Many juniors will have a coach and/or parents to help carry the boat, but make sure you talk to the umpire yourself. If you get the chance at your local club, there is also the opportunity in training to ask one of your home umpires to explain what you need to check on your boat and why.

Having spoken to various umpires about why they decided to volunteer, I found a few varying motivations.

One enjoyed rowing at university level, but found that the demands of work after graduation became too heavy to continue rowing, so stayed connected to the sport as an umpire instead.

Others retired from racing but still wanted to stay involved without the pain of erg testing and seat racing, or have been forced to retire early from rowing due to injury.

Mark Briegal, an umpire of many years who is on the National Umpiring Committee, has over 50 years of association with rowing, having started as a school rower before moving into coaching as time marched on.

After 20 years of coaching juniors, Mark was persuaded to train as an umpire. He highlighted that the umpire training enhances coaching skills, and it’s entirely possible to do both if desired.

Talking to umpires from many regions, Mark and others find they are united in caring about the sport and
wanting to put something back into the community so that others can also enjoy it.

After all, a good day at the office is seeing competitors enjoy their event and wanting to come back for more.

So what’s the problem?

Sadly, as with most sports, the number of people wanting to volunteer in rowing has declined and umpiring has also been hit. In recent years, umpire numbers have declined to such an extent that – especially in peak holiday season – some clubs regularly have to reach out to other regions to man the course.

For example, a 1000-1500m regatta with a bend in the river will need upwards of ten umpires on the course during racing. With umpiring shifts set between two and two-and-a-half hours, that can equate to over 50 umpiring slots needing to be filled per day. Typically, umpires are only available for two shifts per day, especially if they are racing, so it’s easy to understand why clubs invite umpires from across
the region and beyond.

What’s more, with some umpires travelling more than two hours each way to regattas and head races, you can imagine the first and last shifts are often the least popular!

The well manned events are, unsurprisingly, the ones where the visiting umpires are ‘looked after’, and where the particular event has a more established reputation.

Another key downside is that some regatta organisers arrange shifts in such quick succession that it becomes almost impossible to stick to schedule.

Would I fit in with the umpires?

They are a supportive, friendly group with great camaraderie, and new-comers get integrated into the circuit quickly.

Umpires come from many walks of life and span a wide range of ages, but all share the passion for the sport.

Once qualified, umpires are in high demand and it can be a great introduction into a new club or new region.

How do you become an umpire?

The first port of call would be to speak to one of the umpires at your club, who will then put you in contact with the local umpire training team. They will be able to confirm when the next course starts and to give you more information.

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