Nick Swanson joins the Queensland AFL Boundary Squad following the retirement of Aaron Deckys at the end of the 2018 season.
Coming from a running background, Nick took up boundary umpiring when an email was sent out to his running group in 2012. He did not attend training until late 2015 as he was too young to have a driver’s license and couldn’t expect his mum and dad to drive to and from the Gold Coast to Brisbane twice a week. He attended Gold Coast training on occasion before he obtained his license and began the training commutes to Brisbane with Chris Delany towards the end of 2015.
In 2016, he umpired at the Under 16’s National Carnival and was flown to Alice Springs to umpire his 5th NEAFL game, before finishing off the year with the NEAFL grand final. He was also awarded NEAFL Boundary Umpire of the Year, which was his first year umpiring in the NEAFL competition. He followed that up with the NEAFL grand final in 2017 before being invited to the AFL Boundary Umpires pre-season camp. In 2018, Nick umpired his third NEAFL grand final in a row.
Looking back, Nick says his 2016 NEAFL grand final was something to remember given it was his first state league grand final and there was only 4 points separating the teams at the end of the game.
Nick’s advice to up and coming umpires is to keep working hard as you never know when an opportunity may come your way. His passion for running and his love of AFL football means boundary umpiring is a perfect fit and gives him the opportunity to be involved in a game he is passionate about.
Nick loves the climate and lifestyle that Queensland has to offer. A graduate from A.B. Paterson College on the Gold Coast, he is currently a university student and works as a waterpark lifeguard.
Nick lists running, gaming, going to the beach and astronomy as his hobbies and interests.
We welcome Nick to the AFL panel for 2019 and wish him an exciting season ahead.
Article written by: AFLUA Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Peter Kelly