Papua New Guinea is the latest country in the Pacific Netball Partnership programme to have Netball New Zealand trainers visit and assist in setting up programmes for umpires.
Netball personnel in PNG are extremely passionate about netball and very supportive in developing pathways and opportunities for umpires.
PNG has the potential to be a strong netball nation with on-going development opportunities provided by New Zealand and Australia, according to Dianne McTigue, NNZ Umpire Development Manager.
Pam Clayton, a member of New Zealand Umpire Development Group, recently spent time in PNG. A priority was to identify key personnel from Associations who would assist with the training workshop and be accredited to present the introductory programme in their local Associations as well as coach and assess umpires for the PNG Country award.
After an enthusiastic group of 30 attended the four day training programme, eight people were accredited as facilitators of the introductory programme and one able to tutor theory candidates.
Four gained the Country Award which enables them to sit the New Zealand Zone Theory Award.
“I am very excited to be supporting the growth of Netball umpiring as a sport of choice by young women in Papua New Guinea,” Clayton said.
“Umpiring has traditionally been the domain of more senior or respected members of the Associations so when Richanda Kassman, a current Pepes player (PNG National team) announced on completing the workshop, that she was a retiring as a player, and wanted to represent her country as an umpire “I knew we were on the right track .”
In recent years, Netball New Zealand has been very active in several Oceania countries assisting in the development of umpiring and ensuring the countries have their own trainers, coaches and assessors.
Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Fiji also now have umpiring structures and resource in place and strong groups of people capable of starting umpires on the Oceania Umpire Pathway.
