Western Bulldogs making a big impact in our city's west

The reigning Wendouree Sons of the West club champion is in his third season of the Western Bulldogs-led community men’s health initiative. He has only ever missed one session.

Full story can be found at the Ballarat Courier website.

UPDATE - New Uniforms, Training & Other

Please see below for a number of important updates relating to new uniform, training and other matters:

NEW UNIFORM NOW AVAILABLE

Our new uniform has arrive and a majority of members are now fitted out in the green! For those that are yet to receive your new uniform, please see below for a number of collection options prior to this weekend:

1. During Business Hours - Today & Tomorrow

• Collection from Saxon House open between 9am & 5pm

2. BFUA Social Rooms - Tonight

• Collection from 5:30pm - 6:30pm 

3. Mason's Lane Bacchus Marsh - Tomorrow

• Collection from 4:30pm - 6:00pm

TRAINING UPDATE

BALLARAT - From Monday next week, training will return to our home base, the newly renovated City Oval. New Training times will be applied due to the lights not being available just yet. Training details for Ballarat Group next week are as follows:

• Monday 7th & Wednesday 9th May
• Times: 5:00pm - 6:00pm

BACCHUS MARSH - If any Ballarat based Senior Field, Boundary or Goal umpires are interested in attending the Bacchus Marsh training hub on a Monday night to assist with training, please contact Richard Carroll on 0427 180 747 to discuss.

We will continue to provide training updates as they occur.

AFTER MATCH - SATURDAY 5th MAY

This weekends after match will be held at the Ballarat Leagues Club and we encourage all members and family to come along.

AFL Umpire Training Session

The BFUA is excited to invite all members along to training this Wednesday night for your chance to train with and meet AFL Umpires. As part of Community Umpiring Week, AFL umpires are attending training sessions right across the state.

Umpires David Harris, Adam Wojcik and Dillon Tee will be joining us for training and then presenting some coaching feedback in a session afterwards.
 
The coaching session will also be held at Ballarat Grammar immediately following training and we encourage all members to stay and get involved in the session.

Showers will be available for both male and female umpires.

BFUA Assistant Coach (Field) Position

The Ballarat Football Umpires Association is seeking applications for the role of Assistant Coach (Field) for the 2018 season. The position will be for a two year period, including a review following the first 12 month period.

Applications are to be submitted via email to Operations Manager Scott Carey – scott@aflgoldfields.com.au

Position description can be found here: BFUA Assistant Coach (Field) Position Description

BFUA 2017 Awards Presentation Winners

The Ballarat Football Umpires Association celebrated a successful 2017 season at the Awards Presentation Night held at the City Oval Bowls Club with 120 members and family in attendance.  Chairman Richard Carroll welcomed everyone to the event and then outlined many of the associations achievements for the season.  These included reaching over 300 members, having the most representatives participate in the International Cup including Connor Callinan participating in the Mens Final on the MCG and Adrian Tinetti in the Female Final at Etihad, large contingent of umpires participate in Interleague & TAC matches and the all girls panel who umpired the BFL U18 match between Eat Point and Redan to name a few.

Richard thanks various people who helped contribute to the association as well as all members before the awards were handed out.

Award winners for the 2017 season are;

Most Improved Goal Umpire –  Lee Gleeson

Best First Year Goal Umpire –  Stephen Segrave

Les Baldock Goal Umpire Encouragement Award – Malcolm Dowler

Best & Most Consistent Goal Umpire – Callan Evans

Most Improved Boundary Umpire – Toby Whittle

Best First Year Boundary Umpire (Steve Perry Award) –  Lachlan Cain – Sultana

Best & Most Consistent Boundary Umpire – Connor Callinan

Most Improved Field Umpire – Adam Coles & Tyla Reid

Best First Year Field Umpire (Shane McInerney Award) – Shane Herbertson

Best & Most Consistent Field Umpire – Julian Pinder

Training Award – Brendan Johnston

2017 BFUA Running Award 400m –  Jack Brown

2017 BFUA Running Award 100m –  Emmett Murphy

Golden Whistle Award –  Connor Callinan

Best Club Person –  Brendan Johnston

The BFUA coaches then announced and congratulated the panels who will umpire at Mars Stadium on Saturday in the Ballarat Football League Grand Final. 

