In Judi Sutton’s 35 years of umpiring, she has seen dedicated facilities for umpires that range from good to okay to non-existent.
Then, about five or six years ago: the caravan.
It was in South Gippsland. The Alberton Football Netball League. Perhaps at Fish Creek. Maybe Foster. But so very welcome.
“Like, how wonderful!’’ laughs the A-badge-holder, contrasting the umpires’ hospitality with the conditions for players huddled in an open shelter at courtside. “And here we are, we’ve got heating, we’ve got a fridge, we’ve got hot soup."
“It made us feel that we were important and that we were welcome, with the preparation that had gone into it and effort that had been made. It was marvellous, and it gave us an area where we could come together as a collective, as well.
“As individuals, we want a little bit of our own time before a game, but we actually want to be together as a unit, for when we go out courtside. So that’s a really important preparation tool for us as umpires that we have that routine and an area where we can do a little bit of meditation, a little bit of mental preparation.
“It’s highly important, because your focus has to be so on the ball. But it’s not just about the umpires. The players don’t want to be interacting with us, either, before a game. They want that degree of separation.’’
Which, unfortunately, is more the exception than the rule, although some of the stimulus packages available in the time of COVID-19 are providing infrastructure opportunities that give hope that this may change.
As plans are being drawn up and new pavilions and other buildings are planned, there is a growing push for umpires to be recognised for the essential sporting service they provide, and thought given to what can be done to help them to perform at their best.
“Umpires are just as vital to the running of our game as the coaches and players and administrators, and they deserve equal opportunity to have fantastic facilities,’’ says Netball Victoria’s Workforce Development Coordinator, Meg Hopper.
“Umpires tend to be the last thought in the process - especially when developing new facilities or renovating existing ones. Their needs are not necessarily highlighted as being at the top of the list.’’
So what’s the solution?
Hopper: “I think it's a greater awareness of the importance and the relevance of umpires, and allowing them to have a space that is dedicated to them, not only for their ongoing development and learning, where they can sit down with mentors and coaches and trainers.
“But also just to give them a chance to either prepare and switch on for a game, or to go somewhere afterwards and have a debrief and switch off in a space that’s their space.
“An inner sanctum, so to speak, and where they can be part of ‘team white’.’’
That would be welcomed by Peninsula Netball Umpires Association (PNUA) - the first of its kind. Established four years ago, its aim is “to create a central point for both umpires and clubs to come together, and to improve the quality of netball on the Peninsula, through educating our umpires and players, and improving their skills’’.
There is a pool of around 40 umpires available to teams so that they can avoid having to source and organise their own. Badged whistleblowers officiating on A and B-grade games mostly, but also some Cs and Ds. For a minimal fee, sometimes maximum headaches for schedulers, but all for the greater good.
Still lacking, though, is the infrastructure to match. Anita Hill, one of the PNUA founders, believes that roughly three of the 22 clubs in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League competition have adequate umpire (and even player) friendly facilities, with Mornington the standout.
“In most cases we have to find our way to the football area, wherever their change-rooms are, which can be a bit of a walk,’’ she says. “The positive is that I know that things are changing here and I feel like they’re changing within Netball Vic as well."
“Improving the facilities is totally in line with what I would like to see happen moving forward. On behalf of Peninsula Netball Umpires, we need to grow and be our best so our sport can be its best. The players can only be as good and play to the level that we allow them to. We have fantastic netball down here.’’
It’s a sentiment echoed by Netball Victoria’s Facility Development Manager Shelley Haynes.
"Umpires are critical to the best competitions and experiences. So providing them with facilities to support their engagement and development is vital to the overall success of each competition. We continue to engage with all levels of government to remind them of this and to get creative to make great adaptable spaces for the umpires. It benefits the whole Club, Association and/or League.”
Many players transition out of the Bupa Victorian Netball League into the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League. Not quite ready to retire, but still competing at a high level.
‘’It’s quite full-on netball, and we do play for sheep stations,'' laughs Hill.
Hence the need for top quality umpires, and an umpire-coaching pool to facilitate the development and improvement that would allow ‘team white’ to keep pace.
Appropriate facilities would help to avoid what Hill calls the "sticky situations" where tensions are high "and you’ve got nowhere, even if you want to talk to your co-umpire, to get away from the prying eyes of the players and the coaches... You can’t have a private conversation. Technically you’re not even allowed to go the court to have a drink, so you have to stand off to the side, which means you’re always in earshot.’’
Judi Sutton, too, is particularly concerned for the young umpires that netball needs to retain amid sometimes-hostile environments, and backs measures that would help that to occur.
So what does the 50-year-old think is achievable by the time - unlikely, admittedly, for there have been two false starts already that we can blame on enduring love of the game - she retires for good?
“I think it’s just about the forethought of design, and not saying ‘well, we haven’t got enough money’ so umpire facilities are the first thing to go,’’ says Sutton, the umpire pathways manager at the Casey Netball Association. “Find the money.’’
A caravan should not be the gold standard. As appreciated as it was. And sometimes on trips back to South Gippsland, still is.
Written by Linda Pearce
