Accredited Umpires a Must
A basic responsibility of a pennant playing club is to provide Accredited Umpires on match day. Recently Bowls WA has had to write to several clubs who have had insufficient and even NO UMPIRES available for their pennant matches.
This is clearly unacceptable and puts an unfair burden on non-accredited members and the opposition – it is not their responsibility to fill the gaps of the home club. The use of “experienced players” is not a substitute for an accredited umpire and is only to be used in emergencies – not as a standard practice.
The recent Umpires Courses has seen a welcome attendance of a number of such clubs and for that effort we thank them. The Bowls Management Committee was considering penalties of a loss of premiership points should accredited umpires not be on duty for pennant matches. This for the time being has been delayed, however clubs must be aware of their basic pennant requirements should they wish to compete.
