My life in sport: Bronwyn Meek

Bronwyn Meek at her Mt Eden home with her children Cameron, 11, and Rachel, 8. Photo / Dean Purcell

National umpire Bronwyn Meek has been pounding up and down the sidelines of a netball court officiating matches since she was a teenager.

While many would consider it a thankless task, for Meek umpiring is something she was destined to do. When your mother is a former representative netballer and Silver Ferns manager it is not surprising she has dedicated most of her life to the sport she loves.

A talented defender back in her day, Meek represented Auckland at age-group level all the while systematically working her way through the national umpiring ranks.

The Auckland mother of two is now widely regarded as New Zealand's best netball umpire, although this year she won't be involved in the ANZ Championship finals series, with an injury earlier this season hindering her chances.

Instead, Meek will focus on what she expects to be the biggest challenge of her career - umpiring for her 8-year-old daughter's school team.

"It's probably harder to do 8-year-old girls than it is the ANZ Champs' final. When umpiring an elite game everything just happens and the players are quite responsive, but the 8-year-olds aren't going to be quite as responsive to what I'm calling."

Meek will also be in action later this year in the Australian test series against the World Seven team in September and Jamaica in October.

What inspired you to embark on a career in umpiring?

My mother [Larraine Meek] was heavily involved in netball, so I spent a lot of time at the courts with her. I played up until Auckland Under 21 level and when I was playing I also started umpiring. So I've been umpiring for about 25 years, and have sort of progressed through the ranks and here I am now with my international badge. I never thought I would get to this, that's for sure. I've done it for a long time and probably umpired at the elite level for about 10 years.

Describe your job.

I'm a single parent with two kids and three part-time jobs. So I'm pretty frantic, particularly during ANZ Champs. Life becomes pretty out of control I suppose. With Monday games I'm away from work Monday and Tuesday so I end up chasing my tail a little bit at this time of year (Meek is an accountant). But I just sort of try and manage things and my parents do a lot of baby sitting and sort of pick up the pieces when I have to go away.

It's definitely not a full-time career for me, so it's more of a hobby. We're lucky now that we've moved into the semi-professional era and we do get a little bit of compensation for it, but it definitely doesn't cover the time that I spend involved in it.

What changes have you seen over the past couple of seasons since netball moved into a semi-professional era?

I suppose the game has changed - it's a lot faster and a lot more physical than four or five years ago. I think that comes down to the fact that the girls are spending a lot more time on their training and conditioning than they were before. As far as I know most of the players are only working part-time or studying so they can spend more time on their training, so they're becoming fitter and stronger. We've had to keep working on our fitness so we can keep up with them. It's something I try to do four or five times a week.

What's the best thing about being an umpire?

It would have to be being involved with the game at the highest level. For me, it's a real a buzz to put my lovely orange shirt on and think there's not many other people in the country who get to do this. So I get a real sense of satisfaction from being able to contribute to the game at the highest level. I feel so lucky to be able to be involved with these amazing female athletes and I have a lot of respect for the players that are playing now. I've been really lucky to meet these players and see up close the amazing skills they put out there. When I'm umpiring I sometimes feel like I want to clap when you see some brilliant play.

And the worst thing?

I suppose you do get some criticisms and I take those quite personally, I find it quite hard to deal with. I think the funny thing is I sit at home and sometimes criticise referees or umpires in other sports and then I think, gosh, I wonder if people at home are doing this to me?

Do your children watch the netball to see their mum or the players?

They watch me. They're both very, very proud of what I do. I try not to drag them along to too much netball. My son [Cameron, 11] is actually very knowledgeable on the rules and my daughter [Rachel, 8] is just about to start playing so I'm about to become her team umpire.

How does your background as a player help you as an umpire?

I think it's contributed to me being able to achieve a high level of umpiring. It's a few years ago now since I've played, but I have that game knowledge and I try to think a lot about what players are trying to do and what skills they are using. I think that's come a lot from my playing background, and also having watched so many years of netball.

What's been the most memorable moment of your umpiring career?

Umpiring the ANZ Champs final last year was fantastic, I really enjoyed that. Also in the 2003 World Champs I umpired the Australia-Jamaica game when the lights went out in the stadium, so that was pretty crazy. Probably those would be my two most memorable, but I've had lots of cool opportunities out of it.

If you weren't an umpire what would you be doing?

Life would be a little calmer, that's for sure. My daughter has been doing competitive gymnastics for the last few years and I've been patiently waiting for her to start netball. So I can see that over the next few years I'll be moving possibly from umpiring to coaching. I can't imagine not being involved in netball, I've been involved in it for such a long time that I can't imagine life without it. So I think that's where I'll end up in the near future.

Who was your childhood hero?

Wai Taumaunu is someone I really looked up to. She was a goal defence and I was a goal defence and I used to really love watching Wai play. Because my mother was involved - she represented Auckland, Waikato and Wellington - I spent a lot of time at national champs over the era of some of the really great netball players, like Sandra Edges and Margie Matenga.

What is the one ambition you'd like to realise before you retire?

I feel like I've achieved a lot. If I look back now and go, yeah, ANZ Champs final, two World Champs and a Commonwealth Games, I feel like I have had plenty of opportunities. I don't look back now and think I haven't achieved anything, so I'm pretty satisfied with what I've been able to accomplish.