The Australia/NZ Referee and Umpire development programme was established at the beginning of 2022. The objective of the programme is to support young technical officials who have been identified by their Member Associations as having the potential to attain Badminton World Federation level in the future.
In total there are two Referee’s and eight Umpire’s on the programme. By being part of this programme we are aiming to give these technical officials as much experience and learning opportunities as possible, evidenced last month when four of the umpires had the opportunity to umpire for the first three days of the SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024.
Another two umpires on this programme, Rita Chen (NZL) and Trista Li (AUS) recently had the opportunity to officiate at the CROWNE PLAZA Northern Marianans International 2024 and the DOVE Saipan Open 2024
Following these two BWF Grade 3 International Challenge tournaments, Trista and Rita reflected on their experiences.
Trista was umpiring at her first tournament outside of Australia and believes the opportunity has been priceless. “By working alongside international and experienced technical officials, I am able to learn new and different things that I can take and make a part of my style, making it better” said Trista. Being able to network with, and to observe how other umpires on court was one of the highlights. “I have only been an umpire at tournaments with Australian players, so gaining experience of how international players communicate with us as technical officials at this higher-level event is something that is very different but is an opportunity to gain a range of experiences” explained Trista.
Rita has had some previous international experience, this being her fourth International Challenge tournament in the Oceania region. She believes having two tournaments in two consecutive weeks benefits her with many learnings condensed into a short time. With other international umpires who have more years of experience at these tournaments, “the opportunity to watch how they manage situations on court with a higher level of international player is helpful for me, as it can be more challenging to manage the court with players that have played at this level for some time”.
Julie Carrel – Referee, was very complimentary of both Rita and Trista and how they coped with their new environment and new players. “Over the two weeks we saw a big improvement in both Trista and Rita, they gained a lot of confidence and looked a lot more comfortable and in control of their court in week two after the pressures of week one. Tournaments of this level are essential for our technical officials as they gain so much experience and knowledge through the different situations they encounter”
Rita and Trista are very appreciative of the opportunity to be a part of this Badminton Oceania initiative and are both are looking forward to the next international tournaments in the region in October where they will both umpire at the ROKETTO Sydney International 2024 with Rita also attending the MAXX North Harbour International 2024.
