The Bermuda Netball Association announced that seven members enrolled in a 6-week AFNA C Award Umpire Course in October 2020 and recently passed their theory exams.
The C Award is the first level in umpiring and there are a total of three levels before reaching International Umpire status. The course is geared for those new and currently active in the sport as there have been a few rule changes over the years. The course was facilitated by veteran umpire tutors who sit on the International Umpires' Award Testing Panel for the INF.
The course also featured other special guest facilitators from across the netball globe and covered the current netball rules effective from January 1st, 2020. Participants across the America's region signed up for the course and Bermuda was well represented.
The next stage towards obtaining the C Umpire Award would be completing the practical assessment. Arrangements of practical sessions are currently underway by AFNA and will be communicated in due course to participants and the BNA.
On another note, the BNA also has level one and level two coaching courses in progress with 20 participants enrolled.
Coach and umpire development was a key focus this 2020/2021 netball season. Thus, we ensured to make use of the increase in virtual/online training to reach more participants and upskill new and existing coaches and umpires.
