The Golden Whistle Award is awarded to the umpire deemed the best as in terms of communication, managing the game and enforcing the rules. The system has now changed to take into peer review as well as the coaches and captains voting. Hopefully the establishment of the Golden Whistle will encourage umpire excellence, increasing standards and encourage others to take up umpiring when they feel that playing is no longer an option.
Formula
Class A votes are those of the captains and coaches voting as they are the umpires customers.
Class B votes are those of their fellow eligible umpires voting as they invariably work with each other.
As there are more class A votes than Class B votes, Class B votes are reweighted to make up 50% of the total and then combined with the Classs A votes to determine the Golden Whistle.
Winner of the 2009 Golden Whistle - John Van Den Ham
John is in his third year of umpiring and has umpired two grand finals. The fact that he received at least one vote from every elector showed how highly he is regarded in the SWAFL League.
Congratulations John from everyone in the league!
Last Modified on 13/09/2009 12:19