Sport
18 July, 2025
Bob Gartside is one of MCDFNL’s most revered umpires after three decades
It’s one of the most thankless jobs in all of sport, yet arguably its most important.
Every Saturday, volunteers from all 13 Maryborough Castlemaine District Football Netball League (MCDFNL) clubs pick up a whistle and umpire games that wouldn’t happen without them.
Among this cohort of helpful whistleblowers, very few are as experienced or respected as Bob Gartside.
Gartside has umpired countless games in the MCDFNL, currently the club umpire for Campbells Creek.
His passion for umpiring and the sport of netball began over three decades ago, stemming from a familiar and loving source.
“I was a late starter. When I retired from football when I was 43, I started getting involved in netball through my daughters initially coaching,” Gartside said.
“As I went down the track, I became aware that I needed to know the rules as well, hence I set about learning about umpiring.
“After a little while, I was approached by the Netball Victoria Life Member Betty Thompson, and Betty encouraged me to pursue a C grade badge.
“What I discovered was that if I wished to umpire at a higher standard, which is where I wanted to be, I needed a higher badge.
“At a particular umpiring course in Melbourne, I was fortunate enough that Ann Castles introduced herself to me, and Ann was Netball Victoria’s number one umpire educator.
“She really took me under her wing — if I had a rule or something I needed further explanation on, I’d ring Ann and we would talk over the phone about it.”
Gartside said his transition into umpiring was somewhat unprecedented at the time, with a few pockets of the netball community initially hesitant to his inclusion.
“When I first started at the Golden City Netball Association, I was the first male umpire and in some corners that didn’t sit too well,” he said.
“I’d like to think now, as the game has progressed over the years, there are more and more guys getting involved in netball and people like me are more openly accepted.
“The way the MCDFNL has accepted me is really flattering.
“The other day, I was introduced as the lovely Bob. I take that as an endorsement of the role that I’ve played in netball.
“From the first day that I got involved, where it was like ‘what would he know about netball’ to ‘the lovely Bob’ just gives me the confidence even at my stage to keep going.”
His reputation has been well earned, having umpired in virtually every league near his home suburb of Kangaroo Flat, which includes multiple MCDFNL finals as well as various state and regional state championships.
“At the weekend, my umpiring roster is full, I’ve been umpiring for Mitiamo, Campbells Creek, Maiden Gully YCW and then you have got tournaments you do as well,” Gartside said.
“The players are involved in the game because they get enjoyment out of it, so from my point of view, I want to try and make that time as enjoyable as possible.”
At the age of 76, Gartside said he knows his time as an umpire is closing, however, he isn’t quite ready to walk away from the umpiring community even when he eventually hangs up the whistle.
“I’m realising my on-court role is nearing an end, so I’ve worked into a transition stage where now I’m doing umpire education,” he said.
“Two of the girls I mentored last year, one of them got their C grade badge and the other got beginner of the year, so I must be getting something right.”
MCDFNL netball operations Katrina Turner said Gartside has played a pivotal role in local netball umpiring.
“When I got my badge, I was badged by Bob, and that’s going over 10 years ago, so you see the work that Bob’s done and how he’s still umpiring it’s very motivating,” she said.
“I umpired with Bob the other week and he kept coming up to me and goes ‘I really like this player but I've told her off’.
“At the end of the game, he goes ‘did you see how quick she adjusted’, and I went ‘she listened to you because she respects you’.”
After beginning her career at the end of her playing days, Turner has become a highly decorated umpire in her own right, recently winning the Netball Victoria Community Awards 2024 Umpire of the Year.
Turner said her award is the culmination of the dedicated efforts of a strong nucleus of volunteers like Bob, which is always looking for new members.
“I hadn’t told too many people about the award that I won and I kept it quiet because I didn’t feel like it was a me award, it was a team award,” she said.
“It takes more than one umpire to umpire a game. I’ve actually told all the umpires that this is your award too.
“We do have a great netball base umpiring community, Donna Wardlaw and Jordan Bagley help run the umpire department in the league and without the help of Lorraine Adams, the league wouldn’t have as many umpires badged.
“We are willing to take on any new umpires and give them assistance, all they have to do is talk to the clubs they are affiliated with, or if they aren’t affiliated with a club, they can contact someone at the MCDFNL and we can point them in the right direction.”