Ever heard the song/saying “We get by with a little help from our friends”?

I’m sure that song was written about the people sitting behind the tech bench. Honestly, as an umpire, making friends with those people can make a world of difference. When things get heated in a tough game, it helps knowing that the technical officials have got your back. AND you might even get a lolly or two… or at least not get told off when you help yourself 🙂 #candythief

But if you’ve never had the pleasure of being on the other side of the bench, you might find yourself wondering what it is that a technical official does? The answer is: so much more than just keeping the time and score. The answer is: Magic. They perform magic. Magic that makes life as an umpire so much better. Because you don’t have to worry about anything, you just go out and UMPIRE. And that, my friend, is glorious.

But to give you a more detailed and accurate view of the life of a technical official, I’ve roped in two of the best in the business to talk you through it. They’re going to discuss:

• What a technical official does
• How technical officials help umpires
• How umpires can help technical officials
• Pathways for techies to reach the top

So, who are these two magical superstars you ask? Oh, just THE MOTHER-FLIPPIN’ TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS OF THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP AND MEN’S CHAMPIONS TROPHY.

Tammy Standley and Josh Burt.

I know, right? What a treat! You’re welcome.

So, here’s an ode to our friends who work tirelessly behind-the-scenes to make our lives on the pitch just that little bit easier. Let’s hear about…

Behind the Technical Bench – The Life of a Technical Official

 

Firstly, let’s get to know a little about our superstar guests! They both worked for Hockey Australia as Competitions Manager for a while, where they got to work with some of the best Technical Officials in the world, including Ken Read, Rosie Stern, Dallas Riseley, Pip March and Garry Marsh, as part of their job. This gave both an insight into the world of officiating at the top level, and they both stepped into the ring not long after…

Tammy Standley

Tammy’s been involved in officiating hockey since 1999, when she started at a domestic level. It wasn’t until 2011, 12 years later, that she had the opportunity to start officiating at national and international levels. She started out officiating at under-age national championships, and quickly earned the position of Tournament Director (TD) at a number of national championships and then the Australian Hockey League.

Her international career includes highlights such as:

• Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland (2014)
• Indoor World Cup in Leipzig, Germany (2015)
• Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil (2016) – including TO for the Gold Medal match!
• World League Final in New Zealand (2017 – Tournament Director)
• Women’s Hockey World Cup in London, England (2018 – Tournament Director)

Josh Burt

Josh took a very different pathway to Tammy. In fact, he never actually set out to be a Technical Official. He started out coaching and managing Victorian State Teams, eventually working his way up to Team Manager of the Australian Men’s National Team – the Kookaburras. Josh says “I always felt as a Manager/Coach that I was the Technical Officials opponent. I certainly learnt a lot from those days, mostly what not to do.” In 2011, after finishing his role at Hockey Australia, he got his first international officiating appointment. Since then, his highlights have included:

• Oceania Cup in Hobart, Australia (2011)
• 3 Nations in Busselton & Bunbury, Australia
• Sultan of Johor Cup, Malaysia
• Champions Trophy (2012)
• Junior World Cup (2013)
• Youth Olympics, Nanjing, China (2014)
• World League Semi Finals (2013, 2015, 2017)
• Rio Olympic Games (2016)
• Champions Trophy (2018 – Tournament Director)

Technical officiating 101

Can you talk us through the roles of the different technical officials on a game?

Tammy: The three roles of a technical official are:

• Judge

There are two roles of a Judge: time keeper and data entry operator. It is imperative that judges work together as a team with their Technical Officer (TO) to undertake their roles. They are responsible for ensuring the correct time is entered for a player’s first substitution onto the field of play and for recording the time and type of goal and the time and reason for cards.

I find it very frustrating when I hear people say ‘Oh, I’m only a Judge’ when this is actually an integral role at a tournament and if the Judge makes a mistake in terms of timing, it can reflect very badly on the outcome of the game!

• Technical Officer (TO)

The TO has a number of responsibilities during a game. They can usually be spotted patrolling the front of the technical table and team benches. They work with the team managers, umpires and judges to ensure the game runs smoothly. Responsibilities include returning suspended players to the field of play, ensuring teams substitute in the correct area, making sure managers are controlling their team benches, managing goalkeeper substitutions in consultation with the umpires and checking that judges are keeping correct time and updating the scoreboard. These guys are extremely busy during a match and that is why it is so important that the judges are on the ball. It frees up the TO to just worry about what is happening on the team benches and field of play. A good TO also requires excellent communication skills to enable them to build good working relationships with the team managers and umpires at a tournament. They are the eyes and ears of the TD on the ground.

