The Board of Management of the Geelong Football Umpires League wish all Members, Life Members, and visitors to our Web Site, the very best wishes for a happy and safe Christmas and New Year with family and friends.

Members who are contemplating returning as running umpires in 2008, and I sincerely hope that means all of you, please do not eat too much Christmas pudding as pre-season training commences in 5 weeks and I am sure you will all want to be reasonably fit when you return.   

Information letters, including 2008 Membership Nomination Forms, will be posted out to all 2007 members in mid-January.    Once again, have a very happy Christmas and I look forward to seeing you all back with us in 2008.

Bill Fulton
General Manager

Congratulations to the GFUL team who finished 3rd in the Jack Clarke 3Klm Eliminator Event at the Ron Clarke Classic Athletics Meet held at Landy Field on Sunday 2nd December 2007.

Teams of runners from local GFL, BFL and G&DFL football clubs, who had contested Grand Finals in 2007, were invited to compete against a team representing the AFL Essendon Football Club.

The event was won by the BFL's Ocean Grove team, followed by Essendon with the GFUL a gallant third.

Umpires representing the GFUL were:
Mark Bushfield, who co-ordinated the GFUL participation in the event,
Murray Fanning, Adam Bell, Jake Robertson, Jason Formosa, James Stephenson, Adrian Stephenson James Marriner, Ross Marriner and Steven Smith.

The only disappointing aspect of the meet was the lack of recognition of the Geelong Football Umpires League participation in any of the pre-meet advertising or promotion, despite the GFUL being the first team to accept the invitation to compete and fully support the concept.   Perhaps more recognition will be forthcoming in future events after our strong showing.  

The Geelong Football Umpires League will compete in the 2007 “Ron Clarke Classic” Track & Field Meet to be held on Sunday 2nd December 2007 at the Landy Field Athletic Track in Geelong.   The meet has been organised by Australian Olympic Marathon Runner, Lee Troop, and will feature some of Australia’s best athletes who will be vying for selection in the 2008 Olympic Games team. 

However, the meet is not only about the elite, but will be filled with lots of community activities, including a special 3km relay event in which GFUL Umpires will compete against runners from the Essendon Football Club and the 2007 Grand Final teams from the GFL, BFL and G&DFL for the “Jack Clarke Perpetual Trophy” plus various other cash and merchandise incentives.

GFUL Training Supervisor, Mark Bushfield, has put together a strong team to represent the umpires and would like some support, so if you can spare some time to attend the meet and cheer on the GFUL team, it would be greatly appreciated.

It is not just the footballers that have started their pre-season campaign.  On Wednesday 14th November at the Geelong Football Umpires League Rooms at Kardinia Park, a group of field, boundary and goal umpires from the Geelong, Ballarat and Colac Umpiring Associations, have also hit the track as part of the VCFL’s Umpire Academy Program.  

VCFL Umpire Development Manager, Rod Threlfall, said five Academies were established around country Victoria  in 2007 and that number would increase to seven in 2008 because of the demand.  “We’ll put about 250 umpires from around the State through this program” Threlfall said.   He also said that the academy was originally set up to focus on young and developing umpires, but it had been expanded to include older and more experienced umpires, as umpires involved in the academies would be appointed to represntative games, such as next years National Country Football Championships to be held in Victoria and the VCFL Inter-League competitions.
“We think it will build on retention rates of umpires and to have them thinking about next year, even this early in the season, will only make them become a more professional umpire,” Threlfall said.

Each umpire is put through a strict fitness and performance test as well as receiving indoor coaching.  “The program is aiming to improve the skill level of umpires” Threlfall said.  “If that delivers a better skilled umpire at a local level, the we will have achieved an outcome.”

The next Academy session in Geelong will be at the Geelong Football Umpires League Rooms at Kardinia Park on Wednesday 5th December 2007.