HKHAUS 21-22 Circular No. 5 - Fake identities in umpiring official league matches

To:   All Umpires
        Affiliated Club Convenors (Men's & Women's)

Cc:   HKHA Council Members
         HKHA Section Committee Members

3 January, 2022

Dear umpires and convenors,

Recently, it has been brought to the attention of the Umpires' Section that some umpires have been using fake identities in umpiring official league matches. This is a serious disciplinary infringement which must be tackled.

We noticed people are using registered umpires' number to umpire league matches. It might involve registered umpires “lending” their own number to unregistered persons as “fake umpire” could login to the system to submit the match card subsequent to the match. We must say that this is COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE since we cannot ensure the identity and qualifications of the involved parties. It is important to make sure all umpires umpiring official league matches are properly qualified and registered. It is dangerous and unfair to the players as well as the other umpire colleague of the match to use fake identity in umpiring, especially in the wake of the pandemic during which the identities of the involved parties must be clearly identified for the safety of others.

The Umpires' Section will closely monitor the performance and identity of all umpires. If similar incident is revealed in the future, the involved registered umpire will be suspended immediately and subjected to disciplinary action.

Umpires are reminded to keep their login details in safe custody to avoid abuse. Should you be aware of possible information leak, you are advised to notify the Umpires’ Section immediately to arrange change of password.

Convenors and team captains are highly recommended to check the identity of all umpires before every game to ensure the umpire’s identity matches the information that has been input on the match card. You are advised to notify the Umpires’ Section if it comes to your reasonable suspicion that some people might be using fake identity in umpiring your match.

The Umpires’ Section will keep close communications the Men’s and Women’s Sections to ensure the quality and performance of registered umpires.

Thank you for your attention.

Regards,

Phoebe CHOI

Hon. Secretary
The HKHAUS