• Tournament Director (TD) – (*the official term for TD according to the FIH structure is Technical Delegate)

The Role of the Technical Delegate at a tournament is to ensure that all teams and officials adhere to the Tournament Regulations and Rules of Hockey. They also oversee all official’s appointments and work closely with the Umpires Managers around the umpire appointments. Depending upon the level of tournament, the TD also needs to liaise with event organisers and broadcast and, of course, the FIH. There is also an integral role overseeing each game, dealing with any protests or code of conduct breaches. The TD needs to have an excellent understanding of the rules and regulations for that tournament. A key component of the role is communication – bad news is never easy to deliver and having a TD who is open, fair and willing to discuss issues, preferably before they become a problem, should lead to an enjoyable tournament for everyone involved.

Are there any differences between being a TD at a major international event compared to the smaller international events or domestic competitions?

Tammy: The main difference between being a TD at a major international tournament compared to small international events and domestic competitions is the added bodies around the field of play. At World Level events there are lots of additional volunteers, as well as media and camera crews around the technical bench and it is important to work with the technical team, media and volunteer coordinators to manage all this.

In terms of working with the teams, I consider each tournament a team enters the most important event for them at that moment in time and treat it as such. I believe in the importance of treating all parties with the upmost respect and to address any concerns they have accordingly. It is important not to get into a mindset of thinking along the lines of ‘Oh it’s only the local competition or the U/13’s Nationals’ and therefore not as important as the Olympic Games or World Cup. When you think about it, the athletes and officials involved have trained extremely hard to be there and are competing to the best of their ability in that competition so do not deserve any less respect.

Josh: I also agree that we need to be at our best whether it’s the U13 Nationals or the Olympic Games. The pressure is just amplified during a major event, because its live and on television, so every mistake is identified and focused on more than usual. A great example of this is the quarter final between Germany & New Zealand in Rio. If the judge had made an error (i.e. was to slow stopping or starting the clock) the result would have been very different – and if you think the teams don’t check the timing in situations like that, think again!

What is the most challenging aspect of technical officiating?

Josh: Some coaches can be harder to manage than others, and for a while there I seemed to get all the tough matches! I thought it was just rotten luck, but it had more to do with the TD’s faith in me to deliver in the big or high pressure matches. Your reputation is everything when it comes to being a Technical Official, you need to earn their respect without demanding it if you can do that, you can manage almost any situation that arises.

Language is still a barrier at times, we (native English speakers) are very lucky that English is the preferred language of use, but sometimes we get officiating team members, managers, coaches and players that have a limited knowledge of English. I’m currently learning Spanish, and whilst I can order a coffee and get to the train station I’m a long way from explaining an umpiring decision!

Tammy: Maintaining strong working relationships with all stakeholders while taking into account the different needs of everyone involved. I see this as the most important aspect of officiating as well. There are times when it is impossible to please everyone, be it in terms of draw, appointments or even decisions made, so I try to always be fair and transparent in this regard.

What does a technical official need to officiate a game, and what preparation is involved for a game and for a tournament?

Tammy: The most important preparation a technical official can do prior to a tournament is to ensure they are up to date with all the current rules and regulations. No matter which role I am playing, I always make sure I read the current regulations. I am also a big fan of the FIH Rules App and leading up to a tournament I do the quiz on a daily basis to keep me ‘on my toes’ so to speak.

Josh: You need to be a good communicator, have a sound understanding of the game and eye for spotting the unusual or misplaced. I also agree with Tammy, read, read and read again the regulations, every tournament is different so don’t assume you are always right and that you are up to date with the latest rules and interpretations.

I also think it’s good to have a network of friends you can share experiences with. I have friends in Germany, Netherlands, Brazil & Argentina that I chat with weekly and we often work shop incidents/situations. These workshops have really helped to ensure I don’t make similar mistakes or know what to do if they happen.

Your experiences

What has your journey along the technical pathway been?

