1. National Association:

The I.T.T.A. aims to set up a National Association under its auspices for all umpires qualified at County level or higher.

Currently the Umpires Association is confined mainly to Leinster only and funding for the Leinster Umpires Association is provided by the Leinster Branch. The aim is to develop and extend the Leinster Umpires Association into a national association which is autonomous and separated from the Provincial structure. Historically a number of county umpires were qualified specifically for the Special Olympic Games held in Ireland in 2003 and recently 3 national umpires qualified as International umpires. A National Association provides an opportunity to bring all umpires under the umbrella of a national association and so provide a bigger pool of umpires for events organised by the Association.

In addition there is an opportunity for a national umpire’s body, under the auspices of the I.T.T.A. Board, to recruit and train new umpires and to upskill existing umpires by preparing them for examinations to the next level of umpire qualification.
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2. Proposal:

• A national body will initially be formed from the current Leinster Umpires Association. With the help and support of the I.T.T.A. all qualified umpires from County umpire level upwards who are not currently actively involved in umpiring will be encouraged to affiliate to the national umpires ssociation.
• The second step in setting up a national association will be an initial recruitment campaign. There are 2 scenarios foreseen :-
(1) A significant number of umpires join: In this case an E.G.M. should be held as soon as practicable to elect a national committee. Proposals for such an E.G.M. could be discussed later. One suggestion is that at least 1 umpire from each level should be part of the national committee.


(2) None or few umpires only join: With the help of the I.T.T.A. a recruitment campaign should be undertaken to recruit and train new umpires. Umpires in training would be Associate Members.

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3. Administration:

The Committee will be elected by active members i.e. all members currently affiliated to the association (who have met a minimum commitment standard i.e. have umpired at two events in the previous year).
The new national committee can decide on the election method (e.g. E.G.M, A.G.M, Postal voting etc.) A minimum of 5 members are suggested for the national committee. It is suggested that at least 1 umpire from each umpiring level be a member of the committee.
The Committee will appoint a liaison officer to liaise with the ITTA Board. If necessary this member would attend I.T.T.A Board meetings at the request of the Board in a non-voting capacity.

4. Committee Remit:

The Committee will be responsible for all matters relating to umpiring in Ireland with the approval of the I.T.T.A.
The Committee will be responsible for dealing with all requests for umpires at national events and all other events under the control of the ITTA.
It will also be responsible for holding an umpires register, a register of umpires activity, a Disciplinary Register and a Register for Racket Testing. The Committee will ensure that a standard format report is produced for all events at which umpires are formally involved.
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5. Funding:

Funding is currently provided for the Leinster Umpires Association by the Leinster Branch for administration of the Association (currently €350 annually). In order to disassociate from a provincial based system future funding will be provided by the I.T.T.A. This will take the form of an annual grant for administration from the I.T.T.A. at a level to be discussed in the future.
At events organized by the I.T.T.A. where umpires have been requested to be in attendance funding for umpires’ expenses should be allowed for by the tournament organizers. Initially this should be for food to be purchased during the event and travelling expenses in the event that an umpire is required to travel a distance of more than 5 miles/7 kilometres. The details of this will be agreed with the I.T.T.A.
Consideration should be given in the future by any new National Association to charging event organizers for umpiring duties at events. Such charges will then subsidise umpires expenses and administration expenses for the Umpires Association.
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6. Reporting to the ITTA:

Basically the National Association will appoint from their committee with a member to liaise with the I.T.T.A. Board. He/she may attend Board meetings at the request of the I.T.T.A. in a non-voting capacity. Similarly the board of the I.T.T.A. may appoint one of their members as liaison and umpire supreme. This person will have overall responsibility for national and international certification of examinations conducted by the national umpires association.
A report on all events covered by the national umpires association should be forwarded to the I.T.T.A. Secretary immediately after each event. This report should be in an agreed standard format. Disciplinary issues will be forwarded to the ITTA Secretary immediately after each event.
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7. Summary:

• National Association will be based on current Leinster Association,
• Recruitment will begin immediately targeting qualified umpires,
• Committee of 5 members consisting of at least 1 umpire of each level will be appointed,
• Liaison from committee to the ITTA,
• ITTA to appoint umpire “supremo”,
• Set up and retain registers for umpires/bat testing/disciplinary/ umpire activity,
• Committee election to be held,
• ITTA to provide funding,
• Discussions to take place on umpires expenses.

Kenneth Strong, ITTA Secretary,
05^{th Aug 2008}