Association heard how the standard of officiating in the Caribbean has been questioned.

The alleged drop in standards was one of the main points brought up by West Indies Cricket Board of Control secretary Andrew Sealey during the opening ceremony of the WICUA conference in Trinidad and Tobago last week.

Bermuda's team at the conference was headed by Bermuda Cricket Umpires' Association vice-president Wilbur Pitcher and secretary Randy Butler who were the two official delegates while attending as observers were assistant secretary Lester Harnett and treasurer/public relations officer Janet (Pinky) Todd.

"Mr. Sealey came with the message that the West Indies Cricket Board were unhappy with the region's umpires. He said that there were numerous reports they had received that indicated the level of umpiring in the West Indies was not up to the required standard,'' said Todd.

While the complaints came as a shock to many of the 300-plus officials in attendance, Bermuda's contingent said they found the comments interesting since their main objective was to get Bermuda umpires involved in major competitions in the Caribbean.

"The West Indies board have asked us to be patient while they look into the whole umpiring situation in the Caribbean,'' said Todd.

Meanwhile, some good news for Bermuda was the appointment of Butler to the Training and Examination committee.