Tammy: I began officiating when I started working for Hockey WA back in 1999 as a sport administrator and decided I had better learn more about one of the roles I was responsible for overseeing. I then went on to work for Hockey Australia, where I had the opportunity to work with some of the best TD’s in Australia and the world. I was fortunate that after leaving Hockey Australia, my desire to further pursue an officiating career was noted and I was given a number of Oceania appointments as a Judge and then TO. This led to my appointment to the FIH panel where I am now a Level 2 Technical Official.

Josh: In a nutshell, I was a player that dabbled in coaching, team managing, umpiring, administration and presidency. I liked all of them and whilst I was 100% dedicated, I was never exceptional at any off them. But what I managed to do was to combine the best parts of all of these traits to become a new style of Technical Official. I didn’t have years of technical experience behind me, but I was personable, communicated well, had vast hockey knowledge, but more than anything I was approachable and the coaches and teams really liked that – and my colleagues clearly liked it too, because I kept on getting invited back!

Tell us about your Rio experience!

Tammy:

Going to the Olympic Games was always a dream of mine as I was growing up. I never expected to go as a hockey official but the experience was incredible. We worked hard with multiple games a day and you are always aware of how important every match is to the players and teams involved. Being in Rio was pretty amazing in itself, in the carnival atmosphere, etc. The hockey venue was great and being part of the Gold Medal match that went to shoot outs was such an incredible experience.

As well as the hockey, and I was fortunate to visit some of the other venues on my couple of rest days. I was able to take up an opportunity to attend the Beach Volleyball at Copacabana when Brazil was playing and the atmosphere there was electric. I came away from the Games with wonderful memories.

As well as that, the opportunity to work alongside Sheila Brown as TD as well as Laura Pigretti, Edna Rutten and Sylvie Petit-Jean as the Assistant TD’s was invaluable, in terms of learning experience. These are some of the top technical officials in the world and they were willing to share their knowledge. Being able to watch them in action and to talk to them about various scenarios they have experienced and get their opinions on difference scenarios I had experienced was invaluable. I feel privileged to now consider them friends that I can go to for advice when I need it. This is one of the best parts of any tournament – the people you work with and the experiences you share together.

Josh: 

Like every little boy & girl growing up I wanted to go to the Olympics, but I was never the best athlete, umpire or coach, so I learnt very early that my childhood dream was probably out of reach. However in 2014 I was fortunate enough to be appointed as a Judge to the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. The experience was unbelievable and it re-ignited my dream of going to the Olympics. At the time I was aiming to get to Tokyo, so Rio came as a little surprise, but it was everything I thought it would be and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity.

FIH put an amazing team of world class officials together which made every match a pleasure to officiate, our ATD’s were at the time and still are today the best in the world and the TD was Jason McCracken, like all great leaders he made everyone feel important and that ensured we were united on and off the bench.

People well tell me that Rio wasn’t as good as Beijing or China, but you only get out what you put in and I put everything in to the experience and return I got more than I could hope for back.

What makes for the best tournament experience?

Josh: That’s easy – the people. I can literally visit any country in the world and with one WhatsApp call (World Hockey runs on WhatsApp!) and have a friend waiting to meet me at the airport. We might only spend 2-3 weeks together every few years, but the friendships, trust and camaraderie forged in those 2-3 weeks is life lasting and unbelievably special.

I don’t believe in down time, I like to keep busy, so every free moment I have on tour I spend sight-seeing and my colleagues know it and will often ask what I have planned tomorrow, like clockwork they meet me in the lobby at the crack of dawn for a Josh walking tour. A quick visit to my Facebook page and you will see what adventures we get up to whilst on tour.

Tammy:  The people make the experience. I have made so many friends all over the world through hockey. Over the past few years I cannot remember a tournament I have been at where I have not enjoyed the company I was with. This makes all the difference. No matter what your role at a tournament, no matter how many hours you work, if you are surrounded by a great team it will make for a great experience.

Words of wisdom

If you could give umpires any advice on working technical officials, what would it be?

Tammy: We are all part of the same team. It’s the TO’s job to ensure the umpire’s job is as easy as possible. I always stress to upcoming technical officials the importance of building strong working relationships with not only the technical team but the umpires as well.

I have definitely noticed over the past few years that there is becoming much less of a division in the groups at tournaments. The last few tournaments I have been at, the technical officials and the umpires have spent more time socialising together and this is a great step forward. I want the umpires to know that we are there to help them so that they can do their job to the best of their ability.

