Award Winners for Volume 16
“We Deserve the Respect. Without Us, There Would Be No Games”, Examining the Experiences of Australian Rules Football Umpires
This article focuses on the responses of 356 Australian Rules football umpires to an online survey conducted from August 2021 to October 2022 regarding their experiences of umpiring. The findings highlighted that 49% experienced verbal abuse at least every couple of games, and 21% had experienced some form of physical abuse while umpiring. With 35% of the sample having less than five years’ experience as an umpire, the results illustrate the need for an environment where umpires are given greater levels of on-field respect, but if this is breached, they should feel supported through the process of reporting abusive incidents and attending any subsequent tribunals. In doing so, the evidence points to a greater chance of their services being retained for the medium- and long-term benefit of the sport. While the sport has highlighted improved recruitment since COVID-19, the retention of umpires should be a priority in all communities and regions across the country.
This article makes a significant contribution to sport management and sport sociology by examining the lived experiences of Australian Rules football umpires, a group that is structurally essential to sport yet can be marginalized within research, sport governance, and public discourse. Drawing on a large Australian dataset (n = 356), the study demonstrates that verbal and physical abuse is not incidental, but a normalized feature of officiating at community and grassroots levels. In doing so, it identifies abuse as a systemic issue with direct implications for workforce retention, wellbeing, and the sustainability of organised sport.
The findings advance the field by extending international research on referee abuse into an Australian context, integrating psychological and sociological concepts such as social identity, organizational support, and psychological safety. By linking umpires’ experiences of abuse with their perceptions of reporting processes, organizational support and tribunal outcomes, the study identifies that retention is shaped not only by onfield behaviour but by governance structures and organizational responses. This governancefocused lens highlights that meaningful solutions should extend beyond awareness campaigns toward consistent sanctions, improved accountability and embedded support mechanisms.
This research has achieved impact beyond academia through national media engagement and public translation. Findings from the study were featured in an article published in The Conversation, making the research accessible to a broad public audience and contributing to national discussion on the treatment of sports officials. The work also attracted mainstream Australian media coverage, including a feature on Nine News, further amplifying its reach and influence across sporting and community audiences.
Importantly, this research has sparked activity and investment in the area of young community sport officials. It has contributed to growing interest from sporting organisations and funding bodies in better understanding and supporting officiating experiences, especially children and youth working as sports officials. Building on this momentum, the research team are advancing a broader program of work focused on improving officiating environments. This includes efforts examining governance, policy, and human resource practices within sport organisations, with the aim of better integrating match officials into the sport system and strengthening responses to abuse, reporting, and support.
Beyond its scholarly contribution, the article provides clear, evidence-based implications for policymakers, leagues, umpire associations, and integrity bodies. Recommended strategies include improving communication and transparency following disciplinary processes, implementing mentoring structures for early-career officials, and strengthening reporting and support mechanisms across community sport contexts.
—Jamie Cleland, Stirling Sharpe, Alyson Crozier