An umpire is an official in a variety of

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including

sportsmanship Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to o ...

decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', "equal": "one who is requested to act as arbiter of a dispute between two people". (as evidenced in

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

, where dismissal decisions can only be made on appeal). Noumper shows up around 1350 before undergoing a linguistic shift known as false splitting. It was written in 1426–1427 as a noounpier; the ''n'' was lost with the ''a'' indefinite article becoming ''an''. The earliest version without the n shows up as owmpere, a variant spelling in Middle English, circa 1440.The Fall of the Roman Umpire
/ref> The leading n became permanently attached to the article, changing it to an Oumper around 1475. The word was applied to the officials of many sports including baseball,

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(where it has been superseded by '' assistant-referee'') and

(which still uses it).

Field hockey

An umpire in

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

is a person with the authority to make decisions on a hockey field in accordance with the laws of the game. Each match is controlled by two such umpires, where it is typical for umpires to aid one another and correct each other when necessary.

Cricket

, dismissal decisions can only be made on appeal by the players. Otherwise, on-field decisions, relevant to the rules and scoring and of the game, are handled by two on-field

umpires An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

, although an off-field third umpire may help with certain decisions. At the international level, the match referee is an off-field official who makes judgements concerning the reputable conduct of the game and hands out penalties for breaches of the ICC Cricket Code of Conduct.

Baseball and softball

In baseball and softball, there is commonly a head umpire (also known as a plate umpire) who is in charge of calling balls and strikes from behind the plate, who is assisted by one, two, three, or five field umpires who make calls on their specific bases (or with five umpires the bases and the outfield). On any question, the head umpire has the final call.

Football (Australian rules)

An umpire is an official in the sport of Australian rules football. Games are overseen by one to three field umpires, two to four boundary umpires, and two goal umpires.

Lawn bowls

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

match is presided over by a bowls umpire or technical official. In games where single players compete, a marker is required to direct play and assist players with questions relating to the position of their bowls.

Netball

In the game of

Netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

the match at hand is Presided over by 2 umpires, typically

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

, with a comprehensive knowledge of the rules. There are also 2 timekeepers and 2 scorekeepers who inform the umpires, and players of time remaining, and scores.

Rowing

In a regatta an umpire is the on-the-water official appointed to enforce the rules of racing and to ensure safety. In some cases an umpire may be designated specifically as starter, or otherwise the umpire starts the race from a launch and follows it to its end, ensuring that crews follow their proper course. If no infringements occur, the result is decided by a judge or judges on the waterside who determine the finish order of the crews.

Sailing

In match race and team racing an " umpire" is an on-the-water referee appointed to directly enforce the

Racing Rules of Sailing The Racing Rules of Sailing (often abbreviated to RRS) govern the conduct of yacht racing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, model boat racing, dinghy racing and virtually any other form of racing around a course with more than one vessel while powered b ...

. An umpire is also used in fleet racing to enforce Racing Rule 42 which limits the use of kinetics to drive the boat rather than the wind. Umpires are rarely present during sailing races as decisions are normally referred to a jury-style protest committee after the race.

Tennis

In tennis an umpire is an on-court official, while a referee is an off-court official.

References

External links

* {{Authority control