Josh: The best advice I could give someone is to simply state the obvious and that is “do your part”. If you are a Judge, then be a judge, if you are the TO, then be the TO! Don’t over step your roles of responsibility, it can bring even the very best Technical Officials down.

I have seen too many officials make errors because they thought they were better than their colleague and tried to prove it by correcting their errors; the end result is always the same, whilst you’re correcting everyone else’s mistakes, no one is correcting yours.

Avoid politics, it has always been there, avoid it at all costs.

And what is your advice to technical officials on working with umpires?

Tammy: I have the same advice of technical officials as I do for umpires. If Judges do their job properly the game will run smoothly, just focus on your role. As a TO, talk to your umpires before a match, ask if there is anything they wish to raise etc. again it’s about building strong working relationships so that the umpires know that to TO will ensure they control the benches, substitutions, etc. and the judges will ensure the game timing is correct so all the umpires need to worry about is the on field management of the game.

Josh: I don’t believe in an umpires team and technical team, we are one team and that should show on and off the field of play. It may not be that way at every level today, but it certainly is at the international level and I think it will make its way down to Club level eventually.

Communication before and during the game is critical, if the TO isn’t spending 3-5 minutes talking to the umpires before the match, then I can honestly say without hesitation that the TO has not prepared for the match properly. An umpire will have key roles he/she wants you to manage, what are they? What happens if the clock stops working or the radios fail? etc. etc. Communication is pivotal and I would highly recommend all Technical Officials to initiate the conversation; you might get a funny look the first time you ask, but I assure you those funny looks will quickly disappear and your team mates (the umpires) will start to appreciate and respect you a lot more.

How can people get into technical officiating? What is the pathway to, and through, international accreditation?

Tammy: There are so many different pathways people can take to get into officiating it really is the easiest role to become involved in! You can come through the administrative pathway as I did, you can be an ex-player, an ex-umpire or even just an individual who has an interest in the sport. As long as you have strong communication skills, a good knowledge of the Rules and Regulations and a keen interest in the sport you can become a technical official.

The best way to get involved is to contact your state association and express your interest. From there you need to gain accreditation at a local level and volunteer for any national championships that your state/regional hosts. You can also look into having your state/regional association put your name forward to your national association as someone who is interested in trying to move forward as an international official. You then need experience as a TO and then TD at a national championship. From there, if you are good enough, your National Association will recommend you for a Continental appointment, where you hope to get a good report which will get your name put forward to FIH.

What is your advice for aspiring tech officials on their journey?

Tammy: Volunteer for the tournaments you can and learn from those who have more experience. Don’t ever be officious and never be afraid to ask for advice. I think the biggest mistake aspiring officials make is in thinking they need to prove they know everything. This is not the case, even those technical officials at the top have others they run things past. There are always situations that will arise that you have not come across before and it is best to talk it though with someone.

Josh: There are plenty of opportunities and pathways available, I can’t advise which one is the best or the fastest pathway, because each pathway is unique to the individual. Whichever path you take I strongly recommend you have a mentor to help advise you in unique situations; workshopping a situation with a colleague can be really rewarding as it either validates your method or prepares you for the next time the situation happens.

Don’t be officious! When I was Coaching/Managing I always felt that Technical Officials were the coach’s enemy; seriously it’s no wonder coaches blew up like they did. I’m pleased to say that those days are long gone. Be amenable, polite and courteous, you might be surprised at how effective it is in controlling the situation.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, only fools think they know everything. If you don’t know the answer to a situation don’t guess the answer. It’s not a weakness to say you don’t know and that you will look it up or seek advice.

As the Chair of the Hockey Australia Appointments Committee I can say without hesitation that we have a national shortage of Male and Female Technical Officials aged between 25-35 and that’s the age group FIH is targeting. So, if you are clam in nature, friendly, a good communicator and have a love for hockey, why not consider a career as a Technical Official?

The skills can be taught, but a person’s demeanour is developed over years and a lot harder to rectify.

 

Rhiannon: So there you have it, from two of the best in the business! Technical Officiating is one of the great ways you can be involved in hockey, and there are even pathways to the top of international level if you’ve got the passion to see it there!

And for umpires, next time you’re out on the field with tech bench, make sure to give your Technical Officials a high-5! Cause there ain’t a better team than a team who have got each other’s backs!

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