Pembroke edge battle with Rovers

Pembroke 2 (Justin Sherriff, Alan Sothern) Three Rock Rovers 1 (Lucas Piccioli)
Pembroke ended Three Rock Rovers reign as national champions with an incredibly tight fought 2-1 win at Grange Road with Alan Sothern netting the winning goal with a ripping drag-flick in the third quarter.

The game followed a similar pattern to the previous meetings between the sides this term, both of which saw Rovers hold plenty of possession but Pembroke looked more dangerous on the counter-attack and had the firepower to do the damage.

Three Rock hit the front early on with a tidily worked corner, dragged home from a switch to Lucas Piccioli. But Pembroke stepped up a gear in the second quarter and hit the front with a spectacular Justin Sherriff shot.

Charlie Henderson had produced a double save at corner time but was slightly off his line for the rebound. Sherriff picked up the ball wide on the left, pulled the ball yet wider, and zinged in an incredible reverse from near the endline.

From there on, an intriguing battle emerged between the 25s with Pembroke's defence once more impenetrable. Conor Harte produced a collecter's set of tackles while Colin Kelly denied the advances of Mitch Darling, Kyle Good and Andy McConnell on numerous occasions.

McConnell, as always, was a guiding light for Rovers, creating plenty of go-forward ball for the overlapping Garry Ringwood.

The upshot was Rovers' best chances came from their two other corners but Peter McConnell's drag was well saved and the second was not stopped cleanly. Sothern had given his side the lead in the meantime and left Rovers chasing the game.

Lots of pressure but little end-product meant they were denied. Pembroke, meanwhile, add another notable scalp to their recent list and on course for a clean sweep while Glenanne qualify for the 2009/10 EHL.

* For more of Adrian Boehm's pictures from the game, click here

Old Alex and Cork C of I make wildcard headway

Anya Bowers second half goal gave them a crucial win in the IHL wildcard playoffs as Old Alex nicked an opening day win over Belfast Harlequins.

She opened the scoring but Judy Getty levelled the tie early in the second half. Bowers, though, popped up with the winner late on to give them the perfect start to the group. in which the top two claim IHL places.

Cork C of I lead the way in the group on goal difference, beating Greenfields 3-0 with a first half goal from Grace Young and strikes from Sinead Connery and Julie O'Sullivan.

Women's IHL results: Belfast Harlequins 1 (Judy Getty) Old Alex 2 (Anya Bowers 2); Cork C of I 3 (Grace Young, Sinead Connery, Julie O'Sullivan) Greenfields 0

Kane's timely intervention helps Glenanne through

Glenanne took the first IHL final place in a thrilling 5-4 win over Banbridge at Grange Road, though the main talking point is likely to be the incredible scenes surrounding Johnny Kane's goal which put the Glens 4-3 ahead.

He scored 26 seconds after the hooter, according to the public clock, should have gone for the end of the third quarter leading to chaotic scenes as rulebooks were checked and phonecalls made before the goal eventually stood.

Bann fought back for Ross McCandless to level the game for the fourth time in the game with his hat-trick from short corners but Stephen Butler's immense drag-flick gave the Glens the vital incision with approximately six and a half minutes to go as the game's stopwatch once again went haywire.

It brought to an end the scoring in one of the most entertaining games of the season with the ebb and flow fluctuating wildly throughout.

The Glens were ahead inside a minute, Johnny Goulding weaving some magic before sliding past Gareth Lennox. Ross McCandless levelled at the second time of asking - his first corner effort disallowed for an obstruction - nailing a drag-flick.

But Brendan Parsons had the Tallaght-side back in front inside the first quarter - the only player to get a touch to Stephen Butler's ball while surrounded by several defenders.

Bann, though, thoroughly bossed the second quarter, deservedly equalising when McCandless' drag his a post, Diarmuid Reay snapping up the rebound. Eugene Magee - showing little effect of just one training session in a month - was denied by Steven Doran before the striker's steal played in Dane Ward only for his effort to be chalked off, too.

A stunning Magee snap-shot drew the sixth penalty corner from which McCandless slotted his second for a 3-2 half-time lead. The drama did not stop, though, during the interval as Bann assistant coach Mark Evans got a dressing down from technical delegate Joe Connolly.

Stephen Butler's stroke made it 3-3 after Richie Shaw's pullback to Shane O'Donoghue was illegally impeded. And then came the game's major talking point. The public clock - not an official time-keeping measure - counted past 17 and a half minutes with no hooter forthcoming.

