Darren takes over the reins from Wayne Waltisbuhl who has held the R.U.M. position for the previous 4 seasons and been a great servant for the game on the Darling Downs. With a large senior umpire exodus at the end of the 2012 Murphy has his work cut out for him but to his credit has already taken steps to ensure the Downs umpires association is well stocked for season 2013.
Murphy headed a regional umpire’s action plan meeting last Thursday at USQ which also involved AFLQ Community Umpiring Development Coordinator Pierce Field. Key issues were discussed at this meeting including the shortage of senior umpires on the Downs and ways in which these issues can be addressed and resolved. DD Club Coordinator Chris Davis also discussed the current 3 year development plan that was created at the end of the 2012 season.
Darling Downs clubs will be asked to assist in the umpire shortage at least in the short term and are being strongly encouraged to nominate as many people as possible for this weekend’s Club Umpires (CUPS) and Junior Umpires (JFUP) accreditation programs. Both umpire’s programmes are being run in conjunction with the Level 1 coaching course and workshops on Saturday 16th March at Toowoomba State High School (Mt Lofty). The JFUP programme is running from 11am-12:30pm (for junior umpires U14 & U12) and the CUPS programme is running from 1:30-3pm (club umpires over 14 years of age). Both course are free of charge and include formal accreditation.
If you are looking to register for any of these umpiring courses pleases contact Chris Davis ASAP on 4632 2994.
Last Modified on 11/04/2013 10:27
