Abstract

This investigation examined intervention accuracy and perception of fatigue associated with umpiring state-level Australian Rules football (AF). 39 field umpires (Age: 25.2 ± 6.8 y, Body Mass: 74.6 ± 7.9 kg, Height: 178.9 ± 7.4 cm) employed by the Western Australian Football Commission, were recruited. Intervention accuracy (whether given free kicks were correct) was analysed post-event by the lead investigator using footage of the matches, with two umpire coaches being used for reliability. Perception of fatigue was assessed pre- and post-match using a questionnaire. Data was collected in 22 Western Australian Football League matches in the 2023 season. 384 free kicks were recorded, with 343 correct and 41 incorrect decisions. Each umpire awarded 9.8 ± 3.8 free-kicks, with a distribution of correct-to-incorrect being 8.8 ± 3.2 to 1.1 ± 1.1 free-kicks per match. Intervention accuracy was 89.3 ± 10.4% correct. Significant decline in intervention accuracy between first and second half (W = .931, p = .021) was found. No significant declines in intervention accuracy between quarters were observed. Perception of fatigue was unchanged across matches (p = .074). Our results demonstrate that umpires are generally accurate when adjudicating free kicks but said accuracy declines across a match. The results of this study, provide important insight on free-kick accuracy and perception of fatigue in state-level AF umpires, and may help regulatory bodies designing strategies to improve umpiring outcomes.

Keywords

Cognitive demands, decision making, free kicks, sports officiating

Document Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

2025

Volume

20

Issue

1

Publication Title

International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching

Publisher

Sage

School

School of Medical and Health Sciences

RAS ID

77391

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Comments

Wilson, C., Scanlan, M., Bradbury, D. G., & Barley, O. R. (2025). Intervention accuracy and perception of fatigue in state-level Australian football umpires. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 20(1), 193-202. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541241289077

First Page

193

Last Page

202

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Link to publisher version (DOI)

10.1177/17479541241289077