Record number of women and girls now umpiring

IN the last three years, the number of female umpires has increased from 51 to 150 across the SANFL, Adelaide Footy League, SANFL Junior Metro League and the Country Football League.

• Eleni Glouftsis creates AFL history as first female field umpire
• Allanah Bruno is the first female goal umpire to officiate in SANFL

AFTER 160 years of Australian football history, the growth rate of female whistleblowers across South Australian football ovals is outstripping their male peers.

Female umpires in SA have increased threefold in the past three years, and yet more are needed to keep pace with the extraordinary growth of female participation in football.

“We have seen an massive influx of females umpiring as well as playing football — it’s been enormous and one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in my 23 years of umpiring,” SANFL state umpiring manager Steve Harris told The Advertiser.

There were 51 female umpires in 2015 compared to 150 this year across all SA leagues.

Women and girls now represent one in every 16 umpires across SA, compared with one in 30 before the AFLW was introduced in 2017. The largest growth rate has been in the 14 to 19 age group.

Umpire Eleni Glouftsis during the Round 11 AFL match between the Gold Coast Suns and the West Coast Eagles. Picture: AAP / Dave Hunt

The spike in female umpires correlates with a jump in women playing football across SA. In 2016, there were 16 female teams in SANFL Juniors — this year there are 98 girls’ teams from under-8s to under-16s.

Mr Harris said the high-profile, trailblazing rise of former SANFL umpire Eleni Glouftsis — the first woman to field-umpire an AFL match for premiership points in 2017 — meant girls and women could now see a clear career path in umpiring ahead of them.

“We would love to see more indigenous umpires,” he said. There are currently two male indigenous umpires in SA.

Sisters Kelliah and Tesharna made their umpiring debut this month. Picture: Matt Turner

Indigenous teenage sisters Tesharna, 16, and Kelliah, 13, made their goal umpiring game debut for the Adelaide Footy League on June 2 and on Saturday umpired their second game - men’s division one reserves at Goodwood Oval.

Kelliah is one of the youngest female umpires in SA: “I’ve always thought women could umpire, just like girls playing AFL.”

The sisters, from Mansfield Park, play for the SMOSH West Lakes Football Club and decided to umpire for extra pocket money, fitness and to “give back to the game”.

Glouftsis, 26, recalls there being one other female umpiring when she started at age 13 for the North Eastern Metro Junior Football Association in 2006.

“It is great to finally see women involved in all facets of the game; playing, coaching and umpiring,” she says.

SANFL goal umpire Allanah Bruno. Picture: Tait Schmaal

The state’s most veteran female umpire — 19-year-old Allanah Bruno — says there really are no roadblocks for female umpires. “Umpiring is very inclusive — we all get treated as equal and you progress depending on how you umpire the games, not on gender,” says the SANFL goal umpire.