Greetings to all umpires and those interested in becoming an AFL umpire!

The next installment of USAFL footy is upon us and while the clubs are in the process of putting together their calendars, they are surely going to be looking for umpires soon thereafter. Plus, we already know when the USAFL Regional tournaments will be (June 15 Columbus, OH for the Eastern/Central SuperRegional, and June 29 Salt Lake City, UT for the Western Regional) and Nationals will be back in Austin, TX from October 11-13. We will be sending out a separate email with a Google survey to determine availability for those events, but in the meantime, block your calendars now!

As we emerge from the January winter freeze, put away our snow blowers and shovels, and put our winter gear up in the attic until next year, it is best to start shaking off the rust by getting in some training (running, sit ups, sprints, etc.) and at the same time, review the laws and changes for the 2024 season (your board is in the process of getting these documents updated on the website and you will be notified when that takes place.

In the meantime, based on feedback received during the past season, we have already booked time for two (2) umpire virtual clinics. The first one is next week Monday February 26th, 8 pm Eastern, 5 pm Pacific, and the second one will be Monday September 16th (a week prior to Nationals). Put these on your calendar as well, but if you can’t make it, we will be posting the recording on the website as we have been doing the past several years now.

The February 26th clinic has a title of Match Management, which means it is for all umpires. This is something that is important for all levels of accreditation and re-accreditation. We will be covering the formal tools (like free kicks, red and yellow cards) and probably more importantly the informal tools such as decision making, conversing with players and coaches, and working with your team (meaning the other umpires in the game). There is something for everyone and we will be using examples and telling stories of how these various tools work so that you can add them to your personal toolkit, game plan, and career growth plan.

The Zoom details are below, so please join us and bring your questions and thinking caps. We plan for one hour, but will go longer if we need to as these are key tools and we want you to have them available all season long. Looking forward to seeing everyone and everyone having a great 2024!

You can RSVP for the clinic HERE: https://forms.gle/gRsftUXQJrRq7C3Q8

Here are the details:

• Date: February 26, 2024
• Time: 7:00pm CST
• Zoom Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89206924291
• Meeting ID: 892 0692 4291