Netball Victoria are delighted to announce that five of the states umpires have been selected to the 2016/17 Emerging Talent Umpire Program.
As part of the program Andrea Booth, James Matthews, Nathan Begley, Danielle Trowell and Justin Barnes (now residing in WA) will be involved in the upcoming Australian Netball League season.
In addition, they will also attend a camp at Netball Australia’s Centre of Excellence and be involved with the under-20 International series featuring Australia, England and New Zealand.
Former men’s National team representative, James Matthews, is excited to be selected to the program for the second year running.
He initially decided to get involved in umpiring as he wanted to give back to the sport that had offered him so much throughout his 10 year playing career.
He owes much of his umpire development to the pathways provided by Netball Victoria.
“They have been hugely supportive from a development perspective by providing the right pathways to get selected to this program,” Matthews said.
“The access to coaches and mentors, the opportunities and support they provide is fantastic.”
Matthews is looking forward to progressing in the program in his second year.
“This year for me is about consolidating and taking my umpiring to the next level,” Matthews said.
“It will also be important to me as a second year umpire to help build and create a supportive culture with the new members.”
Matthews is most looking forward to taking part in the emerging talent camp and reserve umpiring some ANZ Championship fixtures in 2016.
“It will be a massive opportunity to work with top tier umpires and then implement their feedback,” Matthews said. “There has been significant work done in Victoria over the past two years to continue to develop our umpires,” General Manager Michelle Gerdtz said.
“The investment in the Netball Victoria pathway is now starting show and the announcement of the National Emerging Talent Squad this week certainly backs this up.”