Technical Officials Academy

Welcome to the Technical Officials Academy

The Technical Officials Academy is here to help develop and guide officials throughout their journey. Supporting new officials into the community with Level 1 Umpiring courses is just the start!

There are seven Technical Officials Academies across England which will help lead newly qualified officials from qualification to officiating at events. Giving them the opportunity to learn and grow through CPD opportunities, officials will then be able to progress up the pathway to Level 2 courses and further whilst honing their skills at competitions.

What is the Technical Officials Academy?

The Technical Officials Academy is a designated hub based at locations across the country for both new and existing umpires. As well as courses to bring new umpires into the pathway, there will also be CPD opportunities for any local umpire to develop their umpiring skills and confidence to progress through the pathway.

Level 1 Umpire is the entry-level qualification for the officiating pathway, providing an opportunity to umpire at local competitions as well as the start of the journey for those who wish to progress. The pathway allows an individual to continue along the Umpire Pathway and progress up the four levels or transfer to the Referee Pathway, where there are also four levels. Once qualified as a Level 1 umpire you are eligible to start your journey to be a Level 1 Referee. 

Why Technical Officials Academy is important?

The Technical Officials Academy has been introduced to safeguard the future of the sport and competitions, where officials are essential.

The Academy will bring more people into umpiring and support them to learn and improve their skills through competitions and CPDs, growing their officiating community as well as the experience of players in local competitions.

Where can I find a Technical Officials Academy?

The seven locations for the Technical Officials Academy have been chosen to target strategic geographic areas where we have identified a need and opportunity to develop officials in line with the demand of competitions.

Creating groups of officials who will be qualified and further developed within these areas will enable Table Tennis England to support these officials and facilitate the competition environment in that part of the country.

The seven Technical Official Academy locations are:

• Middlesborough

• North West

• Derby

• West Midlands

• Wellingborough

• Harlow

• Sussex (Crawley and Worthing)