AFLUA Heritage Number: 310
AFL Matches at the end of 2023: 311
1st AFL Match: 2004, Brisbane v West Coast Eagles
300th AFL Match: 2024, Collingwood v Port Adelaide (MCG)
Commenced umpiring career with: QAFL – 1999
Honours in umpiring:
AFL Grand Final – 2012
Leigh Keen Shield Winner – 2012
Emergency AFL Grand Final – 2010, 2011, 2014, 2016
AFLUA Life Membership
After entering the QAFL in 1999, Chelsea began her AFL career in 2004. 20 years, 16 finals and a Grand Final later, Chelsea alongside Adam Wojcik is the most experience Goal Umpire on the AFL list.
In 2012, Chelsea received the AFLUA’s most prestigious award for Goal Umpires, the Leigh Keen Shield, in recognition of both her on-field performance and off-field dedication to the association. This was followed by AFLUA life membership in 2013. In 2017, Chelsea was honoured at the AFL Past Premiership Player’s Club stamp ceremony, where each year, 20 premiership players, coaches, and officials are given commemorative Australia Post stamps.
Contribution to football – Chelsea’s pioneering has undoubtably opened the door for the next generation of female umpires, modelling the ability to break into non-traditional domains. Her dedication and enthusiasm for supporting the next generation of female umpiring has undoubtedly inspired many.
Chelsea has contributed to forums ranging from community sports and local football associations, to corporate charity functions and business events. Promoting positive, inclusive and progressive messaging, she has served as a spokesperson not only for umpiring, but for the AFL and the sport of Australian football.
Professional life – Outside of football Chelsea is a speaker, author, researcher and Winston Churchill Fellow who has travelled the globe examining the barriers and opportunities of diversity. Chelsea has been a guest at the APEC Women’s Leadership Forum in Beijing, and the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.