*For general information about umpiring issues and umpiring in Japan, click here.

All teams participating in both the J1C and JGC competitions are obliged to provide umpires for other matches from time to time. This year the Sharks will probably be umpiring somewhere in the range of five or six games (although it could be more), which we try to share around.

In amateur competitions such as those played in Japan, made up of many participants with varying degrees of cricket experience, umpiring and umpiring quality can be an issue. Any initiative taken to improve umpiring levels here in Japan should be encouraged.

With this in mind, Fuji Far East CC’s Anton McCloy, Japan’s leading cricket umpire and Japan’s umpiring representative in the EAP Challenge international tournament held in Fuji City, Shizuoka in 2004, has initiated a voluntary program for players participating in cricket in Japan who wish to improve their umpiring skills for any given season- the Japan Umpires Improvement Program (JUIP).

The program is based upon evaluation cards and works like this; If you want to receive feedback about your performance from the captains of the team you umpire, take the cards along with you to the game you umpire, and ask the captains to fill them out then, send them to Anton. Anton will go through the information written on them and summarize it, and provide it to those umpires who specifically ask for feedback from him.

There are two formats of evaluation card- one for captains to fill in about your performance, and another for self evaluation. Each format is provided below. Within each format file, there are two Excel sheets, both of which need to be printed out on (or adhered) to both sides of a postcard.

Simply download the evaluation card formats, set your printer to print them out on standard, blank Japanese postcards (usually available in packs of 5 or 10, etc., at ¥100 stores), and put postage stamps on them (which you can purchase (if required) at the post office).

Altogether, you’ll take three postcards with you to the game - one self-analysis card, and two “Captain’s Analysis” cards (one for each captain). If you put a stamp on it for them, captains should be only too happy to fill the cards out and send it to Anton for you (a postal address is printed in each format). The self-analysis postcard you can fill out yourself ;-)

Once again, it is a voluntary program, and so there’s no obligations to participate in it, but if you are going to trudge all the way out to Shizuoka to umpire a game, you may as well see what people thought of your performance (through the filter of Anton ;-) The information provided via these evaluation cards will also be of great use to Anton in deciding what areas of umpiring need to be focused on in future workshops and courses held for the improvement of umpiring in Japan. The information itself won’t be used for any other purposes except those mentioned above (no one’s interested in finger-pointing).

A great initiative, so let’s support it!

And finally, the download below is a handy little form to hold while you’re umpiring, making it easier to keep a personal record of who’s bowled, how many overs have passed and so on- worthwhile printing out and taking to games when you umpire.

Original text by David L. (2005.04.02)
Refreshed by Markus A. (2006.07.24)