13 Jun 2008

Former Australian cricket player and now first class umpire, Paul Reiffel, joined the Australian Sport’s Commission (ASC) Officiating National Advisory Group (ONAG) at its recent meeting.

He was invited to share his observations of the transition from international player to umpire. His insight on a number of the issues faced both as a new and developing umpire provided an excellent reference point for the discussions.

Hosted by the ASC’s Director of National Sports Programs, Greg Nance, the meeting brought together a number of prominent officials across a range of sports to discuss the future directions for officiating in Australia.

The ONAG meets at least annually and includes some of Australia’s best known sport officials. It provides a sounding board for the ASC in this important area. Some of those attending are Mick Stone - Rugby League, Andrew Scotford – Cricket, Chris Burton - Netball, Rick Wright – Surf Life Saving, Bill Mildenhall – Basketball, Alan Kibbler - Football and Chris Sinclair – Squash, joined Mr Nance to discuss current and future officiating program issues. The ASC is seeking input to assist national sporting organisations in the development of officiating in Australian sport.

The meeting considered a number of issues, including the National Officiating Scholarship Program, Mentor Communication skills workshops and the development and implementation of an Officiating Framework for National Sporting Organisations.

The Australian Sports Commission will continue to work on these critical issues to assist national sporting organisations in the challenge of improving officiating at all levels of Australian sport.