West Yorkshire Officiating celebrates outstanding mentor and assessor collaboration

West Yorkshire Officiating is proud to recognise the incredible work of its assessor and mentor group, whose collaborative approach has played a key role in developing umpires across the county during the 2024 to 2025 season.

Thanks to their dedication, West Yorkshire collectively achieved the highest number of qualified umpires this season, with an impressive 63 umpires qualifying across all awards:

• INTO Award: 39
• C Award: 21
• B Award: 3

This success reflects a clear and well-supported development pathway, with umpires progressing through the West Yorkshire Junior League and Huddersfield League, before moving into the West Yorkshire Senior League. Throughout this journey, mentors work closely with umpires to provide consistent guidance, support and confidence as they develop their officiating skills.

The season also saw the county strengthen its workforce further, gaining four newly qualified C Award assessors:

• Kirsty Woodhouse
• Liz McCarthy
• Lucy Hufton
• Sarah Drake

A key factor in this success has been the strong partnership between mentors and assessors. The group meets regularly to hold dedicated development sessions, focused on:

• Discussing mentees and tracking their progress
• Identifying and addressing common learning challenges
• Sharing best practice to support mentor development
• Strengthening collaboration between mentors and assessors

This joined-up approach ensures umpires receive high-quality, consistent support at every stage of their development and continues to build a strong officiating community within West Yorkshire.

A huge thank you to all assessors and mentors who have contributed their time, expertise and commitment to supporting the umpires listed above. Your collective efforts are making a real and lasting impact on officiating across the county. 😊

With thanks to:

• Ailica Robinson
• Annette McLoughlin
• Emma Betts
• Emma Dixon
• Emma Lee
• Jackie Cork
• Jayne Field
• Julie Smith
• Kirsty Woodhouse
• Leanne Creighton
• Liz McCarthy
• Lucy Oldroyd
• Pam Hirlam
• Sarah Drake
• Sarah Turner
• Tracey Buchanan-Odell