Written by Amelia Barnes
At the start of 2022, Woody Tangaroa had never umpired a game of netball on a traditional court.
He’s now a B Badge umpire who regularly officiates at competitions across Victoria including Association Championships finals, and the recently held State Titles.
Tangaroa’s swift rise through the Netball Victoria pathway speaks to his umpiring talent, passion, and dedication to learning.
He was first introduced to netball briefly at around 12 years of age, but it wasn’t until his 20s that he began regularly playing and umpiring in an indoor nets competition.
Experienced umpire Wesley Armstrong recognised Tangaroa’s natural umpiring ability and asked him to start umpiring at Wyndham Netball Association.
Tangaroa quickly thrived at Wyndham, which has a structured umpire program and support network for learners, including Armstrong, who became Tangaroa’s mentor.
“From my own personal experience, it's one of the better umpire development programs in the western [Melbourne] region… I think it's a really great program that they're running there and there's a lot of good talent coming out of Wyndham,” said Tangaroa.
“Through feedback from mentors, observing higher badged umpires, and gaining access to ask them questions about decisions, rules, and all things umpiring, I learned a lot. In the span of a few months, I earned my National C Badge.”
Earning his C Badge inspired Tangaroa to further hone his skills, leading him to umpire in the Western Region Football League, Geelong Football Netball League, and with Hoppers Crossing Netball Association.
“I took it upon myself to go to Hoppers as they needed an umpire for their junior rep program going to the tournaments all around Victoria,” Tangaroa said.
“I didn't even know that was a thing – I just thought this was a good opportunity to earn some extra money and build some relationships with the coaching panel and the junior athletes – and it took me all the way to Association Champs.”
Association Championships comprises six annual tournaments held across the state providing more than 180 Victorian associations and leagues the opportunity to compete, plus talent identification (TID) opportunities for athletes, umpires, and coaches.
As a result of umpiring at the 2023 Central West Association Championships, Tangaroa was TID and officially introduced to the Netball Victoria umpire pathway.
The pathway has exposed Tangaroa to more coaching and opportunities, including the Netball Victoria Elevate Program, which began this year.
This program provides emerging athletes and umpires with a controlled daily training environment to support improved physical preparation in the leadup to state competitions and the newly formatted Victorian Netball League (VNL) launching in 2024.
Umpires in the Elevate Program train alongside the athletes for two sessions a week to improve their strength and conditioning, and receive coaching from experienced high performance umpire coaches.
“It's been super beneficial. I've learned lots and physically I feel like I'm the most fit I've ever been,” said Tangaroa.
“We had a session recently with [Suncorp Super Netball umpire] Bronwen Adams online about self-analysis… [about] turning overthinking into critical thinking and how we can develop our skills. That was a really insightful session and that's something that Elevate has provided me with.”
On top of the Elevate Program and continuing to umpire at Wyndham and various football/netball leagues, Tangaroa also umpires the Tuesday night competition at Parkville Netball, and on Wednesday nights at MLeague, Victoria’s premier men’s and mixed competition.
“I'm at Parkville about four nights a week! It’s my second home,” Tangaroa said. “They're on my case about managing my load, but I'm really passionate about netball and I'm happy to umpire netball and play four or five days a week. My coaches cringe and say that is too much… Less is more is what they say to me all the time!”
Exposure to high performance coaches in these NV pathway programs has improved Tangaroa’s PVT (position, vision, and timing), understanding of contest versus contact, and rapport with players, allowing him to recently attain his umpire B Badge.
Tangaroa’s next goal is to umpire in the VNL, which he’s hoping to achieve with the continued support of Armstrong who kickstarted his umpiring career, and Netball Victoria coaches and mentors such as senior technical officials coordinator Cathy Gallop.
“Cathy Gallop has helped direct me and my journey to where I am now,” said Tangaroa.
“There's so many people that work their hearts out at Netball Victoria to ensure pathways for umpires and athletes. It's really good to see that we've got a really strong system down here.”
Interested in becoming an umpire? Find out more
