First female umpire in the AFL, Eleni Glouftsis, kicks off her career

WITH a perfect bounce, Eleni Glouftsis sent the Sherrin skyward and started her own career as an AFL umpire.

NAB Challenge, AFL : Carlton v Essendon First bounce in the game ELENI Glouftsis Picture:Wayne Ludbey

WITH a perfect bounce, Eleni Glouftsis sent the Sherrin skyward and started her own career as an AFL umpire.

The 23-year-old Adelaide umpire on Sunday became the first woman to officiate in a senior AFL match when she controlled the Carlton versus Essendon pre-season NAB Challenge game at Ikon Park in Melbourne.

Glouftsis’s parents Tom and Dianne flew to Melbourne for the historic occasion and admitted to a few pre-match nerves.

“I don’t how much sleep Eleni would have got last night, but I didn’t get a lot,’’ Tom said.

But once the nerves settled, Tom said it was a very enjoyable day.

“We were very proud of her, very pleased,’’ he said.

“We reckon she did very well, she bounced well and seemed to move around the ground very well.’’

Eleni Glouftsis officiates her first game. Pic: Michael Klein

The historic first bounce. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

After the game, Tom said Eleni was mostly pleased “it was over’’ but she had enjoyed the experience

And even the crowd had been nice to her.

“The crowd gave her a good cheer at the beginning of the game when she was introduced, I think they were umpire-friendly today,’’ he said.

“I didn’t hear a lot of boos for her decisions, that was a comfort.’’

SANFL state umpiring manager Shane Harris, who has helped guide Glouftsis from the under-16s to become the first woman to officiate at SANFL league level, said she had shown enough on debut to suggest she could make the jump to regular season AFL matches.

Eleni Glouftsis raises the ball as she walks on to Ikon Park with the other umpires. Pic: Michael Klein

“I think within one or two years,’’ he predicted.

“I think she needs another good pre-season under her belt, but she has proven she can mix it with the lads at that level and we should all be very proud of that.’’

He also said players from both teams treated her as just another umpire.

“They were happy to give the footy back to her and treated her very similar to the male umpires.’’