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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-07 Daily Xml
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Glouftsis, Ms E.

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:57): My question is to the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing. Can the minister update the house on the achievements of Eleni Glouftsis, the first female field umpire to officiate in a senior AFL match?

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD (Gibson—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (14:57): I thank the member for Morphett for the question, and fittingly note his football career as a prominent SANFL, state and AFL footballer as well. I know that he appreciates more than most good quality umpiring, and can I say that Eleni Glouftsis is exactly that.

It is of note, too, that we recognise her achievements and her contribution to South Australia by being named the South Australian Young Australian of the Year, an outstanding achievement. This honour is great recognition of the significant contribution Ms Glouftsis has made to the sporting industry both in South Australia and throughout Australia.

Starting her career as an umpire in 2008 and progressing through the SANFL junior ranks, Ms Glouftsis became the first woman to be a field umpire in the senior SANFL competition in its 137-year history in August 2013. That in itself was an absolutely outstanding feat, but she went on from there to do even greater things and still is today.

In 2017, Ms Glouftsis again made history when she became the first woman to officiate in an Australian Football League (AFL) game as a field umpire. Her first opportunity came in the NAB Challenge when Carlton took on Essendon in 2016. That wasn't an officially sanctioned AFL game, but it was her first senior game and she did a marvellous job. In fact, one of the hardest things to do when you umpire a game, as many people would know, is to bounce the ball to get the game going. All the focus is on you. It was on her on this day when she was the first woman to take over this role, and she absolutely nailed the bounce and then continued to do an outstanding job.

But it was in May 2017 in the Essendon versus West Coast game when she became the first ever female umpire to umpire an AFL game for premiership points. She was an emergency for a few weeks leading up to that, but then she got that great opportunity, which really put her out there as a pioneer. It was a great progression, and Ms Glouftsis' progression in becoming an elite AFL umpire is a testament to her hard work and her ability.

She started off in the SANFL, training nights at Thebarton. In fact, I remember doing a story on her as she was just pushing into senior men's ranks back in the day when I was in my past life. It was great to do that story and expose her to wider South Australia. I remember getting a lot of feedback on that story as people were so impressed with the wonderful work she was doing. After her time in the SANFL, she got a three-year scholarship to the VFL and AFL, so it was no easy road. That was back in 2014. I just love and admire her persistence and dedication to actually achieve her dream and go on to umpire in the AFL.

Ms Glouftsis is an outstanding role model for all women and girls. Her desire to support other women and girls who are passionate about professional umpiring is admired and vital. She should feel extremely proud of her achievements. She is a great South Australian. Her commitment to overcoming barriers, and making a difference by inspiring other women and girls to pursue their interests, is to be celebrated. We absolutely commend her for what she has achieved to date and for what I am sure she is going to achieve in the future.

I know that AFL finals are very much on her radar. Wouldn't it be great to see Eleni umpiring an AFL grand final game—dare I say between the Crows and Port, to keep all South Australian football supporters happy—potentially on the MCG? To have her in there nailing that first bounce and seeing it sail aloft to kick off an AFL grand final would be absolutely outstanding. For all the other umpires out there who do a great job in our community, especially the number of women I see at community level right the way through, it is just great to see the growth in that area. We want to commend all the people who umpire—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. C.L. WINGARD: We want to appreciate and acknowledge all the wonderful umpires. The member for Reynell heckles that, but I say that it is important to appreciate female and male umpires right across this system and thank them for all the great work they do in South Australian sport.

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