CSMOA Stage 1 and Stage 2 Umpires Courses

CSMOA is excited to announce confirmation of our formal Stage 1 & 2 umpire education courses, to be run on Saturday 24th February, and Saturday 2nd March 2024 respectively.

The CSMOA Stage 1 course is designed to give you an overview of the basic Laws of the game and how to apply them and introduce the principles of fieldcraft and match management. It will give you the tools to enable you to umpire matches in the lower grades of recreational & league club cricket and enable you to progress onto more advanced courses (like CSMOA Stage 2 & Stage 3) as you progress up the pathway.

The CSMOA Stage 2 course is an extension of the CSMOA Stage 1 training, designed to give you further knowledge and skills sufficient to enable you to progress up to the higher grades of recreational & league club cricket. This course is available to anyone who has attended a Stage 1 course or equivalent (even in the same year). It will complement the previous course(s) by looking beyond the basic Laws, building on fieldcraft and match management techniques, and enhancing the concept of working as an officiating team, with umpiring and scoring colleagues!!

Both sessions will be a full-day Zoom workshop, with a 9.30 am start and an expected finish around 4.30 pm. Breaks will be included throughout the day.

An optional, but recommended element to the training offering for anyone looking to umpire officially during the 2024 season is a practical session(s) with the CSMOA Development team, watching and explaining existing umpires onfield during a game – TBA in 2024 pre-season (likely April pre-season fixtures)

To register, visit https://www.csmoa.org.uk/education-courses.html .

Note that the registration form has been updated with additional options, if you wish to attend Stage 1 and/or Stage 2, please submit another form.

Please feel free to share this message widely amongst your clubs and Scottish cricketing contacts.

Any questions, please contact secretary@csmoa.org.uk

Introduction to Umpiring Course

CSMOA are pleased to announce that registrations for our Introduction to Umpiring courses have opened this evening. This year we are holding two sessions (content repeated at each session), the first on Wednesday 7th February 2024, and another on Tuesday 13th February 2024. Both sessions will start at 7 pm on Zoom (link provided a few days before the session to those registered) and will last for approximately 2 hours.

CSMOA Umpire Education course registration form (google.com)

This course is designed to give an introductory overview of umpiring. This is ideal for individuals who wish to gain further knowledge into the world of umpiring. A great opportunity for complete beginners. There is no formal assessment and/or accreditation.

Interested participants may also wish to avail themselves of a suggested pre-learning opportunity, the ICC Umpire Foundation Course – https://www.edapp.com/icc/

Please share this widely amongst your clubs & cricketing colleagues.

More information can be found on our website – https://csmoa.org.uk/education-courses.html

More formal qualifications (Stage 1/2 or equivalents) will be launched in the coming weeks. These formal courses will allow you to officially umpire league fixtures for CSMOA.

Any questions, please feel free to email secretary@csmoa.org.uk

Playing Kit 2024 Season
Following the highly successful trial periods over the last few seasons the CMC have indicated that for season 2024 coloured clothing will be mandatory for all matches played in the WDCU Premiership 1, Premiership 2 and Championship 1. Coloured clothing will also be mandatory for all Rowan Cup and McCulloch Cup matches in season 2024.
For all other leagues and competitions it is recommended for season 2024 and will become mandatory for season 2025.
Please note that in WDCU Premiership 3, Championship 2 and Championship 3 and all other competitions teams must wear the same uniform. i.e. Either all white clothing or all coloured clothing, there should be no mixing of white clothing and coloured clothing.
Jack Kennedy Ferguslie CC

It is with belated acknowledgment the WDCU wish to note the passing of Jack Kennedy.

‘Wee Jack’ had been a member of Ferguslie Cricket Club for over 80 years – more than half the lifetime of the club!

Jack’s contribution to the club had been enormous, both on and off the field.

As well as captaining the Minor XI, Junior XI and Second XI teams, he served in many positions for the club including Secretary, Social Convenor, Ground Convenor, Groundsman, President, Life Member and was until his death Honorary President.

Crucially, in the early 1970’s, Jack played a vital and influential role on the Ferguslie Sports Association, helping to purchase the ground from J & P Coats and without such help, Meikleriggs could have been a very different place today.

Jack’s contribution to cricket is highly respected and he went on to become President of the WDCU and in 1995, he was honoured by becoming the President of the Scottish Cricket Union.

The club recently recognised the enormity of Jack’s lifelong dedication and service to Ferguslie Cricket Club as a player, administrator, Presidential roles and as an avid supporter, by naming the pavilion at Meikleriggs ‘The Jack Kennedy Pavilion’ and they were delighted that Jack and all the Kennedy Family accepted this honour.