 

Golden Nugget Bakery BFUA Junior Presentation Night

A large crowd of BFUA members and families turned out at the City Oval Bowls Club to celebrate and congratulate the significant contribution made by our junior members in 2017.  The evening commenced with a pie & drink and the announcement of the Ballarat Junior Football League & MCDFNL Grand Final Appointments following by the awarding of trophies to many junior members.

The following members recieved awards for their outstanding seasons.

Best Junior Male Field Umpire - Brock Reid

Best Junior Female Field Umpire - Amelie Pope

Best First Year Junior Male Field Umpire - Jack Anderson

Best First Year Junior Female Field Umpire - Claudia Hardiman

Development Coaches Award - Matthew Weybury & Hannah Sedman

Maryborough Castlemaine Boundary Coaches Award - Charlie Chapman 

CHFL Boundary Coaches Award - Ben Cochrane

Ballarat Junior Football League Boundary Coaches Award - Ty Palmer

Junior Boundary Encouragement Award - Male - Charlie Goldsworthy

Junior Boundary Encouragement Award - Female - Beth Murfett

Best First Year Female Boundary Umpire - Mia Litras

BFUA Junior Umpire Achievement 1st Year Field Umpire Certificates -

Daniel Wilson, Joshua Di Mieri, Mitch Bowden, Ruby Murphy, Claudia Hardiman, Tilly Pearce, Isla Clark, Astrid Livitsanis, Wynona Goldsworthy, Hannah Sedman

100 Game Milestone Certificates - Maeve Clark, Liam Carter

The BFUA Senior Presentation night will be held on Wednesday 20th September 2017 and a large enthuisiastic crowd is expected.

 

BFUA Report Weekend 26/27 August

There have been many achievements by BFUA members in recent times. 

Adrian Tinetti officiated in the Women’s International Cup Grand Final at Etihad Stadium while Connor Callinan was on the boundary in the Men’s International Cup Grand Final at the MCG.  Congratulations to Adrian and Connor on their selection and to all the BFUA umpires that officiated at this year’s International Cup.  The BFUA had the most umpires participate of all the umpiring association across the state.

BFUA members reaching milestones include;

Andrew Dark – 1000 games

Daryl Devereux – 700 games

Peter Luke – 600 games

Darren Woodyatt – 500 games

Aaron Tucker & Wayne Scanlon – 450 games

Richard Carroll – 200 games

David Becker & Callan Evans – 150 games

Congratulations and thanks for your contribution to the BFUA.

Well done to all BFUA umpires on supporting the McGrath Foundation by wearing pink socks in last weekend matches raising awareness and money for a great cause.  Well done to Brendan Johnston for his tireless work in organising the fundraiser.

With finals with us please remember if any umpires need some work to keep out on the park don’t forget our partners Lake Health Group who will work with you to keep you in good order.

Upcoming events include;

Parma Night – Wednesday 6^th September

Golden Nugget Bakery Junior Presentation Night – Wednesday 13^th September

Presentation Night – Wednesday 20^th September

The BFUA is grateful for the ongoing support of our sponsors Buffalo Sports, Ballarat Leagues Club, Lake Health Group, Athlete’s Foot Ballarat, Body & Soul 24/7, Sleep’s Plumbing, Miners Tavern, Golden Nugget Bakery and JAL Contractors.

Umpire Related Issues - If any club has an umpire related issue that they would like to discuss with the BFUA in 2017, could you please email Gary Learmonth at gary@aflgoldfields.com.au

Each issue will be dealt with accordingly and passed onto the appropriate people within the BFUA. It is important that if a club does have something to discuss with the BFUA, the issue is presented to the BFUA through the right channels within your club. EG/From club official such as club President/Junior Coordinator or Senior Coach.

For any further questions regarding the BFUA, please call Gary Learmonth on 5333 1977.

