Australian Football is influenced by the standard of umpiring more so than any other sport. The unique roles of the umpires in Australian Football causes significant impact on the manner in which the game is played.
Good umpiring enhances the game as a spectacle, adds to the enjoyment and pleasure of players and spectators and contributes to the safety of players. Poor umpiring detracts from the game as a spectacle, mars the enjoyment of participants and can put the safety of the player at risk.
The Laws of the Game bestow upon the umpires the responsibility to manage the match both on and off the ground on behalf of the Controlling Body. This is indeed a significant responsibility and places the field umpires, in particular, in the position of being the most important and influential official at the match.
Whilst the field umpires play the leading role, umpiring is a team game and field umpires rely heavily on their support crew, the boundary and goal umpires. Team-work is an essential factor in a good umpiring performance.
The boundary and goal umpires, whilst being part of the support crew and therefore playing supporting roles, should never underestimate their importance to the presentation and quality of the game.
To the players, coaches, officials and spectators, the match in which they are participating is the most important match played that day. They look to the umpires to manage it accordingly.
Whilst this places great responsibility upon the umpire, it also provides one of the most exciting challenges in sport. That is, to take on a demanding and critical task and succeed!
It is meeting this challenge that provides people with the motive to be an umpire. Umpiring is not for everybody, it is only for those who like to take on challenges and to keep taking them on. Every football match provides its own unique and special challenges.
The importance of the role of the umpire cannot be overstated.
There are a great number of factors that make up a successful umpire. The first of those is to understand the role of the umpire, which can be very simply put as follows:
Field Umpire
Boundary Umpire
Goal Umpire
The Australian Sports Commission supports officiating on a national scale. It does so through the National Officiating Committee which has the responsibility of developing and implementing the National Officiating Program.
The Mission
Statement for the Program is:
to develop the quality and status of officiating at all levels of Australian
Sport.
The National Officiating Committee believes that the responsibility for the ethical conduct of sport rests EQUALLY with:
Officials
Players
Administrators
Coaches
Spectators
Media
Educators
Parents
Governments
Sponsors
Sports officials (umpires) then have a major role to play, and in fulfilling that role, they have the right to have certain expectations of "sport", equally, "sport" has the right to have certain expectations of officials.
Sports officials have the right to expect that:
Equally, sports have the right to expect that the official will:
Attitude is often the reason why some people are successful and some are unsuccessful. Most successful sportspeople say that a positive, enthusiastic and responsible attitude was a key factor in their achieving success. Certainly, most successful umpires say that.
A positive, enthusiastic and responsible attitude towards umpiring is usually demonstrated by the following indicators:
At Training Sessions
At Coaching Sessions
Social and Association Activities
General
Good presentation is important for umpires and umpiring. All umpires have a responsibility to contribute to the creation of an image which portrays umpiring in a positive light and as an attractive sporting career to other people.
People associated with football have certain expectations of umpires. They expect them to be:
They expect the umpire to be a person who they can trust.
It is important that umpires fulfil the expectations held of them.
In fulfilling these expectations, umpires will earn the respect of officials, coaches, players, spectators and their umpiring colleagues.
In aiming to fulfil those expectations, umpires should be aware that first impressions are often lasting impressions. Behaviour and appearance are crucial factors.
Behaviour
should be courteous and respectful, and that includes the language used.
It should be respectful for all members of the community including those
of the football community i.e. Coaches, Players, Administrators. Dress
should be clean, neat, tidy and appropriate. There are specific occasions
when consideration of your dress standards are important. These are:
Behaviour and appearance in the extreme does not create a good impression. Best results are achieved by staying within the "expected norm" - not too conservative but not too radical either.
Another part of presentation, on match day, is to ensure you arrive at the ground with plenty of time to spare prior to commencement of the match. This will enable you to complete all your pre-match duties without being rushed and will give the impression to officials that you are in control of proceedings relative to the game.
At tribunal hearings, apart from your dress and grooming, presentation is also measured by the way in which you present the story to your case. Being positive and honest when giving evidence will help the Tribunal panel assess the report and arrive at an appropriate decision.
It is important to remember that the majority of footbball officials, administrators, coaches, umpires' advisers, observers and board members are generally from an older generation and they are the people who could have a significant influence on an umpire's career.
It is also important to remember that the match in which the umpire is officiating is the most important match that day to those participating in it.
Effective interpersonal skills are attributes which are common to successful umpires.
Interpersonal skills are demonstrated when communicating, relating and interacting with other people.
