Umpires are the lifeblood of netball from grassroots, right through to the elite level. Ensuring their advancement and support is integral to the sport’s survival and enjoyment from both a player and spectator perspective.
There are few jobs that require the same level of responsibility and decision making from such a young age, which is what makes C Badge netball umpires Emma Carlton and Ella Warde so impressive. Carlton started umpiring when she was 11 and is based at Lilydale Yarra Valley Netball Association, while Warde began umpiring at 13 in Catani, located just south east of Melbourne.
Carlton’s introduction to umpiring began out of necessity but has become her passion and main career focus. “I started because my dad was the president of my club at the time and he was in desperate need of umpires,” she explained. “He convinced me and my sister to umpire as he thought it would help us overcome some of our shyness, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
10 years on, Carlton remains incredibly involved in her local Good Shepherd Lightning Netball Club as a ladies and mixed player (almost reaching her 300-game milestone), trainer to other umpires, and of course as an umpire herself. “It broadens your understanding of the game immensely. I have become a better player since starting to umpire as I know the rules inside and out.”
Carlton recently put her studies on hold to pursue her netball roles full time, including coaching at her former high school, and being her club’s umpire convenor. She is currently training to attain her umpire B badge by gaining additional experience at other competitions including the recent Association Championships – Central East tournament held in Springvale.
“I take any advice I can that will enhance my skills. I watch every Suncorp Super Netball game and find myself umpiring the game in my head,” Carlton said. “I like to challenge myself to see if I would call the same things as the umpires.”
Regardless of the level or style of play she’s officiating (which ranges from under 9s to representative teams at the open level), Carlton says there’s always something new to learn and take from the experience.
“I love the sense of achievement I receive after every game. Each game brings on different challenges — whether that be a player, spectator, or a different style of play that I’m not used to umpiring — however, it is always rewarding to get to the end of a game knowing I did the best I could,” she said.
“I want aspiring young umpires to know that I have never met a beginner umpire who has not, at some point, wanted to give up due to the challenging nature of the job. I have encouraged each of these umpires to persist and they now reap the rewards of that persistence.”
Ella Warde is another impressive young umpire who balances netball with working another casual job and studying year 11. She says umpiring has been transformative to both her personal development and skills as a netball player.
“It can be really rewarding, and it boosts your self-confidence a lot. Also, if you’re a player, it improves your game due to all the new knowledge and rules you learn,” Warde said. “It has helped me become more confident in my day to day tasks, and has also helped me keep up my fitness levels so much.”
Even after a challenging or emotionally exhausting match, what drives Warde to continue is her absolute love of netball. “I was brought up with it and have loved it for so long now. I love umpiring because I just love getting involved with the sport.”
Both Warde and Carlton hope to raise more awareness of the many social and career opportunities associated with umpiring and encourage other young people to get involved.
“I also wish people knew that umpiring can be a real career,” said Carlton. “There are so many opportunities to umpire — every organisation and club is always looking for more — and there is plenty of work out there for netball umpires. It can be more than a side hustle.”
