AFL umpires will join St Kilda and the Sydney Swans in the inaugural Pride Game at Etihad Stadium on Saturday 13 August to celebrate diversity and tackle homophobia in sport. AFL goal umpires will wave rainbow-coloured flags, St Kilda players will wear rainbow-numbered jerseys whilst Sydney will wear rainbow socks.
The AFLUA is currently conducting further visits to interstate locations, as part of the association’s communication and engagement strategy.
Chris Esler is a man on a mission. He comes across as an affable relaxed guy who just wants to knock about with his mates. Under that calm composed exterior is a man with a passion for performance. Coming off his role as co-ordinator for the Wings for Life World Run where he managed the Australian leg of the run, nobody should doubt his commitment to any cause he puts his mind to. He likes to break records.
Field umpire Nick Foot took his appreciation of football to a new level on the weekend. Nick was programmed to sit on two benches as the emergency field umpire in the Friday night clash at Geelong and the Saturday night clash at Etihad Stadium, a phone call on Saturday when Rob O’Gorman pulled out when his wife went into labour saw Nick then front up at the MCG on Sunday and umpire the Melbourne v GCS match. We have often had boundaries run two games on a weekend and field and goal umpires run and sit but never a double sit and a run as well. Nick certainly slept well on Sunday night.
“When I retired at the end of 2011, I was content that I had achieved all that I had ever wanted from umpiring. I was at peace with myself and had no regrets,” reflected Shaun Ryan when we spoke to him today as he drove from his home town of Torquay to Carlton for training.
Boundary umpire, Chris Esler umpired his 100th AFL game on Friday night in the North Melbourne v Collingwood clash at Etihad Stadium. After looking at the appointments in some detail I smiled when I saw the other boundary umpires listed. The other three boys all came onto the AFL list in 2011 or 2012, Morrison (2011) Tomkins and Jenkinson (2012) have all umpired around the 100 games and two of the four come from the Western Region Football League. The four boys are extremely competitive and have formed a close bond through their time on the list. Chris becomes the 133rd boundary umpire in the history of the game to umpire 100 games. (See the website later in the week for more on Chris)
Sixteen years on from his first game in 2001, Scott “Rove” Jeffery umpired his 300th AFL match becoming the 40th umpire (20th field umpire) to achieve that milestone. Scott has been a model of consistency during his time on the list with the exception of the odd niggling calf injury. His two good mates, Justin Schmitt (320 games) and Chris Kamolins (182 games) were there to share the game with him. Scott has “seen it and done it” all over those years. Two overseas exhibition games in London and Shanghai, four NAB Cup grand finals, AFLUA president and currently part of the AFLUD leadership group, Scott has stood up to be counted. Congratulations on a great milestone Scott (see the website later this week for Scott’s view of his time on the list.
Generations of umpires and their partners attended the AFLUA 2016 Queensland lunch at the Lord Stanley Hotel in Brisbane on Sunday 10 July.
It is with great sadness that we advise you of the passing of two life members.