Four Ballarat Football Umpire Association umpires will get a great opportunity to gain an insight to the inner workings of an AFL umpire on Saturday.
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Holly McEldrew, Isaiah Britt, Joshua Di Mieri and Matilda Pearce will lead the matchday umpires out onto Mars Stadium in Saturday’s AFL fixture between the Western Bulldogs and Gold Coast.
The group will also get a chance to see how the umpires prepare for the game and observe the coin toss.
McEldrew, who is a central umpire, told The Courier at Wednesday’s training session which was attended by AFL umpires David Harris, Dillon Tee and Adam Wojcik, that she was excited to see how the top-level umpires approach gameday.
“We’ll go in the rooms before the game...then we’ll lead them onto the ground,” McEldrew said.
“Just to have a look around and see what they do on gameday, just to get a bit of insight into what they do.
“It will be good to see what it’s like at the top-level. Their mentality before a game, preparation...just to see what happens behind the scenes.”
Field umpire Harris, who grew up in Warrnambool, said it was great to get back to the grassroots level.
He endorsed the thriving Ballarat umpiring program, saying it was one of the best systems in the state.
“Just get back to grassroots footy and help with their umpiring,” Harris said.
“When I was growing up we never had anyone come and visit, for us to be able to get out and see some regional groups, it’s perfect – I really enjoy it.
“The best thing for umpiring has been ex-AFL players getting involved – it’s made it a lot more appealing in that aspect.
“Ballarat have got really good numbers and look to be doing a lot of good things off the field as well. I think they’re bucking the trend compared to other umpiring groups across the state.”
Six Ballarat umpires also got the chance to attend an AFL umpiring training session at Ikon Park on Monday.