The people umpires mostly interact with on match day are the other umpires and officials, players, coaches and Club officials.
There will be many opportunities on match days to practice interpersonal skills. These occur before, during and after the match, some examples are:
Before the match
During the match
After the match
There are some fundamental aspects of behaviour which are indicators of effective interpersonal skills. These are:
Off Ground
On Ground - General
Avoid screaming as this conveys a lack of composure which creates anxiety in players. Players who experience anxiety with umpires quickly lose confidence in them. Umpires who are composed, cool but firm, will win the confidence of players.
Using words such as "please" and "thanks" when asking something of a player never goes astray.
Player reaction to communication from umpires will mostly be determined by what the umpires say and how they say it.
The five important roles performed by umpires/officials are:
The important aspects of these roles are as follows:
Field Umpiring
(a) Apply
the laws and their interpretations according to the spirit of the laws.
(b) Attend to the administrative requirements necessary for the successful
staging of the game.
Boundary Umpiring (Read Law 16.6)
(a) Be the
sole judge of when the ball is out of bounds (subject to Law 16.6.1)
(b) Throw the ball back into play after it has gone out of bounds (unless
it was kicked out on the full).
(c) After each goal, bring the ball back to the field umpire in the centre
of the ground.
(d) Police the centre square at each centre bounce.
Goal Umpiring (Read Law 16.7)
(a) Be the
final judge of a score.
(b) Keep a record of, and signal, all scores.
Timekeeping (Read Law 17.2)
(a) Sound
the siren at the start and end of each quarter.
(b) Keep the time of each quarter.
Interchange Steward (Read Law 3.2)
(a) Supervise the interchange of players.
Cooperation between umpires/officials
(a) Introduce
yourself to all other officials prior to the match.
(b) Have eye to eye contact when using verbal and visual indications to
the other umpires.
Entering and Leaving the Field
(a) When entering the oval with one Field Umpire, the Boundary Umpires will stand either side of the Field Umpire with the Goal Umpires behind, then walk to the centre circle.
(b) When entering the oval with two Field Umpires, the Field Umpires will form the front row, followed by the Boundary Umpires in the second row and the Goal Umpires in the third row. All Umpires will walk to the centre circle.
(c) Boundary Umpires - When the siren has sounded to indicate the end of the quarter, the Boundary Umpire will sprint to the nearest Field Umpire. If a player is having a shot for goal after the siren, the Boundary Umpire will take up position behind the behind post. After the kick the Boundary Umpire will then move to the Field Umpire and walk off in the same order as the commencement of the game, i.e. Boundary Umpires either side of one Field Umpire, or two Field Umpires in the first row and Boundary Umpires in the second row.
(d) Goal Umpires - When the siren sounds to end the second quarter and to conclude the match (unless a player is taking a shot at goal after the siren) the goal umpire shall gather their flags, walk to the centre of the ground and compare scores. After signaling the correctness of the scores to the scoreboard attendant, they shall walk off the oval together. Where a player is having a shot at goal after the siren, the goal umpire will await the "all clear", from the field umpire, signal the score, then continue with the above procedure for leaving the ground.
Warm Up on the Oval
(a) The two Boundary Umpires will run 3-4 laps of the oval to warm up. This may also include some faster work in the last lap. The Boundary Umpires may then choose to do additional warming up individually or as a pair.
(b) Practise throw ins at this time are acceptable.
Pre Match
MEETING PLAYERS/OFFICIALS
It is important to project yourself to players and officials in a firm, friendly and confident manner.
During Match
PLAYERS/OFFICIALS/SUPPORTERS
(a) It is very important to get on with players during the match. Abuse from players/officials warrants some action from you. Offenders should be spoken to and if serious enough they should be reported.
(b) It is important to block out the comments from outside the boundary line, much of which will not be supportive or complimentary. Umpires need to be aware that supporters get emotional and vocal with their support for their team and players and that generally the verbal attack on players and umpires is not meant as a personal attack.
Post Match
PLAYERS/OFFICIALS/SUPPORTERS
After a match feelings can run high and umpires should avoid becoming involved in any argument about incidents during the match. Sensible discussion about the match is to be encouraged.
(a) It is good practice to join the players and officials for a drink after the match, especially if invited.
(b) Politely avoid people who wish to belittle umpires.
It is a good opportunity to discuss the match and get to know the players and officials from participating clubs better in a more relaxed environment. If the atmosphere turns a little tense, excuse yourself and leave.