ALL six executive members of the Canadian Cricketers Umpires Association (CCUA) remained intact when the entity’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place last Sunday at the Number 43 Police Division Community Room, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.

Based on the CCUA’s constitution, only three places were up for grabs: Vice-president, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer/PRO and Certification Officer. Bisham Singh, Frederick Halley and Matthew Francis all retained their respective positions unopposed.

Popular businessman Albert Ramcharran (President); Secretary Azad Khan and Treasurer Terry Mathura continue to serve in their respective designations which were secured at least for another year based on the constitution.

The CCUA is currently gearing up for the 2023 cricket season which is scheduled to get underway on May 6 while its annual training seminar starts on Sunday, March 12 at Number 43 Police Division Community Room, prompting the president to urge all umpires to make full use of the opportunity to attend the classes.

According to Ramcharran, “based on the number of complaints received last year about the standard of umpiring, we are very proud of the performances of most of our umpires. Nevertheless, like in any association, there remains a few who are consistently causing problems. We intend to meet with these umpires with a view to ironing out their issues and explain the need for them to strive to uplift their standards.”

Ramcharran also told the umpires that he was extremely pleased with the turn out at the Appreciation Lunch, held at the District Lounge on Sunday, February 19 and assured them that the event will continue to be an annual affair.

Ramcharran was high in praise for the renewed cordial relationship with the Ontario Softball Cricket League (OSCL). According to him, “our relationship with the OSCL, which hit a snag on the first weekend of the previous year, also improved when new President Shiv Persaud took over. Following a meeting with Persaud and his executives to iron out the issues, we agreed to officiate in the 2022 season once there was no interference.”

The CCUA President is also looking forward to an audience with Cricket Canada to iron out issues pertaining to CCUA qualified umpires being given opportunities to officiate in matches administered by the governing body.

Ramcharran, however, told the umpires, that while no decision has been taken at the executive level, those who are desirous of sitting the Cricket Canada exams should ensure that they are registered as part of Cricket Canada umpiring database so that they can be eligible for participation in the National Board programmes.

He pointed out that those desirous of pursuing this medium can be provided with the necessary guidelines and contacts. The deadline for registration is March 31, 2023 while the exams are scheduled to be held on April 29.

In the meantime, a four-man committee, headed by Treasurer Mathura has been tasked with pursuing the issue with Cricket Canada. The others on the committee are Daniel Singh, Ramnarine Prashad and Malik Ghaswala.

The CCUA is affiliated to the West Indies Crickey Umpires Association (WICUA), which also includes members from Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago, United States and Windward Islands. (Frederick Halley)