VAFA Female Umpire Academy launches during Community Umpire Week

The VAFA Umpiring Department proudly launched the Female Umpire Academy with a special evening at Elsternwick Park that celebrated the growth and importance of female umpiring.  Ashleigh Brennan – AFL Women & Girls Experience Lead, headlined the event as the guest speaker, sharing valuable insights and experiences with the attendees.

The launch was also the perfect lead-in to Community Umpire Week, a national initiative celebrating the vital role of umpires at all levels of the game. The VAFA was thrilled to host AFL and VFL umpires at training on Wednesday 30 April at Elsternwick Park Oval.

The highlight of the night was Simon Meredith, a decorated AFL umpire and proud former VAFA official, returning to his roots to run a high-performance coaching session. Meredith worked closely with field umpires throughout the training session.

VAFA Umpire Operations Manager, Stephen Privitera, reflected on the significance of the week:

“Having Ashleigh Brennan attend our Academy and seeing AFL/VFL umpires giving back to our community during Community Umpire Week shows just how connected every level of umpiring really is. We’re incredibly proud of our umpires, especially the female leaders coming through and the impact they’re having at the VAFA”.

The VAFA’s Umpiring Round will take place on 14 June. During this round VAFA clubs and the wider community will acknowledge and recognise all umpires. The VAFA will celebrate Umpiring Round later in the calendar to ensure no clashes with other themed rounds and a clear focus on the umpires during that week.