(a) whether there is a dearth of women umpires of national/international standards in various
sports disciplines in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to encourage women sports persons to choose their career
as umpires and provide them training facilities in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS (SHRI JITENDRA SINGH)
(a) to (c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.472
FOR REPLY ON 29-04-2013 ASKED BY SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL REGARDING WOMEN UMPIRES.
(a) Yes Madam. There is generally a dearth of women umpires of national/international standards
in various sports disciplines in the country.
(b) The position in respect of some sports disciplines is available with the Ministry. While
the All India Tennis Association has informed that there is no shortage of women umpires/match
officials for tennis, some other NSFs namely Table Tennis Federation of India, Yachting
Association of India and Rowing Federation of India have informed that they have very few
women umpires/ match officials for their disciplines of sports. Also, the Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI) has informed that there are very few women umpires/match officials
in cricket. Some of the main reasons for the shortage appear to be lack of training facilities
and limited availability of women for umpiring as a career.
(c) Development and promotion of various disciplines of sports including grooming and training
of umpires and other match officials is the responsibility of the National Sports Federation
(NSF) which are autonomous in their functioning. The Government only supplements their efforts
by way of providing financial assistance for participation in international competitions abroad,
holding international competitions in India, conducting national championships, purchase of
equipments, conducting coaching camps, etc.