On the Queen’s Birthday weekend (June 8th – 10th 2013) 3 Gippsland referees, Timothy Manley, Lachlan Getzendorfer and Keanu Miller, represented Gippsland at the Girl’s Victorian Country Championships in Shepparton. They travelled to Shepparton on the Friday 7th June and were accompanied by the Referee Development Manager and former A-League Referee James Nicolopoulos, who provided mentoring and coaching over the weekend and had amazing success at the Country Championships with Gippsland referees 2 years running.

The boys were selected from a competitive short-list of 10 up and coming youth referees, all wanting to be selected for the tournament. The selection process took into consideration training and meeting attendance, fitness, and performance on match day.

The tournament of Under 12, Under 14 and Under 16 girls was played at John McEwen Reserve in Shepparton. The first two days were key, as the boys had to show their talents and impress the tournament organisers to ensure a finals spot on Monday. Over the Saturday and Sunday the boys performed well and on the Monday were rewarded for their dedication and excellent officiating by each having a spot in a Grand Final. Lachlan Getzendorfer was the central referee for the Under 14 girl’s Grand Final whilst Tim Manley was the central referee in the Under 12’s Grand Final with Keanu Miller his Assistant Referee.

It was a fantastic effort and great result from the boys and James, who said he was very proud of the boys’ efforts and professionalism whilst representing the Gippsland Soccer League Referees in Shepparton.