To wrap up the weeklong celebration of Female Football Week, Hills Football offered a female-only practical training session, hosted and led by current A-League referees, to illustrate the incredible opportunity for girls in this space, along with a star-studded Q&A panel including panelists from FIFA, Football Australia, A-Leagues and Football NSW.
Run by sisters Maddy and Sophie Allum, the female-only training session was a great experience, offering learning and opportunities for the next set of referees to learn from current leaders and professionals in that sphere.
“We are extremely proud to be able to offer special events such as these female-only sessions to allow our female referees the opportunity to grow and develop in an inclusive and safe space,” Hills Football Referees Manager Chris Codling said.
“We are fortunate enough to regularly be able to attract special guests from the A-Leagues, such as Maddy and Sophie, and our members see these special sessions as a real highlight and value-add to their refereeing journey.”
Maddy is a FIFA assistant referee and regular in the A-League Men’s, whilst Sophie made her debut as a referee in the A-League Women’s this season. The Allum sisters led the girls through a range of valuable drills, including flag technique, whistle work, signals, and decision-making.
“The girls gained lots of insight and experience from Maddy and Sophie, with impressive efforts and performances on all the drills. We are very thankful for the girls to have had this experience and are very grateful for Maddy and Sophie taking the time to share their knowledge and advice,” Hills Football Female Referee Development Officer, Alana Zic said.
Growing up and mastering their craft through the Canterbury Referees Association, both sisters recognise the importance of nights like these in fostering the next generation, whilst also creating a fun and enjoyable learning environment.
“It was a great opportunity for me to help encourage the next generation of female referees to aspire to become the best they can be. It was a fantastic evening, and I’m really excited about the talent I saw tonight,” Maddy Allum said.
On the 20th of May, Hills Football held a combined Female Football Week event with referees from Granville and Blacktown as part of the joint Women’s Premier League alliance.
The night commenced with an inspirational Q&A panel comprising special guests from the A-Leagues, including FIFA and Professional Referee Casey Reibelt, Football Australia Elite Women’s Referee Developer Kelly Jones, and A-League Women’s 4th Official and NPL NSW Men’s Referee Harriet Gee.
The panel spoke about their journey as referees, being female referees in elite men’s competitions and reflecting on how far we have come as a game in relation to inclusivity. The group then took part in fun networking activities to get to know each other better and, in true referee fashion, competed for some cool prizes. Finally, the group took part in a technical session exploring the severity of challenges delivered by female leaders from all 3 associations.
“This event was a great opportunity for me to reflect on my journey as a match official, while sharing experiences with two incredible women in the game”, FA Elite Women’s Developer Kelly Jones stated.
“It was also a great chance to recognise just how much the landscape has changed for the better. Seeing more female match officials coming through and women represented across all levels of the game is something special”.
“With the partnership between Hills, Granville and Blacktown through the Women’s Premier League competition in its 4th year, it was a really special moment to see this event come to life. It was great to collaborate with Isabella Vrtkovski (Granville) and Sharon McLachlan (Blacktown) to see their female referees join us for an informative and impactful night.” said Hills Football Referees Manager, Chris Codling.
“A special thank you to Hills Football Female Referee Development Officers Alana Zic and Gabriella Arcidiacono for their hard work behind the scenes to pull the night together, and to our special guests Casey, Kelly and Harriet, without their support this night could not have been as successful as it was. Events such as this are an integral piece to the development and retention of our female referees, and we look forward to building on what was achieved during this year’s Female Football Week.”
To find out more and how you could get involved with Hills Football Referee Association, head to https://hillsfootball.com.au/referees/ or read our in-depth article with Hills Football Referees Manager, Chris Codling here
