Women in Umpiring

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Published on Saturday, 27 May 2017 23:21

Written by Michael O'Keeffe

Well before females starting playing our great game, women have been umpiring AFL at all levels for many years. In fact community leagues have showcased female umpires for over 30 years. For a long time it was the only option for young girls to get involved in the game as there were issues around females playing AFL in junior competitions. Today women make up 15% of the Riddell umpiring group, with that number continually on the rise. 

Last weekend a milestone was reached, with 25 year old school teacher, Eleni Glouftsis, becoming the first female field umpire to officiate in a VFL/AFL game. After earning a three-year scholarship to train with the VFL and AFL in 2014, the South Australian has gradually and impressively worked her way up the ranks. She has been an 'AFL Pathway' umpire since the start of the 2016 season, which has allowed her to be an emergency umpire in matches over the past two seasons. The AFL currently has two female goal umpires, Chelsea Roffey and Rose O'Dea. Chelsea was the first female to officiate in a grand final.

 There are wonderful opportunities for females who want to umpire aussie rules. At the Riddell Umpires we have dedicated coaching that will assist women (and all new members) in becoming great community umpires. There is a AFL Victoria women umpiring academy that is headed up by AFL Umpire Mathew Nicholls. And the AFL offer womens scholarships for females to train with the AFL umpires to fast track their development.

At Riddell we have a fantastic group of females who officiate each weekend. We were the first umpiring group in the state to have a senior female boundary coach in Brittany Giles and women regularly appear in umpiring panels on RDFL Grand Final day. We offer a welcoming environment for anyone to join our group. If you are interested in becoming an umpire (male or female) visit www.riddellumpires.com.au for all the details.