Did You Know? – Umpiring

• Almost 12,000 umpires officiate in AFL games across Australia each weekend.
  
• Each weekend in NSW/ACT there is 3800 umpire appointments, with many of those appointments filled by volunteers umpiring in the goals or on the boundary.
  
• 68% of umpires said their number one reason for umpiring was their love of the game.
  
• When surveyed, the number one reason that umpires stopped their involvement was because of the lack of respect for their role by players and officials (20%) followed by a poor match day environment (18.5%) and abuse (15.4%).
  
• In 2012, Nathan Elsworthy became the first field umpire born and raised in NSW/ACT to be listed on the AFL Umpiring Rookie List. Nathan, 24, hails from the NSW Central Coast and balances his umpiring commitments with study – he is currently working towards a PhD in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Newcastle.
  
• There are 6 umpires from NSW/ACT who are AFL-listed, with five of these six boundary and goal umpires native to NSW/ACT.
  
• In 2011 1142 Umpires/Coaches/Volunteers were involved in umpiring – up from 1049 in 2010 which is an overall increase of 8%.
  
• In total, 305 Umpires/Coaches/Volunteers were recruited in 2011.
  
• More than 700 women take on umpiring roles nationally each weekend, with the number of women involved steadily increasing each year.
  
• Queensland goal umpire Katrina Pressley was the first female AFL umpire, making her debut in 1998.
  
• Goal umpire Chelsea Roffey is currently the only female AFL umpire. In June 2004 she was elevated to the top level and in August that year she officiated her first game between Brisbane and West Coast.
  
• There are 85 females involved in umpiring in NSW/ACT which is 7% of the state total of 1142. AFL Canberra has the highest number of female umpires with 22.
  
• AFL NSW/ACT aims to have 2000 umpires by 2016, a total growth of 858 umpires in the next four years.
  
• In 2010, the umpire to player ratio improved year-on-year for the first time since recording began in 2005.
  
• Born in 1930, Riverina umpire Pat Quinn is currently the state’s oldest umpire. He is followed by fellow Riverina umpire Rob Absolom who was born in 1939. In Sydney, Pete Nilson (born 1940) is currently the oldest umpire still waving the flags.