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BENDIGO Umpires Association graduate John Howorth will officiate in his first AFL game this Saturday when he takes charge of the St Kilda vs Adelaide clash at Marvel Stadium.
Howorth was first introduced to umpiring via the BUA in 2005 and has worked his way through the ranks of the VFL, onto the AFL rookie list and now onto the senior panel.
Howorth, 25, has umpired 70 senior VFL games, including last year's grand final.
"Being 25 I'm a young pup in terms of umpiring, but if I was at a footy club I'd probably be one of the experienced players and in the leadership group, so it's a bit of a different dynamic," Howorth said on Thursday.
While he is now making his mark as a central umpire, like many who go down the umpiring path, Howorth began with the BUA as a boundary umpire
"After starting as a boundary umpire with the BUA I took up field umpiring because the association was struggling with numbers and at the age of 18 that was a really big step," Howorth said.
"Dean Goodridge came on as coach of the BUA and he was really supportive and put a lot of time and effort into me, which really fast-tracked my development.
"I was able to do two years of field umpiring at Bendigo league senior level before going down to the VFL and starting on the development list.
"I was really lucky with just how supportive the BUA was and there definitely is a pathway there for young umpires to be able to make a career out of it as an alternative to playing the game if you're prepared to dedicate some time to it."
I was really lucky with just how supportive the BUA was and there definitely is a pathway there for young umpires to be able to make a career out of it as an alternative to playing the game if you're prepared to dedicate some time to it
- John Howorth
Howorth, who was on the AFL Umpires rookie list the previous two years, spent the early rounds of this season in the VFL before earning the call-up for the Saints-Crows match.
"Through a combination of performance, opportunity, rotations and list management they have decided its's time for me to have a crack and see how I go," Howorth said.
"There's obviously some nerves, but to get to this level you have umpired a lot of football. The rules don't change and we are very streamlined in that we know what our roles are and where we need to be positioned.
"So while there are a few nerves, it's really exciting to get an opportunity to see if you can do it at the top level.
"I don't have to do anything different... I just have to do the same thing I've been doing in the past, but just at the next level."
Howorth has already had a taste of the extra speed at AFL level having umpired two JLT pre-season matches earlier this year - St Kilda v North Melbourne and GWS Giants v Adelaide.
"From those couple of games you can see the players are just so skilled and clever with how they manipulate the rules, their hands are so incredibly quick, so you have to be really switched on."
At this stage Howorth is unsure if he will begin Saturday's game with the opening bounce.
"We'll decide that before the game. If the opportunity comes along then it would be great," Howorth said.
While this is game No.1 for Howorth, one of his fellow umpires, Shane McInerney, is closing in on becoming the first to 500 games.
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