The Goulburn Cricket Umpires' Association has put out a call for any locals interested in becoming an umpire.
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Though cricket remains arguably the most popular summer sport in Goulburn, there is often a struggle to find a sufficient number of officials to oversee each weekend's matches.
The need for more umpires, association secretary Brad Ehrke said, was something that was often overlooked by many cricket fans.
"To a large extent, people want to play cricket on weekends [instead of umpire]," Ehrke said.
"Having said that, there's a lot of people who love cricket and, all summer, they'll be sitting down in front of the TV watching test matches or one day games, and it never occurs to them that they could be involved in cricket.
"To be honest, one of the best seats in the house in any game of cricket, is standing at the bowlers' end and ready to be involved in the game."
There is a lack of awareness about pathways in Australia for umpires to reach the highest echelons of the profession. In actuality, there are many opportunities for umpires to progress should they show talent and dedication.
Perhaps the best evidence of this accessibility is Goulburn's own Claire Polosak, who in 2017 was the first female umpire to stand in a men's domestic fixture in Australia. She then went one better in 2019, when she became the first woman to officiate a men's One Day International.
"We are affiliated with the NSW Cricket Umpires and Scorers' Association," Ehrke said.
"That's the peak umpiring body in NSW, and they appoint umpires for the Sydney grade competition. A lot of the umpires that they grow, develop into the national panel for the Sheffield Shield and Big Bash.
"Australian international umpires are then selected from that pool."
Umpiring, Ehrke acknowledged, can be a rough job at times. Officials are often required to make calls on decisions such as LBWs, catches run-outs, and stumpings which more often than not leave the dismissed player disappointed.
But, he added, there is plenty of support and training given to young umpires to allow them to develop confidence in their decision-making abilities.
"For new umpires in particular, who are just starting out, we tend not to throw them in the deep end," Ehrke said.
"We tend to pair them with an experienced umpire until they feel comfortable taking charge of a game on their own.
"In Goulburn, we haven't got huge amounts of umpires and in second grade, we tend to allocate one official umpire. So the umpire has to have that confidence that they can take charge of a game if players get unruly."
For more information, those interested can contact the Goulburn District Cricket Association, or get in touch with the umpires' association via email at goulburncricketumpires@gmail.com.
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