Applications are now open for the 2012 National Officiating Scholarships (NOS) for sporting officials to further their career at the national and international levels.

The NOS aim to assist the development of officials and mentors in a high performance sporting environment through facilitated movement along their career pathway.

Recognised national sporting organisations (NSOs) with current National Officiating Accreditation Scheme training programs can apply for the scholarships, and the Australian Sports Commission provides up to $5000 for each successful NSO.

NSOs are required to identify the candidate(s) that have potential to become national or international standard officials for their sport.

The scholarships aim to build a culture of officiating at the high performance and national levels through:

• frequent practical officiating of high quality competition under the guidance of an experienced mentor;
• upgrading officiating accreditation or qualifications;
• professional development activities, such as attendance at seminars or conferences, exposure to high level officiating and related debriefings; and
• long-term high performance officiating development pathways and initiatives developed and implemented by participating NSOs.

Success stories of the 2011 scholarships

Since 2004 more than 121 sporting officials have participated in the program, with numerous success stories to date. Just some from the 2011 NOS include:

• Rowing Australia’s NOS holders Geoff Northam and Bill Webster earned qualification for their international umpires licences in Hwa Chong, Korea in early October.
• The program has enabled them to travel overseas to attend the international rowing federation’s (FISA) international umpiring education course, gain experience working with regatta juries at major events, and to sit their international exams in Korea.
• Two Netball Australia’s NOS holders attained the highest national accreditation in netball through the program this year. Tara Warner and Diana Toppi received their national All Australian Umpire badges.

To add to their achievements for the scholarship period, the pair were also recently awarded contracts for the 2012 ANZ Championships to officiate.

How to apply

More information about the 2012 NOS is available on the Australian Sports Commission website.

To apply for the 2012 NOS, download and complete this application form or contact Ashley Synnott, Workforce Development Support via email ashley.synnott@ausport.gov.au