 

Andrew Dark reaches a magic milestone - 1000th Games

Congratulations to BFUA Life member Andrew Dark who on Saturday umpires his 1000th match.  Read all about his achievement and the BFUA veteran members joining in on his celebration.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4847666/experienced-panel-joins-dark-in-1000th/?cs=63

 

BFUA's Continued International Involvement

The BFUA continues it's international involvement with the most umpires involved in the International Cup which is currently underway across Victoria.

Please read about the great work of our umpires below.

http://aflvic.com.au/victorian-umpires-receive-afl-ic17-nod/

 

BFUA to Host AFL South African Umpires

Ballarat Football Umpires Association will host two umpires from AFL South Africa as part of the AFL International Cup.  The BFUA will host and provide umpiring development opportunities for the up and coming South African umpires, Sibusiso Nqunqeka (male) from the Western Cape Province and Nosipho Khuzwayo (female) from the Kwa Zulu Natal Province.

They will train and officiate with the BFUA from Wednesday July 12 to Wednesday August 2 in the lead up to the AFL International Cup that runs from August 6 to 19.

BFUA Operations Manager Gary Learmonth is looking forward to welcoming the pair into the group.  “This is an exciting opportunity to host two officials from a different cultural background; and there is no doubt that our umpires will look forward to the opportunity of learning about their culture and their love for the game,” Learmonth says.

“We look forward to hosting Sibusiso and Nosipho who we hope to pass on valuable experience to help them become better umpires and “I’d like to thank the support of Sleep’s Plumbing who helped make this possible.”

As part of the program the BFUA will be hosting the umpires during their stay in Ballarat and will facilitate development opportunities with the AFL, VFL umpires along with coaching and mentoring from the BFUA.

Sibusiso and Nosipho will then join the South African team in Melbourne for the AFL International Cup.  It is hoped that the learning and skills gained during their stay will give them a chance to officiate in the tournament and go back to South Africa to mentor umpires in South Africa.

BFUA members will also be participating in the AFL International Cup.

For more information please contact BFUA Operations Manager, Gary Learmonth on 0408 518 908.

 

Training for July

Training for July will return to City Oval for Monday & Wednesday sessions.

 

Change of Training Venue for Wednesday 28 June 2017

Training on Wednesday 28th June will be held at City Oval from 5:30pm.

A coaching session will be held in the Social Rooms following training.

 

 

BFUA Supporting the McGrath Foundation

The BFUA will be supporting the McGrath foundation by participating in a pink Socks day.  The event will take place on the weekend of August 19 - 20 in all BFL, CHFL, MDCFL, BFL juniors as well as all grades of Female Football.

The socks cost $12 a pair and can be salary sacrificed from umpires match payments.  All monies raised will go to the McGrath Foundation.

Please see Brendan Johnston for the socks or give him a call on 0407530158 for more info.

 

A different take on Local Football Umpires!

 

Callan Evans Selected in Representative Match - Vic Country v VAFA

Following his strong performance during the recent interleague match BFUA Goal Umpire Callan Evans has been appointed by AFL Victoria to officiate in the senior representative football game to be played between AFL Victoria Country and the VAFA. 

Two games - Senior and Under 19 - will be played on Saturday 8 July at Frankston Football Ground and the following members of the V/Line Umpire Academy Program have been appointed to officiate in these most prestigious games.

The umpiring appointments will be shared with the VAFA and AFL Victoria Country umpires will be:-

Seniors – 2:15pm

 Joshua Robertson        AFL Barwon – Geelong Umpires                     Field

James Rea                   Warrnambool & District FUA                         Boundary

Max Visintin                AFL Barwon – Geelong Umpires                     Boundary

Callan Evans                Ballarat Football Umpires Association           Goal

Under 19’s – 11:30am

Jack Cannon                Southern Umpires Association                        Field

Tim Beattie                 Sale Umpires Association                               Boundary

Corey Malcolm           Yarra Ranges Umpires Association                Boundary

Bradley Kellett            Southern Umpires Association                        Goal

Congratulations to Callan on his wonderful achievement.