Bann were camped on their baseline, unable to escape a full press and the ball broke to Kane who slammed home from the top of the circle. The hooter followed as the Bann players remonstrated with the bench.

Three minutes of discussion finally saw the game restarted in the fourth quarter with 4-3 showing on the board. Butler could have made the game safe but his effort was spectacularly plucked off the line by Scott Forbes while Parsons had a glit-edged chance slip wide.

And Ross McCandless netted a neat switch move to tie the game for a fourth time. Magee lobbed over a shoulder-high volley before Butler got the final score.

Bann subsequently placed an appeal over the time-keeping situation but a tribunal decided that the result would stand and Glenanne take their place in the final.

Elsewhere, a partial draw for next year's IHL was made at Grange Road. The men's Pool A includes Pembroke, Instonians, Banbridge and Monkstown while Pool B has Cookstown, Glenanne, Three Rock Rovers and Annadale.

The women's competition has Railway Union, Ballymoney, Ards and Pembroke in Pool A and Pegsus, Loreto, Hermes and Randalstown in Pool B. The remainder of the draw will be made on completion of the wildcard competition.

* For more of Adrian Boehm's pics from the game, click here

Corinthian's perfect start amid Lynch fears

Corinthian took the initiative in the IHL wildcard playoffs as they came from a goal behind to beat Lisnagarvey 4-2, though the major concern of the day was the health of 'Garvey star Jason Lynch.

He collapsed during the warm-up to the game and was subsequently brought to Tallaght hospital for examination.

Without him, Corinthian went ahead in the 13th minute through Davy Carson with one of his first touches of the game after coming off the bench. Mark Robinson netted twice from play to swing the balance the Hillsborough side's way a minute into the second half.

But Brian Doherty's corner levelled the game at 2-2 before John McInroy and Carson completed the scoring on the backpost.

It means a point against Bandon on Monday will ensure five Leinster IHL places.

Results: Corinthian 4 (Davy Carson 2, Brian Doherty, John McInroy) Lisnagarvey 2 (Mark Robinson 2)

Loreto and Hermes to contest inaugural IHL final

Loreto and Hermes will face off once again for the premier title in Irish hockey as they beat off the challenges of Cork Harlequins and Pegasus respectively at Grange Road this afternoo, setting up a repeat of last year's club championships final.

Loreto looked supremely impressive in their 2-0 win over Quins, giving up just one circle penetration all game when Jane Chapple flashed across the goal deep into the second half.

Other than that effort, the entire flow of the game was toward Amy O'Neill's goal. Nikki Keegan opened the scoring inside 80 seconds before doubling up early in the second half from a penalty corner strike.

Nikki Symmons was in masterful form in midfield, aided Niamh Small's pace, Cathy McKean' trickery and plenty of other impressive contributions around the park.

Indeed, the sole worry would be the Beaufort side could have buried the game much earlier.

In the other semi-final, Hermes produced a more convincing scoreline but were indebted to a great rearguard effort that kept out 11 of Pegasus 12 corners. Hermes started the brighter, spurred on by Jenny Burke's guile, but Pegs slowly worked their way back into the game and forged six corners by half-time.

Emma Gray and Aoife McCarthy's second phase work, though, meant the Pegasus efforts came to nought. Indeed, they were still well on top early in the second half before Nikki Evans returned from the sin-bin to oepn the scoring with a thunderbolt from the blue - cracking in a reverse from the top of the circle.

It stretched the game out and Hermes began to create chance after chance on the counter-attack. Evans netted two more from close-range, first time snap-shots from right wing crosses - down which Aoife Harte was a menace throughout before Arlene Boyles spanked in a consolation with seven minutes to go.

No matter, Harte deflected in Jenny Burke's corner strike from their sole corner of the day for 4-1 with four minutes to go for a flattering win.

Results: Loreto 2 (Nikki Keegan 2) Cork Harlequins 0; Hermes 4 (Nikki Evans 3, Aoife Harte) Pegasus 1 (Arlene Boyles)

* For Deryck Vincent's pictures from Hermes vs Pegasus, click here and Adrian Boehm's pictures from the Loreto vs Cork Harlequins, click here

Weston seek new coach

Weston hockey club are currently looking for coahces for both their men's - currently in division two - and women's - division four - first teams for the 2009/10 season.

An attractive package is available for the right candidates. All enquires to Shane O'Hare on 0876185113 or shane@alliedcarpets.ie.

