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. Currently Australia has one Referee and five Umpires on the programme while New Zealand has one Referee and three Umpires. Each year the people on the programme are reviewed on their progress and development.
By being on the programme the Technical Officials receive invitations and financial support to Oceania Grade 3 tournaments and Oceania Championships including para badminton to provide them with a range of experience across different tournaments, including having the opportunity to work with some highly experienced Technical Officials in the region.
In cooperation with the organisers of the SATHIO GROUP Australian Open 2024 we were able to gain four places for development umpires to officiate at the tournament for the first three days. This gave the development umpires exposure to a World Tour tournament which included working with a Referee team from outside of Oceania, working with other umpires from outside of the region, experiencing IRS (Instant Review System) for the first time, and for some, being on live TV for the first time. The initiative was very successful with positive feedback from the Referee’s and other umpires with the intention to repeat it again in 2025.
Three of the umpires on the development programme took some time after the SATHIO GROUP Australian Open to discuss their experience at this tournament and what they look forward to in the future.
Gritto Augustine is an umpire from New Zealand and for him it is “all about opportunities”. Receiving an invitation from the Australian Badminton Open was for Augustine an opportunity not to be missed saying “It is my first time umpiring at tournament like this and I was so excited when I got the invitation. The Australian Badminton Open was completely different from any tournament that I had attended in the past. It was electrifying, fans cheering for their favourites, close matches, big players…it was everything.”
Learning from the BWF umpires that were present was a big takeaway opportunity for Augustine, observing “how the experienced umpires deal with different situations, handling the delays, walk-ons, walk-offs and pre-match player checks.” Using IRS for the first time was a little daunting as Augustine got “six challenges in one match.” Having the chance to umpire big players like Lee Zii Jia and Kodai Naraoka was a highlight for this development umpire.
Chris Milne who has recently returned home to Australia after living in Taiwan for a year is our second umpire that we spoke to. “Being part of the development program has meant that I’ve had the regular and ongoing opportunities,” said Milne. Being part of an umpire team has its benefits when in a learning environment enabling myself to “work alongside some of the top umpires from both around our region and the world, which allows for many opportunities to observe them and learn in what was such a ‘new’ environment at the SATHIO GROUP Australian Badminton Open.” Adjusting to venue microphones, IRS, TV coverage, and loud and enthusiastic crowds were just some of the hurdles Milne had to contend with when at such a prestigious event. Milne has short term and long-term goals when it comes to his umpiring career. “Short-term, I am now looking forward to my next Super 500 opportunity, having been so lucky to have had such an opportunity this year. Long-term, I am aiming to be of a standard that would allow me to umpire at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.”
Also from New Zealand, Suyuan (Michael) Liu looked at his opportunity to be at the SATHIO GROUP Australian Badminton Open as educational stating “I find the most positive things are the motivation to myself to always dig deeper, listen to feedback and look for opportunities to practice and make improvements.” What Suyuan did find very different at this level tournament was “the intensity and speed of the shuttle are a new level compared to tournaments I have done before”. As for his future as an umpire, Suyuan has a goal; “I do hope I can keep improving and one day represent Oceania in tournaments across the world.
