swissFOCUS Introductory Umpiring Course An introductory course for umpires was held in Geneva on Sat 12th April. There were 6 candidates and they all took a very keen interest in the subject. All 6 passed the paper set and thus will be able to stand in matches in Switzerland. A similar course will be held in the Zürich area during May 2008 .
sFOCUS AGM 2008 The Annual General Meeting of the Swiss Federation Of Cricket Umpires & Scorers (SwissFOCUS) took place on Wednesday 26th March, 2008 in Zürich. The following committee was elected to serve in 2008
  • Chairman: Jay Singh
  • Secretary: Marc de Vrij
  • Treasurer: Phil Martin
ECB ACO Following the vote by ACU&S members to join the new ECB ACO,ACU&S affairs are being wound up - and the ACU&S website is no longer active. Paid-up members of the ACU&S at the time of the merger have been offered the opportunity to have their existing membership transferred to the new organization. For further details please go to http://www.ecb.co.uk/ecb/ecb-association-of-cricket-officials/
The impact that these changes will have on sFOCUS as an organisation, particularly on course structure and qualifications, is currently under investigation as are the consequences for individual members of sFOCUS who were members of the ACU&S or who are, or may become, members of the ACO. Further information will be posted here as it becomes available.
Acumen Message Board for Cricket Umpires & Scorers Acumen hosts a discussion on technical aspects of cricket on its website, which can be found at http://nompere.proboards37.com/
Young Player Directive
In line with recent ECC directives, in order to protect young players and the Umpire, swissFOCUS members are required to enforce a Young Player Directive with immediate effect.
This directive reads:
  • All young players who have not reached their 18th birthday must wear a helmet with a faceguard when batting and when standing up to the stumps when wicket keeping.
  • Parental consent not to wear a helmet will not be accepted in adult matches.
  • If a young player enters the field without the necessary protective equipment the swissFOCUS umpire will enforce this directive by stopping the game until the necessary protective equipment is being worn.
  • Member clubs of the Swiss Cricket Association should notify umpires of juniors in the U18 group before the start of a match.
It is worth noting that this directive is not designed to diminish any individuals enjoyment of the game but merely to protect them from physical injury.
Everyone's cooperation in this matter is appreciated.
Umpires' Match Report Form The match report form on the 'Services' page can now be sent electronically. A printable version is also still available.
Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!
Only 7 sF First Edition Match Officials' Organizers left. No cricket umpire or scorer should be seen without one. Click here for further details.
Evaluate Your Umpires
sFOCUS would greatly value your feedback on the quality and overall performance of the match officials we supply. Please take a few moments to fill out a short form which gives you the opportunity of contributing to improvements in the overall standard of cricket in Switzerland. The form and further details can be found here.
sFOCUS Spirit Of Cricket Awards
To acknowledge recent improvements in the Spirit in which cricket is played in Switzerland - and with the aim of encouraging further progress, sFOCUS presents an annual Spirit Of Cricket award For details, please click here.
baggy green Legends of the Baggy Green: Dubious behaviour and achievements from cricket's chequered history.
by Alexander Buzo
Allen & Unwin 2004, ISBN 1 74114 385 3
Alex Buzo writes: 'Members of sFocus may be interested to know that a chapter in my latest book deals with cricket in Switzerland. The chapter is called Memories of Development and deals with my time at Ecolint, playing for Geneva, the foundation of sFocus, Bill Frindall's memoir, and the role of umpiring and scoring - using sFocus as the main example.'
Looks like good reading...
Ties
Superb Club ties are now available at the remarkable price of CHF25.
Please place your order with the Treasurer - and please use the payment slip available on the 'Services' page. 		sf_tie_sample (2K)
Executive Meetings
The sFOCUS executive generally meets on the first Tuesday of each month. All members are welcome to attend and contribute to the discussion (but cannot vote). These meeting are usually held in the Restaurant Muskatnuss at 18:30, but please check with an executive member to confirm, if you would like to attend.

Downloadables
Umpires' match Reports as well as various scoresheets are available from the services page