 

Change of Training Venue for June 2017

Training during June will move away from City Oval and consist of the following;

Monday 5, 19, 26 June - 5:30pm - 6:30pm (excluding) Queens Birthday Monday

Ballarat Aquatics Centre

Gillies Street North, Ballarat

Please bring swimmers & towel - the association will be covering cost of lane hire.  If you wish to use other facilities you will be required to pay for that yourself.  All umpires including Goal Umpires are invited to attend.

Wednesday 7, 14, 21, 28 June - 5:30pm - 7pm

Llanberris Athletics Reserve

Enter York Street entrance

Please bring runners. 

# Please note that the Goal Umpires will continue to train at City Oval on Wednesday evenings - 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

 

Gary Hamilton notches up match 1000th

The past weekend saw BFUA Goal Umpire bring up game 1000th when he officiated in the Goals for the Darley v Melton South senior game at Darley Park.  It was a weekend of milestones with Mick Toner - 300 games and Julian Pinder 450 games also bringing up milestones.  Congratulations from the BFUA on your achievements.

Check out the attached article in the Ballarat Courier.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4693365/umpire-notches-up-1000-matches/?cs=63

 

BFUA Special Offer from The Athlete's Foot Ballarat

The Athlete's Foot Ballarat is a valued sponsor of the BFUA and through our partnership are giving all BFUA members the opportunity to secure a bargain at their Half Yearly Clearance.  This offer is only available to BFUA  members and will see the store remain open until 7:30pm.  Please get along to The Athlete's Foot - Ballarat on Tuesday 6th June 2017 to support one of our great sponsors and get yourself some great runners at a great price.  Click on the below links for more details.

The Athlete's Foot Ballarat - BFUA Special Opening Times

The Athlete's Foot Ballarat - BFUA Special Offer

 

BFUA in the news again!

Check out the story below regarding the growth of female umpires following the announcement of Eleni Glouftsis becoming the AFL's first female field umpire.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4672867/first-bounce-is-real-afl-game-changer-for-ballarat-women/?cs=63

 

BFUA Well Represented in AFL Victoria Community Championships

The BFUA will be well represented when the AFL Victoria Community Championships are held across the State on Saturday 13 May 2017.  17 BFUA members will participate in the annual interleague competition which is a great result for the BFUA and a wonderful reward for those members.

BFUA members selected are;

Ballarat FNL v Bendigo FNL – QEO Bendigo

Seniors

(Field) – Peter Brown

(Boundary) – Connor Callinan, Josh Findlay

(Goal) – Callan Evans

Under 18

(Field) – Aaron Reed.

Central Murray FL v Heathcote DFL – QEO Bendigo

Seniors

(Field) – Brendan Brasser, Adrian Tinetti

(Boundary) – Toby Whittle, Tom Perry, Ben Rofe

(Goal) – Brodie Bennett, John Seeary.

Geelong & DFL v North Central FL – Wedderburn               

Under 18

(Boundary) – Seth Linke Nagel, Jedd Linke Nagel, Jack Brown

(Goal) – Glenn McDonnell, Peter Hughes.

 

New BFUA Life Members

Congratulations to John Bettles and Eddy Martin for being awarded Life Membership of the BFUA.  John & Eddy recieved their life membership in front of a crowd of 60 BFUA Life Members and guests at the Sleep's Plumbing BFUA Life Members held at the City Oval Bowling Club on Wednesday 10 May.

John and Eddy have been long time contributors to the association and their life membership is a just reward for those years spent with the BFUA.  John and Eddy were presented with their life membership by fellow life members and selection panel members Daryl Devereux and Rob Simmonds.

Both men were humbled and appreciative of the BFUA's recognition to their long service.

The night enabled life members to relive the many enjoyable times they shared with the BFUA and catch up with long time friends.

 

Four!  A Fun U18 Function!

A successful Under 18 event was held on Friday 28th April with 22 of our members attending. We were hosted by Golf City Driving Range and Mini Golf Centre in Alfredton and our junior members enjoyed the driving range, some pizza and a drink to refuel and then the challenge of the mini golf course. Thanks to Richard Carroll, Paul Clarke and Glen Trigg for their assistance and to the junior members for attending with enthusiasm. There was some excellent golfing talent on display, along with some that were trying golf for the first time. The management at the driving range commented on the fantastic manners our junior members had which is a credit to them.

