During the recent school holidays, I did some volunteer cricket umpiring for the WACA (Western Australia Cricket Association), for their JCL competition (Junior Cricket League).

The JCL was a bunch of teams around Perth, with kids aged 9-12, who come to play games of cricket organised by the WACA. There were 2 JCL’s, one before and after Christmas, each of them was played over 2 days.

This volunteer work allowed me to umpire 11 games on the WACA Ground and a further 4 on Mann Oval at Trinity College. I volunteered to umpire because of the experience, and to help younger kids playing in the competition to enjoy their cricket, as well as to give back to the game I enjoy. I got a lot out of the experience, helping the young players enjoy their cricket was the biggest thing I took out of the experience. Because it makes you, as an umpire, step back to appreciate what you do has an effect on others in a positive way. I also got to improve my skills over the 4 days, this includes on-field skills as well as off-field (communicating with coaches and scorers), that I can take forward into my umpiring career as well as my everyday life as a young Aquinian.