A letter to sports administrators
Issue: Volume 3 Number 2
Dear sports administrators,
I umpire locally in the Darwin Netball Association and hold an A Grade Umpires Badge. I have represented the Northern Territory at the NT Championships, officiated three times in the national 17s and 19s championships and was lucky to be asked by Netball Australia to officiate at the South East Asia Games. I have been an administrator in the sport as secretary of the Alice Springs and Darwin associations, Umpire Convenor of the Darwin association and represented the Northern Territory on the Australian Umpiring Development Committee for four years. I have also represented the Northern Territory as a player.
I cannot remember when I started to umpire; maybe it was too long ago! I was awarded a C grade umpires badge before I was 17 while still playing and representing the Northern Territory.
I love umpiring. The experiences and challenges I’ve shared with others have been fantastic. I’ve made many, many friends throughout Australia and overseas. When speaking to umpires both beginning and experienced I try passing on this passion but there are only a few that can see how rewarding it can be. The majority see only abuse by players, coaches and spectators and the responsibility of having to get it right all the time.
Unfortunately, on the other hand, some seem to think that once they have whistle they have all the power and they are right all the time. In our umpires' courses we encourage a great dose of common sense - we advise them to be part of the game (not be the game) and be approachable. We encourage umpires to accept that in just about every game they will see something different. This doesn not mean it’s wrong - we are learning all the time and so we should; players and coaches are developing continually and umpires must do so as well.
As administrators, do you budget and allocate resources to umpiring with the same consideration given to players and coaches? The way sport is developing is great, with players receiving supported in development programs, travel, coaching at the institute and so on. As they develop, the game becomes faster, more skilful, sharper, stronger and more exciting. You must develop umpiring at the same pace; not doing so will hamper the development of the game.
The responsibility shouldered by officials is enormous. We are expected to officiate perfectly at each game, know all the rules and apply them correctly. Last night I discussed with other officials the importance of accuracy. Given that I make hundreds of decisions during a game, most of which participants and spectators are unaware of, it is unfair to say one decision means everything.
Administrators must support officials by making decisions, rather than leaving it to the umpires. When it is known that coaches are abusive, please don’t just say that they are passionate and get carried away in the heat of the moment; do something. Experienced umpires may cope with such a situation, but they are becoming thin on the ground and inexperienced umpires have to deal with these issues more and more. Officials must have the support of administrators to manage bad behaviour and abuse.
Encourage particpants, coaches and spectators to see umpiring and refereeing as part of the game. The game to me is players, coaches, rules and officials. How mnay clubs rotate players through umpiring at their training? I know athletes go to training to play but, if clubs do not start to take on responsibility for providing more umpires what will their games be like? They may have no one to officiate.
Juniors are a great place to start this. A nine-year-old player can umpire at training, starting with the basic stuff: blowing the whistle to start, keeping up with play, and blowing again for a goal. Why not make umpiring part of the game for them at this age, as they are moving through their sporting life? Some won’t be afraid to give it a go and continue.
We have two juniors umpiring senior netball this season, and one 16-year-old umpire was recently awarded a C grade umpires badge. The other umpire Australia sent to the South East Asia Games was 17. I thought it was fantastic to see someone so young striving to be the best she could be and she was a 'cool' kid, not a 'nerd' as is often the perception.
Society is having problems with respect and though it’s not going to be easy, we have to work at maintaining respect in sport. Again juniors are the point at which to begin enforcing this. If administrators don’t act to stop bad behaviour by coaches, players and spectators at this level, the kids will think that it is okay and the cycle will be perpetuated.
My daughter plays under 8 soccer and recently a 12-year-old refereed his first game. He was doing a great job. He awarded a goal to my daughter’s team, and because it appeared from where we were sitting to be borderline, the opposing coach started yelling abuse at him.
I looked around expecting someone to approach him. As he was starting his second lot of abuse I decided something had to be done and approached him. He was a big guy too! After I’d pointed out a few things to him, he stopped and didn’t say another word, but I was very disappointed that it happened and that no one else did anything. The referee kept going, but you could see he was shaken. I made a point of congratulating him at the end of the game and was pleased to see him out there the following week.
What happens to the elite players in your sport? Some of these elite players may make great umpires. Often though when I speak to them about it and they answer 'No way! I don’t know how you do it'. Think of how valuable it would be to your sport to have some elite players umpiring. Not only would it be great for the game, but their special skills would mean they would also read the play well and have a great feel for the game.
And what an impact it would have on the juniors! Think of your best and fairest player in A Grade. Wouldn’t the juniors love it if they umpired their games? If these people actively encouraged junior players to have a go and learn about umpiring, it would be great for your sport.
I’ve talked about developing your juniors, but you must retain your experienced umpires. Without these people, other umpires will experience too much pressure and you will not have the experience to pass on to others and to coach the umpires of the future.
Administrators must support their umpires. They can do this by considering these strategies: having robust policies and procedures, supplying uniforms, promoting umpiring in the sport, allocating resources fairly, paying umpires and acknowledging their achievements as players' achievements are acknowledged - after all we are all part of the game.
I want to be the best I can and have fun. Do you think your umpires are having fun and enjoying themselves? After all isn’t that why the majority of us participate in sport.
Yours sincerely
Michelle Nuske
