WFNL CELEBRATES 2026 COMMUNITY UMPIRING WEEK
The second week of the Western Football Netball League season marks Community Umpiring Week, an initiative that spans all levels of football.
April 16-19 will be used to shine a light on the vital role umpires play across Australian football, promotes respect for those officiating at all levels, and highlights the pathways available for people to get involved in umpiring.
Community Umpiring Week will once again see AFL and state league umpires connect directly with grassroots football, creating memorable experiences and supporting the development of the next generation of officials.
On Thursday night a group of close to 30 VFL and AFL umpires attended WFNL umpire training at Hanmer Reserve as part of Community Umpiring Week initiatives.
Meanhile, Community Umpire Week Ambassador Nathan Williamson who has officiated 221 AFL matches since his debut in 2017 will umpire a WFNL junior football match this weekend.
WFNL Director of Umpiring Lachy Harty said the league is seeing positive growth in umpiring and wants to build participation by providing a supportive environment for all officials.
“We’re focused on building a good environment at our training where people want to keep coming and want to support each other, that’s probably the big thing for us,” he said.
“We’ve got relatively new coaches on board and it’s a bit of a younger umpiring group then what we’ve had in the past.
“A lot of them (umpires) are keen to come to training, build some comradery and it’s a good atmosphere and vibe down there at the moment.
“We start training sessions together with a warm-up as one big group then branch of into different disciplines and then at the end we get together and have a feed. It’s not dissimilar to a football club.”
Harty also said a big focus remains increasing the number of women and girls involved in umpiring.
This year there are more than 400 registered umpires in the WFNL.
The league’s field, boundary and goal umpires train weekly at Hanmer Reserve, Yarraville every Tuesday and Thursday night before officiating games across Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.
Umpire academies for the league’s newest umpires also operate at Werribee (MacKillop College), Point Cook (Saltwater Reserve), Hoppers Crossing (Hogans Road Reserve), Yarraville (Hanmer Reserve) and Albanvale (Robert Bruce Reserve).
Anyone interested in umpiring can find more information and details on how to register HERE.
For further enquiries please contact WFNL Director of Umpiring, Lachlan Harty by emailing lachlan.harty@wfnl.com.au.