Umpiring in Schools

The SANFL Umpiring department can run umpiring programs as part of school sport or dedicated AFL classes. These programs are suitable for High School age students, as umpires need to be at least 12 years of age to begin. We can be flexible in the delivery and timing of the courses to suit your schools needs.

SANFL has two main offerings:

The free 90 minute Foundation Umpires Course

Teaching the fundamental skills of becoming an umpire, and is an introduction to the umpiring development pathway.

What to expect?

The 90 minute course will cover topics such as:

• Umpiring Pathways
• Umpire Roles
• Decision Making
• Communication
• Positioning
• Signals

There will also be  practical components that will cover:

• Ball-Ups, signalling, & communicating as a Field Umpire
• Boundary throw-ins
• Goal Flag waving

Upon completion,  students will be provided all the information on how to transition into umpiring a game of community football if desired.

The second offering is the School Umpiring Course which is designed to be 4 x 60 minute sessions (can be altered to be flexible in delivery)

This course will also teach the fundamental skills of becoming an umpire but  allows for a deeper dive in exploring each discipline through greater practical experience. This course can be utilised as part of the curriculum and teachers can provide a reflection or analysis opportunity at the end of the course for students to reflect on their skills learnt and experience.

What to expect?

A dedicated practical session on each of Field, Boundary & Goal umpiring culminating in a Match Day simulation to put all the skills into practice.

Upon completion,  students will be provided all the information on how to transition into umpiring a game of community football if desired.

SACE Community Learning

SANFL Umpiring also has  SACE approved Community Learning programs were students can obtain 10 Stage 1 SACE credits through their involvement in umpiring across the course of a season.  Information on how to complete the SACE Community Learning Program (Development Field, Boundary or Goal Umpire) is available upon request. Your school could start with an umpiring course that gives students all the skills to umpire and assist some students to go on and earn a further 10 SACE credits at Stage 1.