Tassie Sports

On the back of a new advertising campaign by AFL Tasmania asking for people with a love of football to take up umpiring, AFL Tasmania general manager Scott Wade pulled the whistle out on the weekend to officiate in a premier league under 19′s game.
Only last week in the Tasmania V’s Queensland game it was reported that the loss could be used as a bargaining chip to receive extra funding from the AFL. I just hope that if the extra funding is received then a large percentage is used on umpire development and pay rates.

I understand that umpires are short on numbers and they are struggling, well they are definitely struggling in quality especially in the regional league were reserves games are boundary umpired by the players on the field. These issues could even come down to duty of care with not enough eyes watching the game to catch the behind the play incidents.

The field umpiring in the senior grade of the regional league is also lacking. When did kicking in danger drop from the rule book, when did high profile players get special treatment only due to their profile and when does an umpire with a distant connection (still a connection) to one team officiate in a game with that team.

I understand that umpires are only human and they make mistakes, they operate under pressure especially from some teams coaches and spectators that can act in a feral way. I just hope if some of this extra funding comes through that a good percentage goes to the umpiring groups around the state on upping their numbers (larger Payments) and by developing these umpires into good officials that are not swayed by outside influences.

The first lesson to being the best you can be is learning from your mistakes, and not making them again. Well trying not too.