THE Emu Valley Cricket Association is desperately short of umpires with less than three weeks before the 2003-04 season begins.
The EVCA has registered just eight umpires for the season and needs at least 14 before the season starts on October 18.
One person who has offered his umpiring services to the EVCA is 25-year-old John Norton, who will miss the upcoming Bendigo District Cricket Association season because of a torn rotator cuff.
Norton has spent the past two seasons playing in the Huntly-North Bendigo first XI side, but will be one of the men in charge in the EVCA this season.
"To stay involved in cricket, I've decided to do a bit of umpiring in the Emu Valley league," Norton said yesterday.
"There's a really bad shortage of umpires there, so I want to help out and perhaps attract some young people to umpiring.
"And I want to give something back to the sport when leagues like this are struggling," he said.
"You never know, I might like it and turn into an umpire full time." His dad, Les umpires in the Bendigo competition. Norton said he had always been interested in the umpiring side of cricket.
"It's an older generation that do it, but even at international level, you're starting to see some younger people doing it," he said.
"It will also be good socially, because you can still interact with the boys after the game and keep involved." Norton recently passed a 30-question Victorian Cricket Association test determining his knowledge of the game.
He's unsure why the Emu Valley CA is facing such a struggle for umpires at the moment.
"The EVCA is one of those competitions you don't hear a lot about, so it could be to do with the image of the EVCA - maybe it's not as serious as the BDCA," Norton said.
"And perhaps it's because it's more spread out . . . you go out to places like Mandurang, Maiden Gully and Marong." The EVCA will have nine teams in division one, 12 in division two and nine in division three this season.
At least one umpire for each match is required.
Anyone interested in umpiring in the EVCA can contact Alan Clements on 5439-3134 (ah).