Tara Murray
New Western Netball League umpire director Woody Tangaroa wants to help the league become a leader in the umpire development space.
Tangaroa has taken on the role as the league grows from 59 teams to more than 70 for next year’s competition.
With the influx of players, the league is keen to ensure that the umpires with the right skills are also on court.
The competition will be played at two possibly three locations next season.
Netball and events operations coordinator Jordan Dalliston said they were trying to change the structure of the umpire space.
“I’ve created a totally new structure that will facilitate education to all club and league umpires towards a B badge,” she said.
“Also a new thing in 2025, is B-grade badging in the west. It makes us the fourth competition in metro Melbourne to facilitate this.”
Tangaroa, who has been at the Hoppers Crossing Netball Association, said the league has a fantastic opportunity to become a leader in umpire development space in the metro region.
“We’re in a fantastic position with the league growing as it is and the quality of competition to provide our umpires with everything necessary to become the next group of high performing umpires in the state,” he said.
“We want to create an environment where anyone from the complete novice to an aspiring high performance umpire feels supported and has the resources from the league to go on and succeed in the space.
“I’m eager to take the challenge on but also really excited to see how much growth I can contribute to within not only the WFNL but also the wider community.”
Meanwhile, the WNL has announced that Eagle Stadium in Werribee would be its third location for the netball competition next year.