 

Sleep's Plumbing BFUA Life Members Night

The annual BFUA Life Members Night will be held on Wednesday 10th May 2017 at the City Oval Bowling Club commencing at 6:45pm.  The evening is a great opportunity to recognise the contribution of our life members to the association.  It is also a chance to recognise and induct some new BFUA Life Members.

Anyone interested in attending the evening please contact Gary Learmonth on 5333 1977 or email gary@aflgoldfields.com.au .  The evening includes a Guest Speaker and a two course meal for $25.

 

Compulsory BFUA Administration Evening

The BFUA will be holding a Compulsory Administration Evening following training on Wednesday 19th April at the City Oval Bowls Club commencing at 7:00pm.

During the evening members and parents will be provided with the 2017 BFUA Information Booklet and we will cover the following topics;

• Athlete's Foot - footwear display
• Injury Management & CGU Claims - (Lake Health will present to the group)
• Tribunal Process - completing report sheet, reporting umpire & advocate tribunal expectation (Trevor King - AFL Goldfields Tribunal Member)
• Registrations - sporting pulse vs hard copy
• Child Safety Policy
• Schedula - registration, appointments, availability, pays, contact details
• Travel - drivers
• Code of Conduct - grievance procedure
• Website - events
• Mentor Umpires (Paul Clark)
• Club Interaction (Roger LeGrand
• Escalation (NO SURPRISES) Notification

Food & Drinks will be available to buy on the evening.  Please make the effort to attend this evening to get all the up to date information.

 

More BFUA Members Off to the VFL

Please see article below in The Ballarat Courier about the success of three BFUA members in gaining a spot with the VFL Umpires.  Congratulations Tom, Kellie & Ken!

 http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4562748/more-bfua-talent-rising-through-ranks/

 

Sleep's Plumbing BFUA Season Launch

After another energizing training session around Lake Wendouree conducted by our Westvic trainers, and a nice cool shower the BFUA held their Annual Season Launch sponsored by Sleeps Plumbing on Wednesday 15th March.

With close to 100 BFUA members in attendance at the Yacht Club we were entertained by stories from both current AFL Field Umpire David Harris and former AFL Umpires boss Jeff Gieschen. David who grew up and developed his umpiring craft in Warrnambool spoke of the hard work, grit and determination required to get to the top level. David was a motivation to many of the younger members of the organisation as he spoke of his time entering the game on the boundary, and then taking the plunge into the middle at a very young age. Jeff spoke around his many efforts to change the image and attitudes towards umpires during his time at the helm. He had many stories that the more senior members of the association could remember, even dating back to when the umpires wore all white and were often targeted with a disrespectful name to match the colour of the uniform. It shows that umpiring certainly has come a very long way.

 It was a very positive night with a great atmosphere and all looking forward to a great season ahead and we thank all involved in the preparation and running of the evening. An article followed in the Ballarat Courier on the weekend. Please see the link.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4533884/respect-a-good-game-relies-on-good-control/?cs=63

 

Updated 2017 AFL Laws of the Game

As we approach the practice-match phase of pre-season campaigns, AFL Victoria has confirmed the updated 2017 AFL Laws of the Game.

For your immediate reference, these can be found here 2017 AFL Laws of the Game - three new Law interpretation .

These will be contained within the 2017 AFL Victoria Country Handbook that is currently being printed.

Two new interpretations have been introduced for immediate implementation across all country Victoria Regions and these Laws relate to the adjustment of the High Contact Law and the new Law that prevents any player who is a non-designated ruckman contesting any ruck contest – around the ground or a boundary throw in.

In addition to the two new law interpretations, in 2017 the BFUA will also be implementing the 10 metre protected area around set kick situations. You might recall that this was brought in by both the AFL and AFL Victoria Country last year, however at a local we chose not to apply it because it was very much a last minute change. This law is now being implemented in every league across Country Victoria so it is important that we comply with others.

