There are two sets of roadworks in NE Hampshire that are likely to affect teams travelling to play Aldershot & Farnham, Fleet & Ewshot and, to a lesser degree, Camberley & Farnborough over the next few weeks.

1 - A31 Farnham bypass, eastbound. A lane restriction at the A31 / B3001 traffic lights are causing delays of upwards of 30 minutes for drivers travelling on the A31 from the A325 roundabout East of Farnham, to the A325 Shepherd & Flock roundabout. Drivers from South of the area are advised to use the A3, B3000 and A31 Hogs Back to avoid the congestion. Drivers from the West and South West should take the M3 and either A287 (if playing A&F) or A331 (if playing F&E). These roadworks will be in place until at least 16th February. Suggested diversions should add approximately 15 minutes to driving times.

2 - Queens Avenue, Aldershot. Traffic lights are being replaced on Queens Avenue in Aldershot. This will not affect access to Princes Avenue and the Army Hockey Centre, but may cause delays of a few minutes. These roadworks are planned to be in place until 1st March. Further roadworks will completely close Queens Avenue north of Princes Avenue from 18th - 27th March. Drivers should use the A3011 (Lynchford Road - westbound), A325 (southbound) and Alisons Road (eastbound) before joining Queens Avenue south of Princes Avenue.

Dr Moiz Moghul England Hockey’s Chief Medical Officer has updated our concussion policy and guidance, this has been updated on the EH website, see link:

(also in HHUA Web handbook)

If you have any question please contact David Elworthy – david.elworthy@englandhockey.co.uk

Ladies and Gentlemen,

You will be aware that the FIH have updated the 'Rules of Hockey' as from 1 January 2019; however England Hockey have determined that they will not yet be implemented in England.

If you use the FIH App on your iOS or Android devices, you will have noted that they have automatically updated to the new rules, so you cannot use this resource for rules discussions.

The 2017 rule books are available on the HHUA website in the information pages and this should be your first port of call for the extant rules until further notice.

The M27 between junctions 4 (M3 Interchange) and Junction 11 (Fareham) is being upgraded by turning the hard shoulder into a permanent running lane. making a dual four-lane smart motorway. New CCTV cameras will be in force as of Monday 7th January so players and officials can expect delays throughout this area and are asked to take these roadworks into consideration when planning arrival times at fixtures.

We have lots of games to appoint on the comings Sundays with lots of Hampshire teams progressing in the EH Cups, Plates and also Hampshire Cup/Trophy matches. Please make yourself available as soon as you can for any Sundays you can do, and drop me a text, 07734 889319
Kevan Tate - Sunday Appointments

HHUA have now agreed on their new shirt supplier. You will recall our old style shirts are no longer available.

The new shirts are supplied by Tempest and will be available to order from the HHUA shop in lime green and orange. These will be known as the "Umpiring Shirt (2019)" and will be available with an HHUA badge, for £25 (including p&p). They will be added to the HHUA Shop over the New Year Holiday.

Members who have an order on the system for an old style shirt will be contacted by the Shop Administrator. The old orders will be cancelled and new orders can be raised against the new shirts.

Please contact me, if you have any questions.
Happy New Year,
Mike Robson (HHUA Shop).

Further to the FIH’s announcement on 18 December regarding changes to the rules of hockey from 1 January 2019, England Hockey confirms that no changes will be made to the domestic game during the remainder of the 2018-19 season.

The FIH has announced the following significant changes:

Match timings to be quarters, to mirror international game
Removal of Player with Goalkeeper Privileges (PwGKP)
Amendments to Attacking Free Hits and Defending Free Hits within the 23m area

The announcement from the FIH can be found here.

In recent years we have strived to apply a consistent set of rules throughout all levels of the sport. In normal circumstances England Hockey does not implement rule changes mid-season apart from where there are potential safety implications which require swifter action.

The changes proposed by the FIH have far reaching implications for the grass roots of hockey and therefore we intend to seek clarification on the rationale behind the decision as well as understand the potential impact of the rule changes amongst participants and officials at all levels. We will communicate more about this in early 2019.

