Netball Super League umpire Gary Burgess praised the impact of grassroots netball as England Netball celebrated its centenary with a masters festival. Bedford-born Burgess is England Netball’s head of officiating and is preparing for his fifth and final Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
But the 46-year-old took time out of his training regime before Scotland to watch the action, where 100 years of England Netball’s history was celebrated in Brighton. Over-35, over-40 and over-50 teams from across England came together at the University of Brighton on 11 and 12 July, and Burgess was pleased to see smiles on faces on the south coast.
The international umpire said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic. I'm always a strong believer that without the grassroots development pathway, there is no elite game.
“When everyone talks about masters netball, it's focused on age groups, but I think all of the women that I've seen playing this weekend would say that age is just a number.
“There's been so many smiles on people's faces, which is the most important thing. If they're having a great experience themselves, it gets transferred onto their umpire on the court too.
“In the past, outdoor tournaments have taken place in the winter, and you're cleaning snow off the courts – so it is nice to turn up to a netball tournament in glorious sunshine.”
He also explained that the event was an opportunity for the next generation of umpires to earn vital game time on their way to earning awards.
“Normally we deploy a whole cohort of A-award umpires, which is the top domestic award we've got, but we opened up this tournament to developing umpires from around the local area.
“All of the umpires have done a fantastic job and I think they've come away with lots of positives.”
The leading umpire in English netball, Burgess is getting ready for his Commonwealth Games swansong, with all the action taking place at the Hydro from Saturday 25 July to Sunday 2 August.
He was grateful to have another opportunity to enter the Commonwealth stage, with 12 sports cut from the Games, including hockey, after Glasgow stepped in to host.
“I'm more excited than ever before because we were very lucky to keep netball in the Games,” Burgess added.
“My background is in hockey, and a lot of my friends are hockey umpires, so I know we're very lucky to play netball this year. And being at a multi-sport event is always different, there's so much attention on the city and there’s a whole city vibe that you don't get with a standalone championship.
“There’s lots of running left to do, and eating well to do, so when you get there, you can eat what you like because you're working so hard every day.
“Preparation is about putting miles through my legs, you batter your body before you go.”
