Category: Members

 

First Name: Laurie

 

Last Name: Rupe

 

Nickname: Boom Boom

 

Home City, Country: Minneapolis, USA

 

Home Club: Minnesota Freeze

 

USAFLUA Membership: Current

 

 

 

Accreditations: 

 

Field: Level 2

 

Goal: Level 1

 

Coach: In training

 

First year umpiring: 2015 as a goal umpire, 2016 as a field umpire

 

Favorite AFL team: North Melbourne

 

Willing to travel, outside of Regional and National Tournaments: Y

 

Proudest Umpire Moment: Winning the Golden Whistle at AFL Europe’s 2016 Euro Cup as the best umpire of the tournament

 

Funniest Umpire Moment: At the 2019 80/35 tournament, I forgot the hand signal for running too far so I made up something.  Well I got caught and it’s been a running joke every since.  I can guarantee that I will never forget that hand signal ever again!

 

Other: IC17 Umpires Association Scholarship winner, UA board member, one of my goals is to umpire on all 6 continents – I’ve been able to check off 4 so far so I just need Asia and Africa!

 

 

Name: Jonathan Mills

Nick name: Millsy

 

President USAFL Umpires Association 2013 – present

USAFL International Cup 2011 Scholar

Field Umpire Level II

Goal Umpire Level II

Umpire Coach Level I

High School & College Soccer Referee

 

First Year Umpiring Footy: 2001

First Year High School Soccer Referee: 1981

First Year College Soccer Official: 1983

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Family: Married to my beautiful wife Shelly since 1992 and we have an equally beautiful daughter Audrey

Interests: Trout fishing, camping, cruising in my classic 1994 Saab Convertible

Favorite Book:  Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Favorite Music/Band: Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Pokey LaFarge

Favorite Movie: Raising Arizona

 

Favorite AFL team: Hawthorne Hawks

Proudest Footy Memory: Umpiring first Women’s International Cup Grand Final in 2011

 

Funniest Umpire Moment: I once asked a player who was back chatting after a call against him “You talking to me?” and he replied “Yes!”  I whistled the infraction and paid fifty.  As he approached me at the new mark, he asked ”Would you have paid fifty if I had said no?”  I smiled and said “No sir.” He smiled back and then shook his head at his own folly.

 

“PLAY ON!”

Millsy

 

Dunk played league and amateur football in Tasmania. He represented the state in amateur football, water polo, and surf life-saving before taking up umpiring in Western Australia where he umpired 221 games with WAFL, WA Amateurs, and Claremont Junior football league. By September 2019, Dunk umpired 504 games with AFL Ontario, 108 with USAFL, and 15 US v Canada games.

Dunk continues to support football actively in Canada and the US as a level 2 field and goal umpire and the USAFLUA AFL Canada Liaison

He is at a total of 848 games officiated, as of October 1, 2019. He applied to umpire the Mates game at the Nationals. If Toby gives him one more game, he will have 850 total games officiated. After he finishes “850” games, he plans on focusing on goal umpiring.

USAFLUA Treasurer

First Name: Sid

Last Name: Caesar

Home City, Country: Wheaton, IL USA

Home Club: Team Wamuran

Membership: Paid

Other Umpire Club membership: None

 

Accreditations:

AFL Level 1 Online Certificate (document): on file

NFHS Concussion Protocol (Certificate): 2019

Field:

Goal 2

Boundary 0

Coach 1

 

Other Details

First year umpiring – 2002

Favorite AFL team – Fremantle Dockers

Willing to travel, outside of Regional and National Tournaments: Yes

Proudest Umpire Moment: Being in Goals for the “All USAFLUA” officiated game at the 2017 International Cup in Melbourne.

Funniest Umpire Moment: Driving with the IC17 USAFLUA crew around Australia, laughing all the way!

