APPEAL FOR NEW CRICKET UMPIRES & SCORERS FROM BRIGG AREA

BY ANN BOULTON, PUBLICITY OFFICER - LINCOLNSHIRE ECB ASSOCIATION OF CRICKET OFFICIALS (ACO)

There is still a severe shortage of umpires, both in Lincolnshire and nationwide, and  recruitment has to be a priority for the ACO.
Lincolnshire ECB ACO details and news can be found on the Lincolnshire Cricket Ltd website http://www.lincscricket.co.uk/officials and also on Twitter #lincolnshireecbaco 
The next Level 1 umpires' training course takes place at Bracebridge Heath CC, Lincoln, from 10am to 4pm on four consecutive Saturdays from January 14 to February 4 inclusive. 
E-mail Gareth Dowson on garthdowson@hotmail.co.uk for details; the closing date is December 15.
Thanks were expressed to the outgoing chairman of the Lincolnshire ECB Association of Cricket Officials at the organisation's AGM.
Steve Massingham has been chairman since the county umpires' association was formed and will continue as Performance Officer and also as chairman of the Lincs ECB Premier League panel.
David Tress took over as chairman, with Robyn Wilkinson remaining as secretary and it was agreed that the ACO would co-opt a vice-chairman and assistant secretary pending amendments to the Constitution, Eric King and Philip Tutty agreeing to take on these roles.
The meeting heard from Appointments Officer David Chambers that in 2016 umpires had been provided for a wide variety of games, from local leagues to county women's cricket and disability and blind cricket.  
Scorers' Officer Anne Sutton, who has run a number of successful courses in recent years,  also stood down from the committee and will be replaced by county scorer Shelley Clayton. 
All officers were thanked for their work over the year.

N.F. ADDS: We know of one retired cricketer from the Brigg area who has already shown an interest in training to be an umpire. It is hoped to run a training course in Scunthorpe early next year. For further details, email hnsanderson@virginmedia.com