Page 32 - AFL QUEENSLAND 2012 YEAR IN REVIEW

CHELSEA ROFFEY
WAVING THE FLAGS FOR QUEENSLAND
Queenslander Chelsea Roffey made AFL history in September when she became the first woman to wave the flags at a grand final.
The former Ormiston College student, who grew up at Mt Gravatt, said she was inspired to take up umpiring when she saw Queensland’s first female goal umpire Katrina Pressley.
“I remember being at a Lions game at the Gabba when I was still at school, watching her at work. It planted the seeds,” she said.
“Once I got into it, she came out to one of the very first matches I did at school and gave me some pointers on how to read which way the ball would be coming in.”
Chelsea rapidly progressing to state level matches and in June 2004 she was elevated to the AFL, umpiring her first game between Brisbane and West Coast in August that year.
She was emergency umpire at both the 2010 and 2011 grand finals before finally getting her chance in this year’s decider between the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn.
AFL umpires boss Jeff Gieschen told the ABC that Roffey’s appointment is a watershed moment for the league.
“It’s been inspiring to watch her running with the guys, doing weights with the guys, boxing with the guys, out in the rain and the mud with the guys; doing everything that the men have done and I can’t praise Chelsea enough for that attitude,” he said.
“I’m very proud of her peers as well because they have embraced Chelsea. They have worked with her, they have worked as a team and I’m sure every goal umpire would be thrilled to think that Chelsea’s actually achieved this.”
Mr Gieschen is encouraging more women to consider becoming AFL umpires and he is confident there will eventually be female field and boundary umpires at the top level.
“There’ll be cynics out there that say that a female [is] token but I think the fact that she’s banged the door down for four or five years, particularly the last two years where she finished third and sat on the bench to back it up,” he said.
“I think the message is to any young women out there that would like to become an AFL umpire, if you’ve got Chelsea’s mindset, if you’ve got that determination, you can do it as well and if there’s any girls out there or young ladies out there that would think about it, go for it.”
Chelsea capped off her big year by winning the Sports Officiator of the Year Award at the Queensland Sports Awards in December.
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2012 Year in Review