BY BLAKE METCALF-HOLT
DESPITE exhibiting a strong and resurgent fraternity after a period of struggle, the Latrobe Valley Umpires Association has ran into more trouble.
Left in limbo due to lack of lighting at Maryvale Recreation Reserve, Morwell, something the LVUA is not sure will ever be deemed a top priority, the organisation of local football umpires has now been forced to bounce between venues for the foreseeable future, attempting to find a fitting facility to cater to its needs.
Due to upgrades taking place for more than a year, the main grounds at Peter Siddle Oval (Maryvale, located on Grant Street) is still not useable, meaning the LVUA has been pushed around the corner to Northern Reserve on Holmes Road.
While Northern Reserve includes a fully lit football oval, which is necessary for the association to allow its around 80 umpires to train weekly, the group then has to transfer themselves back to Maryvale to conduct its social side.
LVUA secretary Dan Swallow says this has created great frustration for the thriving umpiring association, as their attempts to see traction in erecting lights on Maryvale’s second oval have proved unsuccessful.
“(Latrobe City Council) has identified straight out that lighting is not a priority for that venue,” he told the Express.
“The lighting at Maryvale Reserve is actually a long-term issue because it’s not a properly lit oval.
“It only has one small section of the oval lit, which is lighting that we’ve worked to have erected in previous years a long time ago.”
LVUA cannot conduct its social events, including post-training meals, weekend selection and committee meetings at Northern Reserve because of the social rooms smaller size, and it not being set up for something outside of a junior sports club.
Morwell Eagles Junior Football Club is the primary user of Northern Reserve, and there has been confusion regarding their willingness to share its rooms.
Given the lack of suitability of Northern Reserve for LVUA’s uses outside of training, the cohort of umpires, many of which are between the ages of nine and 16, the idea of walking the streets of Morwell in the dark isn’t an ideal circumstance.
It’s threatening the very core of what LVUA has built back up, as Swallow noted junior umpires are already no longer attending its social events and simply going home after training.
Even with the high participation rates, which Swallow says are the largest he’s seen in his 15-year involvement with the LVUA, he also stamped that those numbers won’t sustain if they are to continue with this current scenario.
“What do we do in the future in terms of maintaining the number of people that we’ve got and maintaining the interest in what is, I think everybody recognises umpire shortages is a massive problem,” he said.
“We need to harness our growth, but how do we harness our growth and participation if we can’t train our umpires properly because they can’t see on the ground?”
Other potential solutions haven’t worked in LVUA’s favour either.
AFL Gippsland helped coordinated with Gippsland Power for the umpires to use the indoor training facility, however the oval at Morwell Recreation Reserve was out of the question due to Morwell Football-Netball Club taking priority.
LVUA may have also tagged the Traralgon West Sporting Complex, which recently received state government funding for lighting, but given Traralgon West Cricket Club hold a year-long license at the facility, puts it out of the question.
Swallow said that the association is reluctant to move further Traralgon-way, given that its primary services are in the Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League, to go along with some games in Gippsland League.
It also comes down to the simple fact that Maryvale is LVUA’s home.
They helped build the rooms at the ground back in 1992, alongside SEC members, for which many were also umpires, and have worked out of it since 1993.
However, lighting has always been an issue, with only two operational lights available at Maryvale, of which both were erected after years pushing to see a small corner of the ground useable after dark.
Swallow, who called this “a danger issue”, believes it’s because LVUA isn’t viewed as a main priority across the board.
Latrobe City Council, while not eliminating the possibility of lighting being installed at Maryvale, reinforced this notion.
“Council continues to assess recreational infrastructure needs across the municipality to ensure funding is directed to priority projects as identified in council’s recreation needs assessment,” Latrobe City Chief Executive, Steven Piasente said.
“Until the Maryvale Reserve project becomes a higher priority project to deliver, council officers continue to work with the (LVUA) to access alternative nearby facilities during winter where lighting is available.
“Lighting at Maryvale Reserve will be considered as part of council’s 2026 Recreation Needs Assessment review process, which will help inform priorities for sports lighting upgrades across Latrobe City.”
Swallow also suggested utilising the replaced lights at the currently-under-renovation Ted Summerton Reserve, Moe for Maryvale’s oval, but council deemed that too expensive.
The future remains unclear for how the LVUA can continue to expand and grow, even once it gets back home fully.
“The general umpiring group probably don’t yet understand the level of difficulty that we’re going to face in the future even when we do have Maryvale Reserve back,” Swallow said.
“Trying to figure out how to train properly in that location and get the best outcomes, the highest quality umpires for football across the Latrobe Valley and South Gippsland.”
Imagine the outcry if a senior football team was only able to train on a quarter of its oval for as long a period of time.