Nothing to choose between women's semi-finalists

When it came to employing the new rules, no women’s club adapted quite so spectacularly to the IHL as Loreto, emerging top of what looked the tougher of the two pools ahead of Leinster and Ulster champions, Railway Union and Pegasus, respectively.

They did so with three bonus point victories along the way, beginning the tournament with a bang thanks to Zara Delany’s eight-minute hat-trick.

Her absence, though – due to a nasty cruciate ligament injury, sustained in last Saturday’s league match with Railway which looks set to keep her on the sidelines for over six months – will be a huge loss for the Beaufort club and means there will be little to choose between the four sides this weekend.

They face Cork Harlequins in the semi-final for the first time since their cracking 4-3 result back in January 2007. Eimear Cregan got the golden goal in that ISC third round tie after Quins had earlier led 3-0 and she is back in the thick of the action since returning from long-term injury.

Her bonus point goal against Armagh was the pivotal factor in her club’s qualification and the Cork side are bang in form after claiming the Munster league title ahead of UCC.

They will continue to Rachel Kohler while Jane Chapple, Cliodhna O’Connor and Joanna Hyland are all unavailable this weekend. Jan Dillon does return while 24-goal Karen Bateman has been in superb shooting form.

Those sides will be hoping to break another of hockey’s enduring duopolies in the final as the other semi pits Pegasus and Hermes together. Between they have shared the competition’s forerunner, the club championships, for the past 11 years.

Hermes will hope Niamh Atcheler will recover where Dubs footballer Conal Keaney and Leinster rugby star Rob Kearney failed to play after a dose of the mumps but are otherwise at full strength.

Pegs, meanwhile, bounced back from their ISC defeat to UCD with a 6-1 win over Lurgan to complete their Ulster league campaign unbeaten and can never be discounted.

The wildcard playoff sees two places up for grabs from four teams with Old Alex duking it out with Connacht’s Greenfields, Munster’s Cork C of I and Ulster’s Belfast Harlequins.

To read more about the players thoughts about this weekend, click here

IHL schedule
Saturday: 10.30am Cork Harlequins vs Loreto; 12.30pm Hermes vs Pegasus (12.30pm)
Sunday: 1.30pm Women’s final

Wildcard schedule
Saturday: 2pm Belfast Harlequins vs Old Alex; 4pm Greenfields vs Cork C of I
Sunday: 11.30am Cork C of I vs Old Alex; 3.30pm Greenfields vs Belfast Harlequins
Monday: 12pm Cork C of I vs Belfast Harlequins; 2pm Old Alex vs Greenfields

IHL Squads
Loreto: Louisa Healy (GK); Alison Meeke; Clodagh Grealy; Niamh Smith; Nikki Symmons; Nikki Keegan (VC); Cathy McKean; Sarah O'Meara; Rachel Keegan; Lizzie Colvin; Niamh Small; Zara Delany; Mary Harkin (GK); Hannah Mathews; Aisling Campion; Caitriona Tipping; Sinead McGirr; Eilis smith.

Cork Harlequins: Amy O'Neill (GK); Yvonne OByrne; Claire Bergin; Hilary Chapple; Karen Bateman; Rachel McSharry; Fran Doonan; Dale Burkley; Eimear Cregan; Fiona Higgins; Emily O'Leary; Nan Kearney; Jennifer Murphy; Erica Breen; Cliodhna Sargent; Jan Dillon

Pegasus: Sharon Moffett (GK); Jessica Perry (GK); Nadine Brown; Jenny Kyle; Fiona McILwaine; Jill Orbinson; Claire McCmahon; Suzanne Beaney; Arlene Boyles; Lyn Brown; Alex Speers; Julie McKnight; Grace Irwin; Lynsey Mallon; Michele Harvey; Pamela Magill; Hannah Clarke

Hermes: Yvonne Kenny (GK); Sarah Greene; Gillian Pinder; Jilly Hodgins; Jenny Kinch; Niamh Atcheler; Jenny Burke; Linda Caulfield; Aoife Harte; Christine Quinlan; Deirdre Duke; Aoife McCarthy (co-capt); Shelly Sloan; Nicola Evans; Sinead McDonnell (co-capt); Anna O'Flanagan; Chloe Watkins; Emma Gray (GK)

Pembroke gunning for famous four

The club hockey season looks set for a fascinating denouement as the Irish Hockey League’s (IHL) showpiece weekend gets underway tomorrow.

