Melissa Sambrooks, Kaitlin Barr and Greta Miller are now history-makers, becoming the first ever female AFL boundary umpires.
Having been appointed to the AFL’s rookie boundary list at the beginning of this year, the trio have now finally earned selection to officiate an AFL game.
Miller and Sambrooks will run the white line tonight at the MCG when Essendon host Carlton, while on Saturday Kaitlin Barr will have her own turn at Marvel, officiating in the North Melbourne vs Adelaide match.
For years now, AFL boundary umpiring has been the final frontier for female umpires. In 1998 goal umpire Katrina Morris became the first woman appointed to an AFL game, but women’s presence in the game was solidified by the emergence of goal-umpiring stalwart Chelsea Roffey in 2004. Roffey proved that women don’t just belong in the umpiring ranks, but can excel in their craft and lead their disciplines when she umpired the 2012 AFL Grand Final.
Eleni Tee expanded horizons when she blazed her own trail into AFL field umpiring, becoming the first female AFL field umpire in 2017 and even earning the praise of then Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull. The spotlight was once again cast firmly on women in umpiring.
However, with the prodigious physical requirements placed on AFL boundary umpires (who routinely run in excess of 20 kilometres per game), it was not without some concerted effort that the debutants broke onto the AFL scene.
AFLUA CEO Rob Kerr praised the dedication of the AFL and the umpires themselves to make Sambrooks, Barr and Miller’s debuts possible.
“Having female boundaries at AFL level eliminates one of the final obstacles for growing participation in umpiring. The physical demands of a boundary umpire are huge and the AFL has taken on the challenge by providing dedicated resources to get women’s running and throwing skills to the level required in the men’s game. That deserves recognition as does the commitment of recently retired boundary umpire Shane Thiele who has been a significant supporter of the three debutants. Of course, the women themselves have provided the sweat, the necessary work ethic, and the belief that they could reach the standard that would allow them to boundary umpire the men’s game. Their achievement is quite remarkable. The AFLUA, on behalf of the umpiring community and supporters of the game, wishes them well.”
Barr, Sambrooks, and Miller have been the standout female boundary umpires of the past few years, doing the rounds in the and VFL and AFLW.
Both Miller (2023) and Barr (2024) have AFLW Grand Final experience, while Sambrooks was named the AFLW Umpire Rising Star in 2023.
Now, with the chance to prove themselves at AFL level, each will be looking to take the next step in their umpiring careers, and in doing so clear a path for all future female umpires to come.
Article by Jackson Kerr