Netball Australia sent our own umpiring coach, Di Cocker to the event, where she delivered a workshop on umpiring over three days to over 25 participants. All participants have umpiring experience and were selected based on their involvement as umpires within their Inter-school tournaments.
“I was really excited when Netball Australia initially approached me to be the presenter…I see this as an amazing opportunity to experience the culture in Brunei and to assist with their umpire development.”
Cocker has umpired for approximately 25 years before she retired back in 2015, and for her participating in the event is a rewarding experience as she gets to help other umpires “to achieve their own umpiring goals (and) watch them grow and achieve their goals through coaching and mentoring.”
Cocker was invited to deliver a workshop in Brunei where she provided a mix of theory and practice giving participants a chance to umpire match play and be coached on their umpiring techniques.
Rauufah Omarali from Brunei Netball was also a part of the program as the facilitator and organiser of the workshop. She is an education officer at an all-girls secondary school but keeps very active in the netball community.
“I have umpired in Interschool netball tournaments and open tournaments… (and) I have been active in Brunei Netball for more than 11 years now.”
This is the first time Brunei have partnered with Netball Australia to create this program. The event included discussions on the rules of the sport, workshops on making the right decisions, maintaining professionalism and acting as a mentor by learning how to provide feedback and the techniques and practices of umpiring.
Omarali was most excited to “see Netball Australia’s umpiring standard and to see what Dianne has to say about our umpires too.”
The program ran from the 6th of November till the 8th and focused on building the skills of Brunei umpires and see them progress ahead to meet Australia’s standards.
“We have developed a lot in the sport- in terms of participation and performance. We still have quite a long way to go and we need Netball Australia’s support.”
Get started on your umpiring career with Netball Australia’s Foundation Umpire Course.