On the men’s side, Pembroke very much dominate the thoughts of the players involved with Banbridge’s Scott McCandless, Three Rock Rovers’ Mitch Darling and Glenanne’s Graham Shaw all singing their praises in the wake of their trio of major trophies in the past month.

For Pembroke captain Alan Giles, though, the main enemy may be from within. “You can get very complacent, especially if you’re consistently doing well,” he said. “You can sometimes forget that teams can turn you over; you can have bad spells but hopefully we’ll use it as a positive.”

They go into their tie with Three Rock at full strength with Giles himself recovering well from a slight tweak dating back to just before the Monkstown game.

Rovers will be without club player-of-the-year nominee Neil Lyons with a broken bone in his foot as well as Palestine-based Phelie Maguire and despite being current club champions go into the game as heavy underdogs.

However, they have enjoyed slightly the better of possession of the two 1-1 draws played this season and have more high quality pitch-time in the bank with the auto-pass ruling to make this an intriguing battle.

On the other side of the draw, Glenanne and Banbridge can be forgiven for looking at their tie as a shot to nothing for EHL qualification, given Pembroke’s form, with Glenanne star Graham Shaw admitting it adds an extra bit of spice to his side’s clash with Ulster’s sole representatives, but adds that they won’t be satisfied with anything but finishing top of the pile.

“We’re not looking ahead to the final,” he insisted. “We’re going out to win (against Bann) and if that gives us the European place then that’s fantastic, (but) we’re still confident enough that we’re going to win the whole thing. We’re not in it to finish in second place.”

They welcome back Joe Brennan, Paul Fitzpatrick – who played a full part in Monday’s 3-3 friendly draw with Monkstown – and Steven Doran.

Bann, meanwhile, are waiting on the availability of talisman Eugene Magee who broke a bone in his thumb a couple of weeks ago.

The event will be televised in its entirity by Setanta and will be broadcast from Monday. Keep an eye on the listings by clicking here. There is also promises to be a lively programme of events in the clubhouse along and Ed Sports end of season sale.

Meanwhile, Corinthian will take on Lisnagarvey and Bandon for the right to play in next season’s IHL should they make it into the top two of their three team pool.

Clontarf and Dublin Uni are also in action, the final match on the front pitch on Saturday night at 7.30pm in the Neville Davin Cup final.

IHL squads:
Banbridge: Gareth Lennox (GK & C); Stephen Forbes; Scott Forbes; Geoff McCabe; Dermy Reay; Matthew Smyth; Bruce McCandless; Johnny Brown; Simon Magowan; Eugene Magee; Colin Dowds; Philip Brown; Ross McCandless; Scott McCandless; Patrick Scott; Dane Ward; Drew Carlisle; Stephen Dowds; Ryan ONeill (GK)

Glenanne: Steve Doran (GK); Alan Browne; Mark Lambe; Graham Shaw; David Shaw; Brendan Parsons; Johnn Goulding; Eddie OMalley; Clinton Murphy (VC); Joe Brennan; Paul Fitzpatrick; Jonathan Kane; Stephen Butler; Richie Shaw; Enda Tucker; Shane ODonoghue; Gary Shaw; David Keogh.

Pembroke Wanderers: Simon Thornton (GK); Alan Giles; Craig Fulton; Ronan Gormley; Conor Harte; Maurice Elliott; Gordon Elliott; Colin Kelly; Paddy Conlon; Stuart Loughrey; Ken Treacy; Scott Furlong; Michael OConnor; Justin Sherriff; Alan Sothern; Scott Lowrie; David Harte (GK); Tim Lewis

Three Rock Rovers: Charlie Henderson (GK); David Storey; Gavin Bourke; Alastair Haughton; Kyle Good; Michael Maguire; Lucas Piccioli; Mitch Darling; Peter McConnell; Neal Megarity; Garry Ringwood; Alan Bothwell ﾩ; Colin Huet; Patrick Shanahan; Stephen Macken; Peter Blakeney; Andy McConnell; Wendel Armstrong (GK)

IHL Schedule (all at Grange Road):
Saturday: 3pm Glenanne v Banbridge; 5pm Three Rock Rovers v Pembroke Wanderers
Sunday: Men's Final

Wildcard Schedule (all back pitch at Grange Road, unless stated)
Saturday: 12pm Lisnagarvey vs Corinthian

Sunday: 1:30pm Bandon vs Lisnagarvey

Monday (front Pitch): 10am Corinthian vs Bandon

UCD miss out on IHL shot

UCD 1 (Holly Jenkinson) Hermes 1 (Jenny Burke)

Jenny Burke's 67th minute short corner strike put paid to UCD's chances of playing in the 2009/10 Irish Hockey League at Belfield tonight as they were denied the win they needed to leapfrog Old Alex.

