Striving to become an AFL goal umpire
In only her third year of umpiring Emma Webb-Wagg has come a long way but her vision for the future is what makes her standout from the rest.
With aspirations to follow in the footsteps of current female AFL goal umpire Chelsea Roffey, Webb-Wagg personally asked South Coast AFL if she could participate in the 2010 Cougar Sportswear Regional Championships to further develop her skills.
At only 16 years of age, Webb-Wagg has worked her way through umpiring development squads and on the weekend she debuted for the AFL Sydney premier division – a feat many umpires wait years for.
“I love umpiring, it’s absolutely incredible. I enjoy the whole social side of it, I’ve met so many people through what I’ve done and those people are great. Being around a great sport every weekend is very enjoyable.”
Webb-Wagg got involved in umpiring after a development officiator conducted a basic umpiring course at her local school.
From this moment on Webb-Wagg was hooked and has been working on her skills ever since. In 2008, the teen umpired a South Coast AFL grand final and she has quickly worked her way up to being one of the best and most enthusiastic umpires in the AFL Sydney competition.
The Nowra local, said she has visions of standing between the two big sticks at one end of the football field while Chelsea Roffey is up the other end.
“Right now I can picture that at the MCG and think that would be totally amazing,” she said.
“Chelsea is probably the biggest motivator for me and going that one step further to get to where she is.”
Webb-Wagg’s interest in umpiring has followed through to her family, as the traditional rugby league supporter’s watch their star daughter umpire every weekend.
It may not be long for Webb-Wagg’s family to see their daughter run around in the middle of the ground, as she has commenced training to become a field and boundary umpire.
