Posted on Wednesday 21st June, 2023

WRFL UMPIRE SPOTLIGHT: PIPER AND MELIA ALLEN

Sisters Piper and Melia Allen moved to Australia from America in 2015 and have recently fallen in love with the game of Australian Rules Football.

The girls started their journey in the WRFL as umpires and have since started playing the sport with Caroline Springs Football Club.

They have both said they were inspired to get involved in umpiring by people in their life,

“A teacher of mine is already doing umpiring for the VFL and AFLW, she had the biggest impact on me joining umpiring and playing Footy” Melia said.

For Piper it was her own sister who drew her into the sport,

“My sister started to [umpire] and whenever she came home, she was super happy and had great stories to tell.”

It’s no secret that sport can be used to help enrich our lives in many ways, from expanding our social circle to gaining new skills and experiences. This is why Melia and Piper decided to start playing as well as just umpiring.

“I mainly did it to have something fun to do over the weekends, improve my skills and to branch out with new friends,” they said, “I feel as if it helps me do better when I umpire games because I know more about the play.” 

At the WRFL it’s important to us that our umpires love for the game is not only nurtured but expanded on and we believe Piper and Melia’s stories are ones that show just how amazing our game can be.

The girls spoke to us about their journey through umpiring with the WRFL so far and how it has helped them.

“It’s all been really good. I’ve gotten to do a lot of games and training. The people I do it with are heaps of fun and super supportive, you can go at your own pace and it’s great to get outside, do exercise and get paid for it,” Melia said.
Her sister shared a similar sentiment with us about her experience in the world of umpiring,

“I feel like I’ve really gotten better and better every time I go and I keep learning how to do things to my best. It has taught me more things and I’ve made some great friends who I sometimes see when I do games and we can have a good conversation and laugh,”

The WRFL is always seeking more people to get involved with umpiring, if you or someone you know would like to get on board visit our website here for more information.