Umpires are a big part of our game and are just as important as any player in any of our leagues. That's why at the Southern Football Netball League, we focus on ensuring our umpires have the best pathway for success on and off the field.
Last week on the 19th of April, the SFNL hosted the umpires season launch at RSEA Park, where the key areas of focus for the upcoming year were highlighted.
Director of Umpiring at the SFNL, Glenn Emery was pleased with the night as a significant number of umpires participated. Emery himself has umpired over 500 games including twenty Grand Finals, inclusive of over 6 years in coaching at a junior and senior level, with the last two years as a Development Coach at the SFNL.
Glenn Emery, Director of Umpiring
“Our focus is on continuing to develop the strong foundation established by previous directors and building that relationship with all the SFNL Clubs.”
The SFNL this season has an excess of 240 umpires registered. Within this 95 new umpires have joined the league for the first time. This result has been achieved through the hard work of all coaches and a strong recruitment drive dating back to October last year.
In our group, there is a strong contingent of female umpires with 16 now registered in our league. This comprises eight field umpires, six boundary and two goal umpires. “This is a great result for our umpiring group with continued growth in our female umpires one of our main focuses.”
A new role has been established with Kaye Johnson, now the Women’s and Girls Development coach. Johnson's main focus is to build that comfortable environment and to continue to grow our female numbers within the group of female umpires within the Southern Football Netball League.
With these development programs running, the AFL have recognised and praised the Southern Football Netball League for their fantastic work. As part of building a positive environment, the league has employed a strength and conditioning coach from company ‘pulse 8’. This is designed to help all umpires strength and condition for the entire season. “We have a diverse group of umpires that vary in age and experience. Our focus for all coaches is to help everyone reach their next level of umpiring.”
