Goulburn Valley Football Umpiring Association is continuing its quest to make umpiring more accessible to the community with the debut of another exciting innovation.
On Tuesday, February 21, the association will be launching its Female Umpire Academy with a come-and-try session at its Kialla Park Recreation Reserve home base.
This will give girls from across the region the opportunity to learn the crucial skills associated with umpiring in a less intimidating and more inclusive environment.
All part of the association’s efforts to make umpiring more accessible, AFL Goulburn Murray regional director of umpiring Andrew Moore explained how the program came about.
“The Female Umpire Academy is all about getting females involved in umpiring and creating a more female-friendly environment to make them more welcome and included in our program,” Moore said.
“Walking into any association or club for the first time can be a very daunting experience, so these come-and-try sessions will be smaller groups of girls who are all in the same boat of wanting to learn about umpiring.
“We just want to create the friendliest environment possible and, after a lot of discussions over the off-season, this was floated as a great way to do that.”
So what will the girls get out of being involved in this program?
Well, according to Moore, there is a wide range of benefits associated with getting involved.
“The program is open for girls of all ages and abilities to come down and have a try,” he said.
“Umpiring has got something for everyone, whether you are a 12-year-old girl or a 50-year-old lady, there is a role for you.
“There are so many benefits to being involved, from increasing your fitness to the social side of things, it is a very enjoyable experience.”
As for the association, he hoped this new program would boost its numbers ahead of the new season.
“We want to be as inclusive as we can, we need to grow our numbers and the female umpiring area is something we know we need to improve,” he said.
“There is a lot of potential for growth in that space for us, and to get more numbers will only make the quality of umpiring better throughout the region.”
The first GVFUA Female Umpire Academy come-and-try session will be held at Kialla Park Recreation Reserve on Tuesday, with proceedings to kick off at 6pm.