USAFL International Cup Scholarship – 2017

USAFLUA Board of Directors: 2015 to Present

USAFLUA Treasurer: 2016 to Present

 

Level: 0
Umpire Type: All
First Year Umpiring: 2011
Location: GGAFL
Family: Two young boys
Interests: Footy, Rugby, Football, computers
Favorite Book: Game of Thrones
Favorite Music/Band: Duke Ellington
Favorite Footy Memory: Defeating Ireland for 3rd place in 2005 International Cup

Umpire Type: Goal
Level: 0
First Year Umpiring: 1998
Location: Chicago
Family: two brothers
Interests: Aussie Rules, history, literature, Dr Who, World Cup skiing to name a few
Favorite Book: too many to name
Favorite Music/Band: Doors, Grateful Dead, Genesis, Phil Collins, Warren Zevon, British Invasion and new wave eras
Favorite Movie: too many to name, but almost anything with Harrison Ford, Kevin Kostner, Gregory Peck, or Richard Gere and classics with Bogie and Cagney
Favorite Footy Memory: 1995 Grand Final, 2005 Grand Final, Chicago Swans first division title, the SCG piglet, Alistair Lynch holding the ball at the final siren of Brisbane’s first premiership win, 1999 preliminary final between Essendon and Carlton, the 2001 Essendon-North shootout, the 1997 Sydney-North SCG “Mudbowl” game, Tony Lockett breaking Gordon Coventry’s goals record, the Footy Show 1996-1999 (some hilarious stuff with Sam Newman, Jason Dunstall, Trevor and Shane Crawford), meeting Hayden Kennedy and Kevin Sheedy

Umpire Type: (Field/Boundary/Goal) a little bit of everything
Level: 0
First Year Umpiring: 2000
Location: Toronto, On
Family: wife, two teens
Interests: cycling, reading, coaching
Favorite Book: Shawshank Redemption
Favorite Footy Memory: Three OAFL premierships as a player with the Toronto Rebels AFC.

Umpire Type: (Field/Boundary/Goal) Field
Level: 2
First Year Umpiring: 1988
Location: St. Paul, MN
Family: Married to Kathy, five children between us
Interests: I kinda like umpiring
Favorite Book: Usually, whatever I’m reading at that moment
Favorite Music/Band: “Good Old Collingwood Forever”
Favorite Movie: Sorry, don’t really have one
Favorite Footy Memory: Umpiring my first Div. 1 Grand Final with Hayden Kennedy

USAFLUA Umpire Coach

First Name: Jeffrey

Last Name: Persson

Nickname: Peeps

Home City, Country: Pleasant Hill, California, USA

Home Club: Nashville Kangaroos

Membership: Paid

Other Umpire Club membership: None

 

Accreditations:

AFL Level 1 Online Certificate (document): on file

NFHS Concussion Protocol (Certificate): 2019

Field: 2

Goal: 2

Boundary: 0

Coach 1

 

Other Details

First year umpiring: 2001

Favorite AFL team: North Melbourne

Willing to travel, outside of Regional and National Tournaments: Yes

Proudest Umpire Moment: Umpiring the 2005 and 2011 AFL IC Men’s Grand Final matches in the MCG

Funniest Umpire Moment: TBD

USAFL International Cup Scholarship – 2002

 

​Jeff is the current USAFL Umpire Coach and has served in this role since 2011. Jeff was the first international umpire to attend and umpire at the AFL International Cup in 2002, and has been involved as both a player (2008) and umpire (2002. 2005, and 2011) having umpired two International Cup Grand Finals (2005 and 2011).

Jeff started playing footy with the Nashville Kangaroos in 2000 and has played over 150 games for his club. He started his umpiring career in 2001 and has more than 300 total games and 30 international games to his credit. He served on the Kangaroos bard for 12 years, including 5 as president.

Jeff lives in Nashville, TN and travels extensively for work and vacation, having been to 49 states and 19 countries. He currently works for Xerox Business Services. He is known for doing the New York Times crossword in ink and and is a movie and theater buff.