Jack sadly passed away on 13th October 2023 and the WDCU wish to belatedly pass on their condolences to all of Jack’s family. An individual who will be sadly missed on a trip to Meikleriggs.

Cricket Scotland Statement – Incident at Greenock CC

Following an incident that took place during Saturday’s game at Greenock, Cricket Scotland have issued the following statement:

“Cricket Scotland condemns in the strongest possible terms the behaviour that took place at Greenock on Saturday.

Racism has no place in sport or society. It is a scar on cricket, and Cricket Scotland is wholly committed, along with our partners, to eradicating racist behaviour and attitudes from our game.

As this incident is now part of a live criminal case, Cricket Scotland is unable to comment further. However, the governing body can confirm it is working in conjunction with the CSMOA, WDCU and Greenock Cricket Club to ensure internal disciplinary proceedings proceed swiftly and appropriately, following due process.

The Support in Sport service offers free help and guidance to Cricket Scotland staff and players. A dedicated phone number – 07702 565916 – is available for anyone who requires support. For those involved within the club game in Scotland, free webinars and resources are available to access from Opening Up Cricket and SAMH”.

In addition, the WDCU have issued the following statement: 

“WDCU are working alongside Cricket Scotland, CSMOA and Greenock CC following this incident. We will not tolerate behaviour of this manner and are deeply shocked this has occurred. Given this is now a Police Scotland matter we will not make any further comment at this time “

As The Willow Vanishes – Cricket Tour

SCOTLAND’S NEWEST FOOTBALL WALKING TOUR HITS THE STREETS OF FOOTBALL’S SQUARE MILE

The Glasgow Football Tour and The Hampden Collection have teamed up once again to bring a once-in-a-lifetime footballing history experience, as part of our #FITBA150 programme events, celebrating 150 years of Scottish football.

In 2014, Richard S. Young wrote the cart-upending, spellbinding and myth-busting, ‘As The Willow Vanishes’, explaining how Football and Cricket intertwined at the dawn of the association game and led to the creation of the world’s biggest sport. We are bringing Richard’s book to the streets of Glasgow for you to personally hear his groundbreaking work, whilst strolling around the world’s biggest open-air football museum, or as we call it, ‘Football’s Square Mile’.

Now we ask you to pick your jaw off the floor, please. Yes, not only did Scotland create the modern passing and running game of football, the stadium template for every football ground ever built, and taught the world how to play it via the trailblazing Scotch Professors, but did you know how cricket is fundamental to this explosion of a sport now played or watched by 3.5 billion people around the world today?

Here are some questions to get you started –

 

  • Why was the first international football match held at a cricket ground in Glasgow on St Andrew’s Day?
  • Why were 7 of the 8 clubs who founded the Scottish Football Association principally cricket clubs?
  • How many cricket clubs were in the Greater Glasgow area between 1850 and 1914?

 

The answers to these three questions will have you clamouring for more and will change your perceptions about the ignition switch which lit up the footballing world and changed it forever.

Our walking tour begins on Carlton Place at the South Portland Street Suspension Bridge, and we take you on a three-hour journey of discovery through 600 years of football and cricket history. We explore the rich sporting history of Glasgow’s Southside through the eyes of the greats like Alexander Watson Hutton, Wattie Arnott, Hugh McColl, and Archibald Campbell before finishing our walking tour at Clydesdale Cricket Club in Pollokshields. Here in 1884, Aston Villa came to Titwood to play a FA Cup match against Queen’s Park at what we term ’The Forgotten Hampden’. Confused? Well there is only one way to find out the answer to what happened next.

Whether a football fan, a cricket fan, or both, or just a lover of social history, you will not want to miss out on this story of the origins of both sports, and how they collided in the 19th century to create the modern game.

Click HERE to book a slot

Spirit of Sportsmanship

There have been a couple of instances this season where clubs have been commended for showing great sportsmanship and concern for players welfare.

On Saturday a nasty collision between two West of Scotland players immediately drew the attention of the fielding Prestwick players, in particularly Mitchell Rao and Tom Fleet who both put the players welfare before any thought of the action on the field.  Thanks also should go to umpire Billy McPate who drove one of the injured players to hospital.  Colin Mair, President of West of Scotland went to great lengths to thank all involved.

Earlier in the season a Stenhousemuir player drove an injured opponent to hospital and Stenhousemuir also provided a sub fielder for the duration of the innings to their opponents, Uddingston.

Fine example of sportsmanship and commitment to player welfare and long may it continue.