Holly Jenkinson's (pictured) superb corner hit had put College on course for the points 13 minutes from the end at the game's first penalty corner end. But Hermes forced four late set-pieces before Burke scored from the last one, completing an intricate move.

The students did have the ball in the net once more with 25 seconds remaining but the whistle was blown for a free-out just moments before Rosie Carrigan pushed in a rebound.

It means UCD finish sixth in the table and, despite their cup heroics, will not be in Irish hockey's major event next year. It makes for some difficult decisions for the club's top players whose studies may be coming to an end - the carrot of Europe counter-balanced by IHL dreams.

ESB Irish Hockey Awards nominees released

The nominees for the ESB Irish Hockey Awards were released this morning in 11 of the 13 categories up for decision. The winners will be announced at the award's night, set to take place at the Burlington Hotel on May 23, to be hosted by Adrian Davis with former Irish rugby international and British and Irish Lion, Fergus Slattery (pictured in Lions' action), the guest speaker.

Two new categories have been introduced to the list this year with the men's and women's senior player of the year awards split into two parts. The nominees below reflect the newly created Senior Club Player of the Year, distinct from the Senior Player of the Year. The latter award will be voted for by the core senior international players.

Here's the full rundown of the nominees:

Senior Club Player (male): Jonathon Bruton (Cork C of I); Neil Lyons (Three Rock Rovers); Gareth Watkins (Monkstown); Ian Hutchinson (Cookstown)

Senior Club Player (female): Susie Martin (Ballymoney); Emma Smyth (Railway Union Ladies); Anna O’Flanagan (Hermes); Jean McDonnell (Railway Union Ladies)

U18 Player (male): David Carson (Corinthian); Kyle Good (Three Rock Rovers); Shane O’Donoghue (Glenanne); Stephen Cole (Monkstown)

U18 Player (female): Naomi Carroll (Catholic Institute); Niamh Atcheler (Hermes); Dora Gorman (Greenfields); Chloe Watkins (Hermes)

Coach of the Year: Turloch O’Siochain (Three Rock Rovers); Craig Fulton (Pembroke Wanderers); Michael Haycock (Cookstown); Mary Logue (UCD)

Club of the Year: Cookstown; Pembroke Wanderers; Railway Union Ladies; Three Rock Rovers

Umpire of the Year: Geoff Conn; Robert Johnston; Carol Metchette; Kieran Bolger

Emerging Club of the Year: Wexford; Limerick; Galway

Volunteer of the Year: Sally Ann Fanagan (Loreto); Norma Gartside (Ards); Mary Flahavan (Naas); Finbarr Kelleher (Cork Harlequins)

Development Coach of the Year: Niall Denham (Three Rock Rovers); David Cole (Monkstown); Fintan O’Flynn (Greenfields); Natalie Fulton (Pembroke Wanderers)

Youth Club of the Year: Monkstown; Lisnagarvey; Bandon; Cork C of I

UCD hope to steal wildcard spot

Just three days after their momentous ESB Senior Cup triumph, UCD have yet another major battle on their hands as they look to secure a place in next weekend's IHL wildcard qualifiers.

They play Hermes at Belfield (7.30pm) knowing only a win will is the only possible result to left them into fifth place in the table after Pembroke beat Old Alex on Saturday afternoon 2-0, courtesy of Aoife O'Gorman and Shona Doyle's goals.

Hermes, as always, will be no pushover. While this league match does not affect their league position in any way, Colin Stewart's side will be aiming to peak for Saturday morning's IHL semi-final with Pegasus and so will not be holding back as the fight for places intensifies.

Should UCD fail to pick up the maximum points, Alex will go into that playoff series, beginning on Saturday at Grange Road at 2pm against Belfast Harlequins. Cork C of I will follow on Sunday before rounding off 

the tournament against Connacht champions Greenfields.

From that series of group matches, the top two will secure a place in the 2009/10 IHL season.

Meanwhile, ahead of the first IHL finals weekend, top players from each of the clubs involved have given their views on the inaugural season of the competition. You can read the men's thoughts now and the women's will be available in the near future.

