IN a time where umpire shortages are affecting sport across the country, local netballer Charley Samson has been thriving in her development on the sidelines.

Juggling the commitments of Portland Football Netball Club netball coordinator, player, mum and employee, Samson decided to add umpiring to the list just before COVID hit and hasn’t looked back.

Her growth has been quick, as she has recently been accepted into the Netball Victoria Umpire Talent Academy where she will continue to hone her skills and gain further qualification.

Starting at Portland Netball Association’s Monday night netball competition back in 2020, Samson has worked her way up to umpiring a Hampden Netball League grand final the past month as well as State Netball titles.

“It’s only been two years I’ve been umpiring really, I started just before COVID at Monday night netball in January and February and then COVID happened so I couldn’t continue that year,” Samson said.

“So I went back to learning at the end of that year and into the start of 2021.

“We only had 12 rounds here in 2021, so I didn’t get much learning in, I umpired a few games but I was playing and coaching that year as well.

“At the end of 2021 I kept doing Monday night and then on Anzac Day 2022 I got badged for the first time.

“Once I received my C badge that’s when I really started concentrating on what I needed to learn and I’ve been really lucky with Lauren (Hockley) and her mum Sue Anderson – they’ve been great and they’ve mentored me the whole way through.”

The pathway

Samson started umpiring at club level before trying her hand at interleague competitions where she was eventually talent identified for her performances.

“I went to Association Championships in Warrnambool, which is an indoor competition where players from across the region are selected by their association to play, and I realised how fast the competition was and I really enjoyed that day of umpiring,” she said.

“At those events Netball Victoria have umpire mentor coaches so during and at the end of games they’re constantly giving you feedback – being surrounded by those higher-level umpires makes you want to get better too.

“I did Hampden finals last year and loved the higher-level competition and the crowd and everything like that.”

From her efforts at the representative and finals level Samson was identified to join the academy which brings together emerging umpires from across Victoria to work on their skill and toward the next level of badging.

“June this year at the Association Championships they were there scouting umpires and that’s when I got the email to say I’d been talent identified and to apply for a position in the program,” Samson said.

“It’s 10 sessions in between October 2023 and July 2024 and they’re all on Sunday for three hours, they’re either Warrnambool, Ballarat or Melbourne.

“We work alongside the netball talent pathways and programs so there will be learning sessions and then we’ll umpire selections for those pathways.”

The support

Samson said her rise in the umpiring ranks would have been much more difficult without the support of local netball mentors including A badged umpire Lauren Hockley.

“It’s quite easy to get to your C badge and sometimes it’s hard to go any further,” she said.

“Hampden has been really good with providing support and for two games a year they send umpire mentors to your club so that’s really lucky.”

In Australia there are four levels of umpiring starting with a C badge, a B badge an A badge and an AA badge.

“To get your B badge you have to really work at it because it’s a different skill set,” Samson said.

“To get your A badge is next to impossible, and then to get AA which means to umpire the top league Suncorp is just way out of my league.

“Being at Portland we’ve been really lucky, we have a very good calibre of umpires, Lauren is one of the only people in Hampden that is A badged, and Michelle Finck is B badged, but there is not many people at all who are B badged so we’re lucky to have the umpires we do here.

“I’d like to think one day I could get my A badge and be as good as Lauren but for now I just want to get my B badge and see where the academy takes me.”

The why

With plenty of commitments in other aspects of netball and life, Samson said umpiring has given her something to work at and is a way to stay connected to the game in years to come.

“To start with I just wanted something that when I have to stop playing and my daughter Ellie is coming through, I have a way to stay part of netball,” she said.

“I’ve stopped coaching because I preferred to continue my umpiring, Saturdays are 8am until the Open game is done and in between I’ll support teams, umpire, play and do administration.

“The kids run around, and they just love it so it’s a great family environment.”

And as for the trade, Samson said being knowledgeable and fair are two things she focuses on.

“I just want to be a fair umpire who knows the rules properly and to officiate a good game of netball – I want to know the rules inside and out, because there are a lot, and it’s harder than people think,” she said.

“There are so many times where I question myself but once you’ve made a call you have to stick with it – you can’t see everything so that can get hard but as I get better, I should be able to see more.

While it has been a fulfilling journey so far for Samson, she hopes more people will be inspired to take up a whistle and have a go officiating.

“We’re lucky we’ve got lots of experienced people at our club that have been through the ranks, but we don’t have many coming through – we have Macey (Hockley) and Kloe (Payne) who got badged this year but not many people want to give it a go. I think there’s some fear that you’ll make the wrong call or miss something but at the end of the day as long as you have a go and back yourself in, the confidence will come.”