If you want to enjoy table tennis from the best seat in the house, now is the time to enrol on one of our upcoming umpires’ courses.

We have two Level 1 courses in the pipeline, in Leicester on September 17 and Enfield on October 7 – the first step on a pathway which could lead to umpiring at top national or even international competitions!

To book a place on one of the first two courses, please click here.

The course costs £30 and splits into two days with the first day focusing on communication skills, the role of an umpire, preparing a court for the match, service laws, decision-making and hand signals. The second day involves lots of practice in a competition environment and practical assessments with qualified umpires.

The new Level 1 course comes off the back of our work with Sports Officials UK to develop our officiating courses, with the overall aim of recruiting more officials to support competitive table tennis at all levels. The course is also built to make it easier for umpires to complete, whilst providing a broader set of skills and knowledge to enable delegates to become confident umpires.

As part of the work reviewing the courses, the officiating pathway and qualification terminology have also been updated. The Level 1 course replaces the old County Umpire qualification and we will bringing in a Level 2 Umpire – National Umpires course in the future, which will help future umpires develop their umpiring before taking the existing Level 2 umpiring exam. You can see a full breakdown of the officiating pathway by clicking here.