Female umpires are being invested in and empowered in Gqeberha so that sports like hockey can have officials with the very best credentials.
Gqeberha, South Africa (15 September 2022) – Investing in sport goes beyond the athletes or venues available in South Africa; it also includes the investment into the governing bodies and specialists such as umpires. The SPAR Eastern Cape Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge has seen a rise in the need to support umpires within women’s hockey.
A development programme for emerging female umpires was one of the spin-offs of this year’s events. The initiative was facilitated by The Umpiring Company, which was established in Gqeberha to support umpires in a professional and legal capacity as well as to help further their umpiring dreams. The programme is led by Adam Postepski, who started umpiring six years ago.
“I noticed that there were a lot of umpires who needed support and I just found that this aspect, as well as upskilling, was not at the level one would have expected.”
The Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge has been running in the Eastern and Southern Cape since 2016 and involves hundreds of players competing in five regional tournaments, with the winners advancing to the provincial finals.
In a first, last month’s finals in Gqeberha were officiated by four females, namely Des Telfer, Nicole Kemp, Farzaana Fredericks and Brooke Kruger. This was in line with SPAR’s focus on the upliftment of women as well as highlighting the importance of equal representation in sport.
Brooke Kruger started umpiring at the age of 15 because she wanted to stay involved with hockey after graduating high school. The chance to umpire the recent hockey challenge gave her the opportunity to measure her progress since starting in high school.
“In these high-pressure matches you have to stay calm and collected.
“When I umpire, I always try to have a positive attitude and make the players feel as if I’m on their side and not some nasty person trying to rule the field.” – Brooke Kruger
For Farzaana, this was her debut outing at the Schoolgirls Hockey Challenge, and she was thrilled to be a part of it. She hopes her involvement inspired the next generation to take up umpiring too.
“The experience was amazing and I was privileged to be one of four women at the finals,” she said.
“During the event I realised that results were not always a true reflection of matches or players’ abilities, but that sportsmanship speaks volumes.”
“In this way we can increase the number of umpires in our province and grow the game. Regardless of who you are – a player, coach, manager or umpire – there is always room for growth.”
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