01On the 27th of June until the 1st of July 2011, Broadbeach Cats FC hosted the annual AFL Queensland U/14’s State Championships on the Gold Coast. Representative teams from various regions of the state and international guest Papa New Guinea, battled it out in a competitive yet well-spirited competition, with the Raiders from Northern Brisbane taking out the title.
Whilst sitting up in the umpires box during the tournament and listening to the interesting remarks from the sidelines aimed at the umpires, I realised how many do not realise or appreciate the importance of the umpires and how it’s not as easy as it looks. Our great game cannot operate fairly without the control of umpires – simple as that. In order for the future of the game in itself to be successful, the development of proficient umpiring is vital.
For the umpires selected to officiate this tournament, who came from the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Townsville, this was an excellent opportunity for all of us to make the most of receiving constructive criticism from the best and to develop as umpires. We were fortunate enough to receive high quality coaching from David Silver, the Umpire Development Officer and Coach. David was extremely helpful for the duration of the tournament - watching every game from “his seat”, providing feedback at every quarter break and collecting our free subway lunches.
AFL Boundary Umpire Nick Liporata was also present and AFL Field Umpire Ben Ryan made an appearance on the 2nd day. Nick used to coach and train with us on the Gold Coast years ago, so it was great to see him again. Although he was there to observe and encourage all the boundary umpires, he was especially keeping his eye out on two young boundary umpires with potential to make AFL. Nick is an inspiration for those umpires, so it was empowering for them to have him there.
For the field umpires, Ben Ryan was also an inspiration. We certainly took note of every piece of advice he shared with us, particularly on what it takes to make it to the top. At the end of the day though, he was probably more burnt out than what we were because of all the questions he was bombarded with. When I asked him whether he has umpired Collingwood, his response was classic, “Nah, I was emergency for one of their games and at quarter time, I was in the centre and Mick Malthouse was death staring me. I was terrified!”
A massive thanks to Nick and Ben from “team orange” for giving up their time, we appreciate it.
A personal on-field highlight of mine would definitely have to be umpiring Papa New Guinea. They were a friendly bunch of boys with unique skills and a strong passion for the game, so it was a pleasure to watch and umpire. The sweatband tan lines and muddy shoes and socks weren’t so pleasant though.
Although the umpiring and on-field stuff was an important part of the week, it was the off-field action where all the “good times” were. It all began from the word “go” on day one, when myself and another umpire were in the change rooms and he accidentally kicked a footy into the light. An immediate friendship was made, and this umpire and I still contact each other to this day. However, moments before this incident, I finally met the umpire from Townsville who was going to be a billet with me for the week. It was interesting to hear some of his stories from up north and see his demonstration of a “South Australian bounce”. If you don’t know what the “South Australian bounce” is, I suggest you google or youtube it.
All in all, it was an excellent learning experience and I wish the umpires in the future with the best of luck.
Jasmin Musolino
Last Modified on 20/01/2012 10:23