Leinster Branch AGM

Please be advised that the Leinster Branch AGM is being held on Wednesday, April 29 in Three Rock Rovers HC at 7.30pm.

All clubs please ensure that they are represented.

Muller names panel for Germany series

As part of the German Hockey Federation's 100th anniversary, Ireland will play the world number three side in Nurnberg twice over the weekend on May 9/10.

National coach Gene Muller has named a panel of 16 for the series with four changes from the Easter games against England.

Emma Grey comes in for Mary Goode in goal while Ciara O'Brien, Niamh Small, Michelle Harvey and Lisa Jacob replacing Lizzie Colvin, Shirley McCay, Megan Frazer and Cliodhna Sargent.

The fixtures will be key for Muller's continuing assessment of his squad, playing a side who will be in their pool in the EuroHockey Nations Championships.

“This will be a stern test for us against the world’s 3rd ranked team. Germany is in our pool at the EuroHockey Nations Championships in August, so it will be good to see how we fare with a block of preparation left until the championships.”

Ireland squad
Lauren Barr (Ballymoney), Bridget Cleland (Ballymoney), Emma Clarke (Ulster Elks), Eimear Cregan (Capt) (Cork Harlequins), Roisin Flinn (UCD), Emma Gray (Hermes), Michelle Harvey(Pegasus), Louisa Healy (Loreto), Lisa Jacob (UCD), Cathy McKean (Loreto), Rachel Mulligan (Armagh), Ciara O’Brien (Chelmsford), Emma Smyth (Railway Union), Emma Stewart (Armagh), Niamh Small (Loreto), Nikki Symmons (Loreto)

Schedule:
Saturday, May 9: Germany v Ireland, 2pm

Sunday, May 10: Germany v Ireland, 11am

Kilkenny III complete double

Kilkenny III beat UCD III to the punch in a second successive competition to claim the last outstanding men's Leinster league title - division eight - thanks to their 2-1 win over Wicklow.

UCD were unable to get the win they needed on the grass against St Brendan's/Phoenix Park III to lose out by two points. It completed a productive Saturday for the Cats as their seconds look like they might produce the most unlikely of escapes from the drop in division four.

Their fifth win on the spin - a 2-0 defeat of Portrane - pulls them up to tenth in the 13 team division and with Railway Union III and Portrane still to play in the run-in, may yet remain clear of the bottom two.

In an update from last week, South East Wanderers II beat RCSI 4-1 in the Minor Cup final.

Meanwhile, Clontarf and Dublin University have agreed a glamour date for their Neville Davin final. The pair will face off in front of the newly erected stand at Grange Road next Saturday evening directly after the Pembroke and Three Rock IHL semi-final at 7pm.

The final two Leinster cups of the season will be contested in the next week on with Glenanne going for the Walters/Galtrim double. They play UCD in the former on Friday night in Pembroke at 8.15pm and St James Gate in the latter on Tuesday, May 5 at 7.15pm - again in Pembroke.

How to become a Leinster Branch umpire...

In response to a recent query put to The Hook, the Leinster Hockey Umpire's Association has laid out below the recruitment process to becoming an umpire. It is the same path that Ray O'Connor followed along with top current umpire Geoff Conn, leading to them travelling around the world, getting to see the action at its closest:

New members should contact LHUA through the 2008/09 Appointment Secretaries. For the ladies' side, Brian George can be contacted at brian.r.george@hotmail.com or 087 1270119 while on the men's side Tom Goode is the point of contact at tgoode@revenue.ie or 086 2160673.

From there, potential umpires can advise what experience they currently have, what level they are currently umpiring at, your availability and what level you aspire to.

From there, the LHUA appoint to appropriate fixtures with senior umpires to partner you with at an early stage with mentoring also available along with umpiring shirts, jacket, cards and whistles.

Grading forms are completed throughout the season and post game debrief are encouraged while the LHUA run coaching sessions throughout the season which should be attended. These take the form of Q&A, new rule discussions and video. The LHUA also use headsets to assist and develop umpires.

The LHUA has three grades (3 - Foundation, 2 - Intermediate, 1 - Senior)  that umpires progress through based on reports and gradings. Currently Grades 1 and 2 umpire in the Leinster Senior League.

Should you have any further queries, contact the relevant appointment secretary above. This post will be re-posted as the 2009/10 season approaches so as to offer potential umpires a reminder as hockey gets back into gear next Autumn.