On Wednesday 14 October, the Irish government announced the removal of the exemption for senior club championship to be played in Level 3 of the Living with Covid-19 plan.

Following this change, the Board of Hockey Ireland has decided to postpone all hockey competition on an all-Ireland basis until further notice.

All umpires need to be aware of this video through the attached link, so you know exactly what they have been advised as to how we will be umpiring this season!

We hope this will aid in the player and coach understanding of what we are trying to achieve as a team of umpires this year, throughout the country.

Please see the attached link for the latest Covid-19 update and statement issued by Hockey Ireland.

All IHUA umpiring appointments will be covered by insurance for official matches played in accordance with the Hockey Ireland Covid regulations and guidance. 

We will ask the Provincial Associations to confirm the insurance situation with its members in relation to official appointments within their region, in case there is any disparity with the National position. 

Umpires are recommended NOT to umpire unofficial or friendly matches in the current climate UNLESS they seek and obtain the required assurances from the match/tournament organisers regarding insurance cover.  In these circumstances, the officiating of an unofficial or friendly match/tournament is entirely your own personal decision.  Stay safe! 

We are aware of a few problems that have developed at the end of last season and the start of the current season with some of the UmpireTalk radios, mainly due to natural wear and tear. Of course there are a number that continue to work with no problems.

This notice is just to say that we are working on solution in conjunction with the Provinces as everyone recognises the widespread importance of radio usage for all matches. It is important that we try and get a radio that suits our wider needs as well as ensuring the cost is affordable. For this reason we will be looking to test some options in the next couple of weeks.

If we can agree on a radio then realistically we are probably looking at just after Christmas for their introduction.