By Marcus Uhe
Increasing the number of quality umpires in the South East is the overarching goal for new Outer East Football Netball League Director of Umpiring, Jason McNeice.
McNeice, who brings 30 years of umpiring experience to the role, said numbers have taken a hit in recent years due to the pandemic, and identified the early 20s as the critical age period in which retention is key.
“We’re just trying to recruit as many as we possibly can,” McNeice said.
“We’ve lost a couple due to age, so we’re just trying to get as many younger people, and also a few of the older guys back into the group. We want a good mix of young with old.
“There’s a systemic problem in umpiring, in that we seem to get a lot of young kids from 14-20 (years old), but when they hit 20 they tend to leave for a particular reason, so we’re missing that gap of about 20-29 (years old).
“We’ve got to keep them involved in the game, because they’re the future of the game.”
In order to improve the quality of the umpires, McNeice and the umpiring association will invest more time in skill development, vision sessions, theory tests and providing feedback, as well as having coaches attend games to get an up-close view.
To help drive the recruitment process, the AFL’s first-ever female field umpire Eleni Glouftsis has been assisting with running a development program in local schools.
The program sees students taught the basic fundamentals of umpiring skills and procedures, with opportunities to progress further if they choose to do so.
A veteran with the whistle himself, McNeice is encouraging anyone who has considered taking umpiring up, to throw their hat in the ring.
“You don’t know what it’s like until you try it,” he said.
“It’s the opportunity to be in control of the game and have the best seat of the house.
“In five years or 10 years time, you can be umpiring in an AFL Grand Final.”
Those interested in becoming the next Glouftsis or Matt Stevic can contact McNeice at umpires@outereastfn.com.au to find out how they can get started on their umpiring journey.
