On Sunday 11 August, when Hawthorn and Carlton meet on the MCG, each vying to keep its season alive in September, boundary umpire Tim Lougoon will reached his 200th game milestone.
Lougoon’s AFL career began at the same venue, 10 years, 3 months and 22 days ago on 20 April 2014 – Easter Sunday. He remembers the round five game between Melbourne and the Gold Coast vividly.
“It was on Easter Sunday in 2014 at the MCG and I just remember thinking what a privilege it was to be standing out in the middle of the MCG and not wanting the experience to end. It was certainly a little surreal to be out on the ground having watched countless games of football or cricket from the stands.”
Like almost all others, Lougoon’s interest in umpiring stemmed from a junior football career. Finished with junior football but still wanting to stay involved, umpiring seemed like the logical next step.
Lougoon running the boundary during the 2019 AFL round 1 match between the Blues and Tigers at the MCG. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos)
“My younger brother’s junior side needed a boundary umpire each week so instead of one of the parents doing the job I volunteered.”
Having quickly risen through the ranks of the Bendigo Football League umpiring cohort, earning three grand finals and two umpire of the year awards, Lougoon was swiftly promoted to the VFL. After achieving consecutive VFL grand finals in 2013 and 2014, the AFL came calling.
Whilst his most memorable moment was the “spine tingling” experience umpiring the 2017 Essendon vs Collingwood ANZAC day clash, he reflects on his time in the Covid ‘bubbles’ as a unique highlight of his career.
“A lot of the best memories I have are the times I have shared with other umpires at training/matches and in the COVID hubs during 2020 and 2021.”
A civil engineer by trade, and a father, Lougoon is faced with one of umpiring’s universal plights – the juggle. However, managing work, life, parenthood and football is a challenge that he doesn’t face alone.
“The biggest key to balancing all three of those successfully has been the enormous amount of support behind the scenes from my wife and kids. Without their support I wouldn’t have been able to dedicate the significant amount of time it takes for training, games etc. to be an AFL umpire.”
After ten years of service, Lougoon was awarded AFLUA Life Membership in 2023. Having just recently announced his retirement, he reflects on his time umpiring as a challenging but rewarding career.
“Umpiring provides you with so many opportunities to develop traits within yourself that will help you outside of umpiring. Be that leadership, composure under pressure, resilience or skills to communicate with a variety of people from young kids at a local umpiring group to players in the heat of a game all of these are transferable in some shape or form to your everyday life.”
From his successful career at the elite level, he’s distilled one piece of simple advice.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for advice on what can you work on to improve your umpiring or what steps you need to take to reach a certain goal.”
Going forward, as he steps away from the boundary line, he looks forward to the extra time he will have to spend with his family.