2 July - Victorian Amateur Football Association

UMPIRESI, Steve McCarthy would publically wish to thank all whohelped celebrate my 600 th VAFA game last weekend. TheMazenod OCFC were sensational with their hospitalityand the presentation made by their President MattJohnson was much appreciated. Big thanks also toKevin King, Peter Fisher and Stuart Stockdale for theircontributions to the day. Special thanks to all the umpires(past and present) who travelled far and wide (especiallySchwabbie from Rupertswood) to make it back toMazenod and/or “The Nott” afterwards. To Sean Scullysenior (and the rest of the Scully crew), your contributionwill never be forgotten. Sean, you’re a legend. To runningpartners in Leah and Daggles thanks for being there andjust doing what you always do. The texts, emails and callsI received from club people was quite overwhelming aswell. As umpires I suppose we fill such a small part of thefootballing landscape, so it was refreshing to see that thejob we do is appreciated. See you at 700. Macca.Community CupA huge pat on the back for our very own Social Secretary,Jason Evans who once again engineered a tremendousCommunity Cup last Sunday. Thousands packedElsternwick Park to see the mighty Rockdogs dispose ofthe Megahertz, and a huge sum of money was raised forReclink. The VAFAUA were happy to assist with the use ofour rooms for the various bands performing on the day,and also for the after-match function. Special thanks tothose that helped out on the day, in particular Pat Galluswho goal-umpired the game, and then volunteered in thebar afterwards. Great work guys!Hooper Back In TownIt seems that Sacha Koffman is getting a little bit soft asthe years progress. After being appointed to a two-umpiregame at the Junction on Saturday, and obviously feeling abit hesitant about the amount of running required (well heWAS partnered with Cam, so his fears were well grounded),Sach had a brainwave. Knowing that former VAFAUA (andnow WAFL) umpire Michael Hooper was back in town forthe weekend, Sacha pulled some strings and got Hoopsappointed to the game. The big blonde man has lostnone of his confidence, and as an unnamed Xavs playerremarked, ‘Geez, he likes to get involved, doesn’t he?’.Frequent FlyerDingley to West Essendon to Glen Waverley. That’s furtherthan some people go for a holiday but that’s what Brock“Melway” Fisher did last Saturday when he was pickedup at 7:45 from his home in Dingley by The Coach forthe long trek out to St Bernard’s for an Under 18 matchat 9:20. The VAFA taxi service continued when Woodypicked him up after the match in his big old Ford for thejourney to Mazenod for the afternoon. And no, he wasn’theading out to Central Reserve to congratulate Macca onSteve McCarthy & Cam DavidsonTHANKS FROM MACCAhis milestone, he was there for the double up, umpiringthe Under 19s.IntrudersStrange things sometimes happen on the football field.Every now and then a canine might make an unexpectedappearance on the field, as happened briefly at Beauyon Saturday. But in what only can be described as“random”, to quote The Prez, a tyre just happened to rollacross the surface of the Snake Pit during the tense thirdquarter on Saturday. Begs the question, what else mightmysteriously surface on VAFA grounds? All contributionsgratefully received. Veteran whistleblowers woulddoubtless nominate pacifiers which annually appear latein September at EP after the announcement of GrandFinal appointments.Pre-Finals DinnerIt’s that time of the year again - the famous VAFAUAPre Finals Dinner.Details as follows: Monday 22 August - 6.30pm startMCC Members Dining RoomCost: $60. Inclusive of a 3 course dinner, and free drinksfrom 6.30-7.00pmThis is a compulsory night for all umpires. You will have$60 deducted from your pay in the August pay run. Forthose umpires who really truly can’t make it, your apologymust reach Russell Davidson in writing by no later thanMonday 1 August. Russell can be contacted at russell.davidson@haileybury.vic.edu.au otherwise the moneywill be deducted.For those new to the VAFAUA, this is a great night. Wecelebrate another great year of VAFA footy by presentinga number of awards to both stalwarts and youngerumpires for their achievements across the season. We alsohave a guest speaker and we are very close to announcinga high profile guest again this year. Stay tuned.A new initiative this year will be the option of reservingtables. Please email Russell with your table (min 6, max 10)and yours will be reserved for the night. Get cracking ongetting your table organized now!SponsorsTalking of our gear, we should all be wearing our off fieldpolos branded by Boag’s. They make us look professionaland part of a great team.Don’t forget our longest standing major sponsor inPersonal Mortgage Managers, you can contact AnthonyDamen for your mortgage needs.And as mentioned above Harris Family Butchers is still“meating” our needs.58 THE AMATEUR FOOTBALLER 2011“Umpiring is Everyone’s Business”