"All Clear" - An Umpire's Experience | Thebigtip

On Saturday I umpired my first senior match in the VAFA (Victorian Australian Football Association), Premier C at Glen Waverly between the Mazenod Old Boys and Ormond. One of my mates who is a field umpire got me into umpiring and as I love footy, it was a win-win situation. Plus, a little extra cash on the side is always handy. I’m a goal umpire. Goal umpiring is nothing to laugh about, we have to go to training each Thursday and run, practice signals, practise our positioning, flag waving techniques etc. There is a lot to do. The days of parents standing in the goal square with arms extended signaling goals is over as far as the senior competition is concerned. The VAFA is a professional football competition. You have AFL, VFL and then comes VAFA.

I’m a city boy, so it was a bit of a hike to get out to Glen Waverley but I’m not complaining. I arrived an hour before the match as I was told and met up with my fellow goal umpire Steve, who is an A-Grade umpire. He was there to show me the works before he heads off to America in the upcoming weeks to pursue work opportunities. The two field umpires were Scully and Macca, both good blokes and very friendly. Macca has umpired nearly 600 games over 34 years, a fair effort. Scully had been a field umpire for 12 odd years, both very experienced in the umpiring field, so it was an honour to be able to umpire with them.

The Mazenod football ground was your typical suburban footy oval - a small grandstand, wood planks for seats around the ground, a canteen and the opposition change rooms behind the goals. The umpiring rooms were under the grandstand and a small room with the essentials. You have to wear a polo shirt and black pants pre-game to look professional. The VAFA promotes professionalism at all levels and my experienced mentor Steve advised that professionalism is the key if you want to go places, as professionalism sets you apart from the rest. We got changed into our uniforms and also put black tape on to show our condolences to a couple of umpires that had passed away, as well as the mother of an umpire.

We were ready to go. I was a tad nervous but confidence is the key. Macca held the ball aloft with Scully beside him. Steve and I were behind them with the siren sounding as we walked as a group into the centre of the ground, step by step with hats firmly on and flags held in position. We were then about to get into the thick of the action. The field umpires went off for a quick warm up and us goalies had a quick chat about the wind, conditions, and which end we would take. The sun was out, the wind was steady but one end had a 3 goal wind advantage, so Steve thought I should get that end to be right in the thick of the action. The umpire threw the ball up and we were off.

The first quarter was dominated by Mazenod. They kicked a number of goals to the wind end and they looked like the dominant team from the outset. There was no trouble in the first quarter as far as my goal umpiring was concerned. All went smoothly. The second quarter started and Ormond, the visitors, missed a couple of vital opportunities but it was a tight contest for most of the quarter. Just before the siren went, an Ormond player marked about 35 metres out on a slight angle. Prior to this there had been a bit of heat in the game with a report and a few sledges going, but nothing to drastic. The Ormond player kicked it and it was heading for the goals. At the last minute, the wind blew it through the point post. The Ormond players turned around and pleaded for it to be a goal, but I tapped my chest three times and signaled a point. It was a point and the right decision. The Ormond full forward pleaded his case but my decision was final. I waved it for a point. After the half, the other umpires and I headed to the rooms - a solid half of footy. Steve and I checked if our scorecards were correct and they were. We talked about the match and had a few lollies to keep energy levels high. Thanks Scully!

We headed back onto the field and Steve and I swapped ends. Ormond was down at half time but then went bang, bang, bang, goal, goal, goal, all in quick succession and evened up the scores by three quarter time. The ball was down my end quite a bit and at one stage I nearly got hit in the face but I got out of the way just in time with my positioning so the ball went over my head. It was an eventful quarter. The Mazenod crowd was silent as Ormond took control of the match. Come the last quarter, the game was up for grabs. Goal for goal it went, the intensity lifted and the crowd got more anxious. Stoppage after stoppage occurred as the players got tired and then came a huge gust of wind which knocked a few of the scoreboard signs down. During this time, a bloke in the crowd yelled out “where did you get your high pants from goalie?” This was an obvious reference to my black uniform trousers. I just chuckled as we cannot talk to the crowd whilst officiating.

Mazenod then hit the lead and the small home crowd went nuts with a thunderous roar and fists pumped into the air. An Ormond player had fallen badly in a contest as Mazenod hit the front and had to be stretchered off. Then came the rain. Rain had been expected for earlier in the day and we thought we had missed it, but my God did it rain! Not just a bit of rain but heavy stuff. Gusty winds and freezing cold.

The ball was at my end when the siren sounded. The last quarter went for a whopping 38 minutes due to the many stoppages, the need for a player to be stretchered off and the number of goals kicked. As the rain kept bucketing down, I gathered the flag holders from the goalpost which Steve provided, got my flags and ran into the centre with rain pouring down, to confirm everything was right and it was. We bolted down to the umpire's rooms with a few congratulations from wet and bedraggled supporters and officials. Game over. We sorted out all the paperwork and scorecards and after all of that, we were done. I saw everyone off and headed to the car in the rain. It was a great day and I was very pleased with my first senior game. Many more to come in the future hopefully. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait for next week.