Eleni Tee
Eleni Glouftsis is an Australian rules football field umpire, currently listed as a rookie umpire officiating in the Australian Football League.
She is notable as the first female field umpire to officiate in a match sanctioned by the AFL, being the 2016 NAB Challenge match between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, played on 28 February 2016 at Princes Park.[1][2]
Umpiring career
Glouftsis commenced umpiring in 2008 with the North Eastern Metro Junior Football Association in Adelaide, South Australia,[3] before commencing to umpire in the South Australian National Football League, umpiring her first senior SANFL match in August 2013,[1] being the first female to officiate as a field umpire in a SANFL match.[4]
She then moved to Melbourne on a three-year AFL Female Pathway scholarship at the end of 2014, where she umpired in 12 Victorian Football League matches during the 2015 VFL season, umpiring her first VFL match in June of that year.[5][6] Glouftsis was also added to the AFL umpires rookie list as a field umpire at the beginning of the 2015 season, however officiated in the VFL for the 2015 season, while training with a dedicated coach within the AFL umpires group.[7]
After officiating in two intra-club matches in the 2016 AFL pre-season, involving St Kilda and Essendon,[8] she was appointed to her first AFL sanctioned match after what were described as "strong performances" by the AFL's National Umpiring Director, Wayne Campbell.[5]
Personal life
Outside of umping she is a physical education teacher at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne.[5] Both her parents were football umpires and her partner, Dillon Tee, is also an AFL boundary umpire.[9]
References
- ^ a b Edwards, Nat (22 February 2016). "Female field umpire Eleni Glouftsis to umpire first match". Australian Football League. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (28 February 2016). "NAB Challenge: 'Courageous' Eleni Glouftsis bounces into history". Sydney, Australia: The Age. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Female Umpire Pathway/Player to Umpire". Australian Football League Umpires Association. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Eleni Glouftsis on Pathway to AFL". SANFL Umpires Association. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ a b c Nicholson, Larissa (22 February 2016). "AFL 2016: Umpire Eleni Glouftsis breaks a glass ceiling". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "First female boundary umpire in VFL". Victorian Football League. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ Milbank, Zac (23 September 2014). "ELITE ELENI FOR AFL". SANFL. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ Laughton, Max (19 February 2016). "First AFL female field umpire, rookie Eleni Glouftsis set to debut in 2016 if game-day injury occurs". Fox Footy. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ http://au.greekreporter.com/2014/01/07/australia-the-first-female-football-umpire-is-greek/