Netball: An open letter from an umpire to players and supporters

'We are human, just like you.' Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

It’s a dark cold night as I say goodbye to my children and my husband to go and take part in netball, the sport I love. I will miss them and the guilt of not being at home with them engulfs me once more.

But I love the sport I’ve chosen because I know I can always improve. I’m not at the top of Everest, I don’t think any athlete like me ever will be. We are forever evolving, learning, sympathising, reflecting. How could we have done better? How could we have prepared better? Did I make the right call? I wish I hadn’t called that. Oh no! that was an error (I’m going to try harder next time). Such is the life of an umpire or referee in your sport.

For so many who stand on the sideline as spectators, I think most of them are too afraid to pick up a whistle for the exact reason I have outlined. That they will be ridiculed, harassed, heckled, laughed at, shouted at, or spoken about behind their backs during or after the game.

But hey, guess what? I’ll let you in on a little secret… we are human, just like you.

Have you ever made a mistake before?

We strive to give 100 per cent every time, we strive to be fair and to officiate in the spirit of the game, to the best of our ability. But sometimes one or both teams believe us to have different intentions. Like we’re out to rob them.

Can I let you in on another secret? We really aren’t. We’re there to serve our community in a task that is rarely wanted to be undertaken by a spectator. Often the most experienced player will balk at the idea of having to umpire or referee a game. Go on – ask them! I think it might scare them to think they might get it wrong.

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Yet umpires and referees turn up each week with their battle armour on, mentally preparing, physically preparing… trying to fill the position of those very few willing to do so. We cop it from players, from the sideline. But the worst of it – and most tragic of all – we cop it from ourselves when we return home reflecting on the job we all volunteered to do. We are our worst critic.

We analyse everything after a game: our mistakes, from the smallest comment to the filthiest of looks. But we still turn up the following week to do it all over again.

Do you know why? Because we love the sport we’ve chosen. It is challenging and rewarding; we learn every time we go out on the court or field – just like the players. Each game is like a dictionary filling us with new knowledge that we can apply to our next game. How can we improve? What should we have done, or done better? And each and every time … resolving to be better. We already know. We don’t need to hear it from you.

'What happens if all umpires and referees just stop?' Photo / Getty Images

But sadly, I’m at the end of my tether, I don’t know if I can continue; they (the players) don’t like my decisions. Maybe I should stop?

But what happens if all umpires and referees just stop? What if we all put our whistles away for the very last time? What will the players do then? Who will control the game? Will the players just work it out with a friendly discussion or maybe do paper-scissors-rock over every single decision?

You may think it’s just your game and the umpire or referee in that game that is affected by your comments. But it’s every game after that that makes volunteers like me consider choosing another sport, a sport less conflicting, with more praise and still the same reflection and drive we all crave in sport.

Please, next time you think to provide your opinions to an umpire or referee calls, think about who you might want to control the game you play (or spectate) in one, five or 10 years time. Is it going to be you? Perhaps, because no one else dare to take the court or field as an official in your presence?

I’ve seen so many of us come and go. Worn down by the constant scrutiny of the players and the sideline. Don’t let this weekend’s appearance by officials in that game you play or watch be the final call for another official in the sport you love. Enough is enough.

Love. Support. Cherish.

All those involved in the game.

It’s just that, a game.