Protected zone

Last year, no one was allowed within five-metres of the person with the ball after a mark or free kick. This year the protected area is extended to 10-metres. If a player goes in that protected zone, expect a 50-metre penalty to be awarded.

AFL Victoria is working on acquiring some vision that illustrates these two new interpretations which will be available as soon as we receive it.

The Deliberate Rushed Behind (DRB) Law will again not be enforced in football played in Vic Country Regions.

Kind regards,

Roger Le Grand

BFUA Senior Coach

 

Ballarat Football Umpires Association in the News

The growth of female umpires within the BFUA was highlighted in the Ballarat Courier.  Click on the below link for a great read. 

http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/4433841/ball-up-girls-in-charge/ 

Wow - What a Succesful Information Evening

The BFUA held their annual information evening on Wednesday 1st February at the BFUA Social Rooms with a large turn out of new and old members in attendance.  The Social Rooms were bursting at the seems with approximately 150 people there to hear from BFUA Chairman Richard Carroll and BFUA Senior Coach Roger LeGrand about the year ahead and the BFUA as an organisation.  The evening was a great chance for new members to ask the BFUA coaches and board members questions on various issues and items that they were unsure about.  52 potential new members attended and hopefully those boys and girls, men and women will return as members of the BFUA in the near future as the organisation pushes to its aim of 300 members in 2017.

                          

BFUA Re-appoints Coaches for 2017

The BFUA is excited that our 2016 coaches have agreed to continue on in their roles for 2017.  2016 was an excellent season for all disciplines and saw the Association grow in numbers to 263 running members.  The BFUA Senior Coach Roger LeGrand was rewarded for his outstanding work by being awarded the Victoria Country Umpire Coach of the Year for 2016 which is a great reward for the hard work that Roger contributes to the Association.  The BFUA looks forward to the continued great work of our coaches and congratulates them on their re-appointment.

BFUA Senior Coach - Roger LeGrand

Boundary Umpire Coach - Daryl Biggin

Goal Umpire Coach - Rhys Brehaut

Development Coach - Paul Clark

BFUA Out in the Community

Although the football season rests, many of our members don't.  During early January 2017 members of the BFUA provided volunteer assistance to Cycling Australia's Road National Championships held in and around Ballarat.  Our members provided assistance with marshalling as well running the BBQ on the first evening of competition to feed the many spectators in town to watch the event.  Thanks to those BFUA members who assisted during the event.

BFUA members also assisted at the recent Ballarat Ironman event and a bus load of BFUA members will be heading to Geelong in late January to volunteer at the Cadel Evans Road Race.

A big thank you to Daryl Biggin and Rick McCluskey for coordintating these events on behalf of the BFUA. 

Photo courtesy of The Courier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BFUA 2016 Award Winners

AWARD	WINNER
Golden Whistle Award	Tom Lyon
Best & Most Consistent Field Umpire	Tom Lyon
Best & Most Consistent Boundary Umpire	Tom Perry
Best & Most Consistent Goal Umpire	Callan Evans
Most Improved Field Umpire	Lachlan Fitzpatrick
Most Improved Boundary Umpire	Seth Linke – Nagel
Most Improved Goal Umpire	Glenn McDonnell
Best First Year Field Umpire (Shane McInerney Award)	Tom Godson
Best First Year Boundary Umpire (Steve Perry Award)	David Curtis
Best First Year Female Boundary Umpire	Sophie Dyer
Best First Year Goal Umpire	Lee Gleeson
Training Award	Les Sedman & Mick Toner
Best Junior Field Umpire	Maeve Clark & Isaiah Britt
Maryborough Castlemaine Boundary Coaches Award	Eric Gell
CHFL Boundary Coaches Award	Charlie Wheatland
Ballarat Juniors Boundary Coaches Award	Beth Murfett
Junior Boundary Encouragement Award	Josh Findlay
Les Baldock Goal Umpire Encouragement Award	Travis Meade
Best Club Person Award	John Seeary
Boundary Best Club Person Award	Ashley Richardson
100m Champion	Emmett Murphy
400m Champion	Ben Rofe