I attend the 3rd supported development workshop at Waltham St Lawrence.

The main theme for the day is talking about our experience. Roy has some video footage of some of us umpiring, correct positioning is something that we spent time on and we also discuss an incident at a BCL game where Gordon was umpiring, and a batsman is given out for obstructing the field.

We also spend time on report writing.

At the end of the day 1 am given the Level 1A workbook to complete.

We get to September and sadly the season has come to a close. I think that the BCL panel has been a great success, the age group games are also enjoyable, the time and effort put in by players and their coaches must be applauded I have seen some very talented youngsters.

During this season I have absorbed all kinds of knowledge and have some thank you’s for Eddie Lunn, Clive Robinson, Sam Peates, Richard Wheeler and Terry Spice for their helpful tips and advice, for Roy, Dennis and John for their help and encouragement throughout my journey.

In the middle of September Roy holds a meeting for all of us Level 1A candidates where we hand in our workbooks, self-assessment and assessment undertaken by colleagues and scorers.

We are given a choice of dates for our PD, and I pick a Tuesday afternoon.

Avril is playing host to the PD sessions and I will be talking to Dennis and Roy, I am not really sure what to expect.

We talk mainly about different situations’ that I have encountered during the season, there is a box of balls we have a look at to discuss their suitability for use, and we talk about methods used to ensure correctness of the score.

At the end Roy says that we have gone to more of a level 2 than the 1A and that I have done ok, he says that I need another successful on field assessment which he will get done next season and the 1A will be awarded.

What will season 2013 bring?