Three West Australian Umpires recently travelled to South Australia to represent WA at the 2011 AFL National Women’s Championship.
Amy McQuade, Claire Knight and Teegan Lincoln performed exceptionally well and were selected to officiate in the Grand Final between Victoria and WA . McQuade snared the title of All Australian Field Umpire of the Championships.
McQuade, 28, a product of the East Fremantle Junior District who has been umpiring at Amateur Level for three seasons, continued her success from the 2009 Championships where she also officiated in the Grand Final at Patersons Stadium.
She has also just been promoted to the WAFL Umpiring Team and should shortly become the second ever female field umpire to officiate at WAFL Colts level, following in the footsteps of Amy Treeby.
When asked about her experiences at the carnival, McQuade said she had enjoyed the camaraderie and friendship of all the girls from the different states and had made “friends for life”.
She was also ecstatic to receive the All Australian Umpire, umpire the Grand Final and umpire in front of her parents at that match.
Knight, 20, recently returned to Amateur boundary umpiring in 2011 and after an exceptionally solid pre-season has umpired A Grade Amateurs for the majority of 2011.
She also mentioned friendship and camaraderie with other umpires as highlights of the trip as well as a chance for her to work on some aspects of her umpiring including positioning and match day procedures.
Lincoln, 18, also an Amateur Umpire who has umpired A Grade and a handful of WAFL Colts matches had previously represented WA in 2010 at the AFL National Women’s Under 18 Championships in Melbourne.
She was very excited about the opportunity to step up to open Women’s level and did not disappoint. Over the Championships, Lincoln felt her communication skills improved dramatically and put her in good stead to continue to improve her umpiring and take the next step to umpire at consistently high levels.
All three ladies stated that a highlight of the trip was walking around AAMI Stadium at halftime of the Adelaide Crows and West Coast Eagles match where they had the chance to hand out pink footballs to members of the crowd.
Any females interested in umpiring and perhaps receiving the opportunity to one day experience what the three ladies above have achieved should contact the WAFC Umpiring Department on 9381 5599.
Picture: WA umpires Claire Knight (Boundary), Amy McQuade (Field), and Teegan Lincoln (Goal).