The HHUA website will be updated as information comes available

Congratulations to the following umpires for their recent successful assessments and promotions:

Richard Stanley joins us as County 2 Men's and County Ladies' umpire
Steve Holyer returns as County 2 Men's umpire
Peter Storr completes the double to become a County Ladies' umpire
Nigel Guppy and Aaron Bennett move from County 2 to County 1 Men's umpires
Aaron also gets his County Ladies' panel grading
Lee McEvoy gets to the top tier in Hampshire as a Regional 1 umpire

Congratulations everyone - thank you for putting in great performances every week!
Ginette Tessier
Umpire Assessment Manager

Even though we're not even at the end of October, umpires have been working hard! Congratulations to:
Nik Krykunivsky who is now a County 1 men's panel umpire after a recent second required successful assessment.
Paul Godfrey and Tim Clay who both had successful assessments yesterday to join the County 2 men's panel.
Well done all!
Ginette Tessier
Umpire Assessment Manager

The draws for the this season's county cup competitions can now be found under the Results tab on the website. Instructions follow, given that not all relevant contacts have published email addresses.
Dates for most rounds of each competition have been set, although as in the past there is no problem if clubs wish to play their matches earlier than the due date. The home team must agree the date and time of each match with their opposition in good time; advise the Cup Secretary of any earlier date agreed; post the pushback time on the website through their club webmaster's personal area; and, where either team normally gets league appointments, book umpires with the relevant HHUA appointments secretary by the 15th of the month prior to the match. The result of the match should be either posted on the website through the sides' normal process for league matches, or advised to the Adult Cups Secretary at the contact details shown on the home page of the website.
For the Mens 1st XI Cup and Plate (which involve ALL sides which competed in the group stage in September), the following variations to the above apply. The preliminary knockout round of the Plate must be played by 6 January; the quarter finals of the Cup must be played by 17 March; the semi-finals of both Cup and Plate will be played as a tournament at a neutral venue on Saturday 13 April. It is suggested that advantage is taken of the weekend of 5/6 January to play the early rounds of both competitions, assuming that this is not needed as a league slip date.
Any club who would like to host the Mens Semi-Final Tournament on 13 April (4 full length games starting at 1100) should please contact the Adult Cups Secretary as soon as possible.
All Finals will be on Hampshire Day on Bank Holiday Monday 6 May.
Michael Harvey, Adult Cups Secretary 14 October 2018

The Hampshire O-60 team compete in the EH Masters O-60’s Cup/Plate Competition each year which gives every team at least 2 Sunday matches a season, and as has happened with this squad we can go all the way to the finals at Lea Valley.

The current squad is not getter younger, so we would welcome any new O-60s (i.e. you must be 60 sometime this calendar year) joining in; if you are not already playing for a Club team in this year’s competition.

The Hampshire team has evolved over the years as an invitation side and you are now invited!

The 1st match this season is at “Home” which is likely to be in Winchester on Sunday 4th November 2018 against Gloucestershire and Herefordshire O-60. County Shirts provided!

To show interest can you please contact John Young (j.young233@btinternet.com or 07890 630489) to advise if you would like to play the odd game and if you are available to join the squad on 4th November 2018?

Ladies & Gentlemen,

The Management Committee have clarified the meaning of the three membership types laid down in the HHUA Constitution:

Full Member – This membership is intended for umpires who having passed their Level 1 assessment would like to take neutral appointments on behalf of Hampshire. You will have the opportunity to have support by way of coaching and assessments throughout the season along with the option of attending Coaching Days, whereby you are able to watch a match with coaches and mentors to discuss the finer points of umpiring. You will have full access to the HHUA shop through the website where you would be entitled to purchase badged HHUA shirts, in the three primary umpiring colours.
As a full member if you do take regular appointments you will have the loan of a radio which has now become an integral part of umpiring. As a member of HHUA you will be insured for any matches that you umpire.
The cost of this membership type is set to £30.00

Associate Member – This is intended for umpires who wish primarily to umpire for their club. You would be entitled to coaching/mentoring from HHUA if you feel you would benefit from this. You would be covered by HHUA in respect of insurance. This could be a stepping stone with a view to take neutral appointments in the future. If you are waiting to be internally assessed by Hampshire you may only be able to buy an unbadged shirt at this stage.
You will have full access to the HHUA shop through the website whereby you would be entitled to purchase unbadged HHUA shirts.
Associate membership is also suitable for members no longer taking neutral appointments but whom wish to be engaged with the Association.
The cost of this membership type is set to £12.50.

Affiliate Member – The aim of this membership type is for any person who has expressed an interest in umpiring. This is intended for those that are looking to start their umpiring journey but may at this stage not have yet been assessed but has a knowledge of the game having possibly started the Introduction to Umpiring Programme run by England Hockey.
There is no cost for this membership type.

If you have any questions about which category you might fall into, please contact the membership Secretary, Jo Gordon.