University Trainee Umpires
Trainee umpires are a cornerstone of university sport. We run a number of courses each year for students, alumni, and other university club members and affiliates looking to hone their knowledge of competition rules and processes with our online and in person training courses.
Clubs are required to enter a trainee umpire quota of L4 (online) and L3 (in person) trained members, to support each tournament your athletes attend, via the BSTF Entry Portal.
You can locate and print your club’s quota for this academic year by logging in to the Club Committee Portal (club committee account holders) or the Institution Administrator Portal (institution/SU staff member account holders) and selecting the ClubTraineeUmpireQuota option.
Education and opportunity are at the heart of our charity’s programmes, hence our online tests and courses are made available for free to university club members.
Our trainee umpire programme supports the athletes, the events and the charity, it provides more ways for students and alumni to take part in the event beyond competing, and it provides useful learning opportunities for athletes and coaches who undertake this training. Becoming an umpire is one of the very best ways you can support the next generation of university taekwondo practitioners!
We utilise a novel programme of home study, online theory tests, online training courses, practical training courses, and supervised tournament training for the certification of BSTF umpires. Separate courses are available in the latest rule-sets for both WT rules sparring and ITF rules sparring rulesets.
Continuing your umpire education after you graduate is a fantastic way to stay involved with student taekwondo. Our training structure encourages experienced club members to move through the ranks of umpire training, experience and confidence, towards their L2 centre referee certification. The charity further supports our L2 referees with a healthy stipend allowance per event, enabling these dedicated and skilled volunteers to continue their fantastic support of university taekwondo for the long term – you can start your journey towards L2 certification with our free online L4 training and exam today.
Our training structure encourages club members to move through the ranks of umpire training, gaining experience and confidence all the way towards their L2 centre referee certification. The charity supports L2 referees with a travel stipend allowance per event (typically £50 -£245 per event depending on domestic/ overseas travel distance and event duration), enabling our dedicated and skilled volunteer umpires to continue their support of university taekwondo sustainably and for decades to come.
*An L4 exam pass, plus corner judging experience at two or more events is required before attending an in-person L3 course. Significant corner judging experience at 3rd party events may be accepted in place of BSTF events; contact us for assistance.
Quick Link: Certification Stages.
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The Benefits of University Umpire Training
The charity’s mission is to encourage, develop and empower university taekwondo practitioners across the full spectrum of taekwondo practice. Naturally this includes sparring and patterns competitions in multiple disciplines, but also in the delivery of training camps, strength and conditioning for taekwondo courses, and providing ongoing volunteering opportunities and a comprehensive umpire training programme for student-athletes, coaches and alumni alike to access.
The charity exists to serve all university taekwondo practitioners and supporters, enabled by our uniquely collaborative, inclusive student sport structure. It is the engagement of the whole student taekwondo community that makes game-changing, multi-discipline university championships of this size and scope possible! To our irreplaceable volunteers and umpires, past, present and future, we want to thank you on behalf university taekwondo practitioners in the tens of thousands we have served over the past four decades and beyond.
Our umpire training programme is highly beneficial for university taekwondo practitioner at all levels of experience, just some of the advantages for you and your club are:
Enhance your CV – provides a comprehensive pathway for university club members, student or alumni, who wish to further their professional development as an umpire.Courses are free for university club members – the online tests, corner judge courses, centre referee courses, evaluation and certification are all provided for free by the BSTF to all university club members.
Scientia est potentia – having more trained members and more highly trained members boosts all levels of club practice.
Enhancing clubs’ potential – increases the number and quality of trained umpires in your own club to support alumni, varsity and community events.
Creates more options – increases the number of experienced volunteers available to support your Student National Taekwondo Championships Series events programme.
Strength in depth – provides greater resilience for your Student National Taekwondo Championships Series events as they continue to grow.
More ways to take part – provides more ways for your club’s student and alumni membership to participate in BSTF taekwondo events beyond competing.
Keep your alumni engaged – provides a fantastic way to maintain links with your alumni members, keeping them involved and engaged in university taekwondo after graduation.
The long term funding cycle – certified L2 Centre Referees are given an allowance to attend events, reducing the burden on those individual members returning to support university taekwondo events.
Best seat in the house – you’ll be helping to deliver incredible events for hundreds of student-athletes every year, supporting their university taekwondo journey as many umpires past and present have supported your own
The L4 Trainee Judge Course
Separate courses are available for both WT rules sparring and ITF rules sparring disciplines. To gain your Trainee Corner Judge (L4) certification you must complete the online theory test, achieving the required pass mark. All trainee judge’s provided by clubs towards their quota for BSTF tournaments must have passed the online exam before they may be registered as a trainee umpire quota entry.
All BSTF account holders are able to access L4 test online – login to Manage My Account and go to the Exams tab to begin.
