Eleni Glouftsis

Eleni Andriana Glouftsis, OAM is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL). As of 27 June 2020, she has umpired in 31 AFL matches.[1]

Eleni Glouftsis
Glouftsis in July 2019
Personal information
Full name Eleni Andriana Glouftsis
Other occupation PE teacher
Umpiring career
Years League Role Games
2017– AFL Field umpire 31

She is notable as the first female field umpire to officiate in a match sanctioned by the AFL, which occurred in the 2016 NAB Challenge match between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, played on 28 February 2016 at Princes Park.[2][3]

Glouftsis became the first woman to be appointed field umpire for an AFL home-and-away match, when she was selected to officiate the Essendon and West Coast match in round 9 of the 2017 AFL season.[4] She was congratulated by Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian Prime Minister.[5]

On 1 November 2018 Eleni was awarded the Young South Australian of 2019, in a ceremony at the Adelaide Oval.[6]

Glouftsis was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the 2021 Australia Day Honours, for "For service to Australian rules football, particularly as an umpire."[7]

Umpiring career

Glouftsis commenced umpiring in 2008 with the North Eastern Metro Junior Football Association in Adelaide, South Australia,[8] before commencing to umpire in the South Australian National Football League, umpiring her first senior SANFL match in August 2013,[2] being the first female to officiate as a field umpire in a SANFL match.[9]

She then moved to Melbourne on a three-year AFL Female Pathway scholarship at the end of 2014, where she umpired in 12 Victorian Football League matches during the 2015 VFL season, umpiring her first VFL match in June of that year.[10][11] Glouftsis was also added to the AFL umpires rookie list as a field umpire at the beginning of the 2015 season, and trained with a dedicated coach within the AFL umpires group.[12]

After officiating in two intra-club matches in the 2016 AFL pre-season, involving St Kilda and Essendon,[13] she was appointed to her first AFL sanctioned match after what were described as "strong performances" by the AFL's National Umpiring Director, Wayne Campbell.[10]

Personal life

Outside of umpiring she is a physical education teacher at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne.[10] Both her parents were football umpires, and her partner, Dillon Tee, is also an AFL boundary umpire. [14] In July 2019 Tee proposed to Glouftsis in the middle of the Melbourne Cricket Ground after they had both umpired the round 19 match between Carlton and Adelaide. [15]

References
  1. "Field umpires". AFLUA. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  2. Edwards, Nat (22 February 2016). "Female field umpire Eleni Glouftsis to umpire first match". Australian Football League. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. Cherny, Daniel (28 February 2016). "NAB Challenge: 'Courageous' Eleni Glouftsis bounces into history". Sydney, Australia: The Age. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  4. "Eleni Glouftsis to become first female field umpire in VFL/AFL history when Essendon take on West Coast at Etihad Stadium". The West Australian. 15 May 2017.
  5. "Prime Minister congratulates Eleni Glouftsis, first woman AFL umpire". The Age. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  6. "AFL umpire named SA's Young Australian of the Year". AFL. 2 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  7. "Australia Day 2021 Honours List" (PDF). Governor General of Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  8. "Female Umpire Pathway/Player to Umpire". Australian Football League Umpires Association. Archived from the original on 26 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  9. "Eleni Glouftsis on Pathway to AFL". SANFL Umpires Association. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  10. Nicholson, Larissa (22 February 2016). "AFL 2016: Umpire Eleni Glouftsis breaks a glass ceiling". The Age. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. "First female boundary umpire in VFL". Victorian Football League. 3 July 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  12. Milbank, Zac (23 September 2014). "ELITE ELENI FOR AFL". SANFL. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  13. Laughton, Max (19 February 2016). "First AFL female field umpire, rookie Eleni Glouftsis set to debut in 2016 if game-day injury occurs". Fox Footy. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  14. http://au.greekreporter.com/2014/01/07/australia-the-first-female-football-umpire-is-greek/
  15. "AFL 2019: Carlton vs Adelaide, Eleni Glouftsis proposal, first female umpire engaged, fiance Dillon Lee". Fox Sports. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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