AFL Northern Territory is proud to announce that Round 2 of the 2017/18 TIO NTFL season will be Community Umpiring Round.
This round aims to ensure a positive attitude towards the 278 umpires that work each weekend of the NTFL season.
At the beginning of each Round 2 NTFL Premier League game coaches and captains will come together in the centre circle for the coin toss to shake hands and make a stand that “umpiring is everyone business”.
The national campaign “Umpiring Is Everyone’s Business” (UIEB) is to support umpires at the community level of the game and emphasises that all involved - coaches, players, administrators, parents and supporters – have a role to play in creating a positive match day environment considering that 40% of NTFL umpires are under the age of 18.
The AFL, AFL Coaches Association, AFL Players Association and AFL Umpires Department band together to the drive the message to the Greater Football Community, and all clubs are encouraged to join in the National Campaign.
AFL NT Umpiring Manager, Mark Noonan, says that this round is about awareness in creating a positive environment for umpires, no matter the grade.
“Statistics show that one in every four community umpires nationally leave the game each year due to the abuse and intimidation of umpires from coaches, players and spectators. The majority of these umpires are in their first two seasons of their umpiring careers.
“This activation is as much about keeping them in the game as recruiting them. This is achievable by everyone involved to have a positive attitude towards umpires and umpiring.”
