BFUA will call on players if enough umpires cannot be found for the upcoming football seasons

Less than a month out from the start of the Ballarat football season, only 200 people are on the books for the BFUA, with players now being approached to help fill the numbers ahead of the April 9 start.

While senior football looks set to be unaffected, the shortage could mean some umpires are forced to officiate three, possibly four matches a week, unless more numbers are found in the next few weeks.

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The BFUA will hold a come-and-try umpiring evening on Wednesday at City Oval as a way of encouraging new umpires to join its ranks.

Last month, the BFUA launched a drive to try and attract about 400 umpires to handle the season of which about half are locked in.

BFUA Head of umpiring operations Billy Mitchell said the BFUA was keen to attract current players who may wish to earn a little bit on the side when they were not playing.

"We're halfway there and we do expect an increase in the next month or so," he said.

"We have an umpire come-and-try night at City Oval on Wednesday night and we see it as a great opportunity for people to come down and ask questions of the coaches, meet the team, we'll have everyone there from field to boundary or goal umpires."

Mitchell said clubs including the Ballarat Swans/Storm were leading the push to get players involved.

"We're very much pushing the angle for players who are playing on one day and might be able to assist on others. A lot of players don't realise that they can actually umpire as well," he said.

Mitchell said umpires were being stretched across multiple leagues and for multiple games each week.

"Obviously the priority will be senior football, but we don't want any other grades to suffer," he said

"The hidden issue is we are stretching our members further and further, we had a situation where they used to do one or two, now they are being forced to do three or four games a week."

Last month the AFL issued a call to arms to protect umpires from abuse, saying while the game was growing across the country, the dearth of numbers at community level was concerning.

"Frankly, I take responsibility for the fact it's got away from us," AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said.

"I'm apologetic it's got to this point. We've got a dearth of umpires (at lower levels), we're 6000 umpires short nationally.

"It's credit to the growth of the game, but it's also the fact the supply of numbers hasn't kept up."

Those wishing to be involved in umpiring can head to City Oval at 5.45pm on Wednesday night and anyone wishing for more information can email ballaratumps@gmail.com.

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