The test is time limited, open book, multiple choice test. Questions are selected from a question bank and answer orders are randomised. Once you begin the test you are not able to pause the timer or return to the test later, so be sure you have set aside the time required. We recommend using a PC or laptop with a stable internet connection rather than a mobile device when taking the test. The pass mark for this test is 70.0%.
Individuals can review their current qualifications by logging in to their profile and looking under the Certificates tab. Club captains can review each team member’s current qualifications by logging in and looking under their Team Tab.
Once you have passed the L4 online test and this has been reviewed by a BSTF admin you will issued your L4 certificate – find this by logging in via Manage My Account and go to the Certificates tab. After passing the exam you will be eligible to attend events as a volunteer L4 Trainee Corner Judge, and to continue your professional development by attending online courses and a weekend practical courses.
The L3 Trainee Referee Course
Separate courses are available for both WT rules sparring and ITF rules sparring disciplines. To gain your Trainee Referee Judge (L3) certification you must attend one of BSTF’s in person training courses. Courses are listed on the Event Entry Portal and club committee accounts will be notified of new course announcements in advance.
These course are provided free of charge for BSTF members and are delivered by international referees.
All L3 trainee umpire’s provided by clubs towards their quota for BSTF tournaments must have attended one of our in person training courses before they may be registered as a trainee umpire quota entry.
Club Quotas
Quota of L4 / L3 trainee umpires
Each club’s quota number is a proportional to your total WT rules sparring entries and ITF rules sparring entries from the previous academic year. This method allow us to share precise numbers of trainee umpires in advance, allowing BSTF and university clubs alike to plan around these known numbers of individuals.
Each club’s quota calculated on a per discipline and level basis for WT (L4), ITF (L4), WT (L3) and ITF (L3) trained members. We recommend you ask your trainee umpires reserve the event dates in their calendars well in advance and that you encourage more than the minimum quota number to complete the training, as this will aid finding a replacement if an entered trainee umpire must drop out at short notice.
You can locate and print your club’s quota for this academic year by logging in to the Club Committee Portal (club committee account holders) or the Institution Administrator Portal (institution/SU staff member account holders) and selecting the ClubTraineeUmpireQuota option.
To offer the greatest opportunities for engagement and development, and complete the events very efficiently, we encourage all clubs to enter more than the minimum quota of trainee umpire wherever possible!
All BSTF account holders are able to access their L4 tests online on demand – login to Manage My Account and go to the Exams tab to begin.
Having passed an L4 test, individual members can register as trainee umpires for events through the BSTF Entry Portal.
It is not possible to register as a volunteer on the same day you are competing in a sparring event, but patterns competitors, student-athletes sparring on a different day of a multi-day event, alumni members, affiliates, and club members who do not wish to compete are all eligible:
Trainee umpires provided by clubs towards your L4 quota must have completed and passed the BSTF online (L4) exam before they may be registered for this role
Trainee umpires provided by clubs towards your L3 quota must have attended an in-person (L3) BSTF training course before they may be registered for this roleTrainee umpires may be student-athletes competing in one or more patterns events only on the same day of the event
Trainee umpires may be student-athletes who are sparring on a different day of a multi-day event
Trainee umpires may be current students, alumni members, or members of your wider taekwondo networks whom you trust to represent your club
Trainee umpires may not be student-athletes entered into any sparring event on the same day
Trainee umpires may not coach sparring athletes on the same day of the event they are submitted as trainee umpires
Certified L2 umpires are paid an allowance to attend events (typically £50 -£245 per event depending on domestic/ overseas travel distance and event duration)
If a registered trainee umpire becomes unavailable you may replace them with another trainee umpire of the same certification level. To do this you must email us in advance of a withdrawal. We cannot guarantee this will be possible if a substitution is requested at accreditation on the day. It is not permitted to substitute a registered trainee umpire with anyone who has not completed the requisite BSTF training for that certification level.
Clubs only need to provide their quota for the Championships Series events they enter. If you enter no athletes in a give Championships Series event you will not be required to fulfil the listed quota. If your institution enters athletes you must also enter the listed quota of certified trainee umpires. Clubs that do not submitted the requisite number of trainee umpires for an event, or who’s representative(s) is absent for all or part of an event, will be subject to a penalty fine of £45 per absent L4 trainee umpire and £75 per absent L3 trainee umpire.
We recommend clubs encourage as many current student, alumni and other potential trainee umpires complete the online test as far in advance of tournaments as possible to give themselves maximum flexibility in this regard. All participants will benefit from refreshing their knowledge of the latest competition rule updates and gaining familiarity with the event processes using these tools, too.
Progressing your club’s trainee umpires up to an L2 umpire certification is a fantastic way to develop as a taekwondo practitioner and to stay engaged with student taekwondo after you graduate.
Track courses you have attended, events volunteered and certification levels achieved. Simply login to the Manage Your Account area to review your progress from Level 4 -> Level 3 -> Level 2
