Umpire to make history

ONE of central Victoria’s most decorated umpires will etch his name into the record books this weekend.

Geoff Williamson will officiate his 532nd senior Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) match, breaking the record of 531 set by his old mate Gary Goudge.

He will break the record in the Sandhurst versus Castlemaine game at the QEO.

The games record comes on the back of eight BFNL grand final appearances, three North Central league grand finals, five Heathcote District league grand finals and two Loddon Valley grand finals.

Remarkably, Williamson breaks the record at the age of 65 – some 50 years after he started his umpiring journey.

“I love it when the game is over and you get to catch up with so many people that you’ve met over the years,” Williamson said.

“A couple of quiet ones after each game and catching up with some great people is what I enjoy most.

“I love umpiring, but the games are getting harder physically and it’s more complicated to umpire games these days.

“There are more things you have to think about and concentrate on and some of it is totally unnecessary.

“At 65, I’m doing pretty well to get through it and recovery is getting tougher all the time.”

Williamson started his umpiring career in the 1970s with Preston District juniors.

He spent time on the VFL reserves list before being elevated to the VFL senior list for two years in 1981-82.

Williamson had a stint in the old Diamond Valley league in Melbourne’s northern suburbs before making the move to Bendigo where he umpired his first BFNL senior game in 1988.

A young Gary Goudge was also a member of the Bendigo Umpires Association panel.

“We umpired our first Bendigo league grand finals together in 1991 (South Bendigo versus Castlemaine) and we umpired together quite a bit over the years,” Williamson said.

“I didn’t realise until a couple of years ago that it was a possibility (to break Goudge’s record).

“It’s not something that I’ve set out to do, it’s just something that’s happened along the way.

“I didn’t umpire for 10 years from 2004 to 2014 and there’s been a couple of other years where I had a year off, so I’ve probably missed a dozen years across 50 years of umpiring.

“In 2004 I’d had enough, and I was keen to watch my own kids play sport. When they’d grown up, I thought I’d have a run around again. I kept fit through my break, so it wasn’t hard to get back into it.”

Footy has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. The style of play in 2025 is somewhat unrecognisable to what Williamson witnessed in the 1970s.

“The games are faster these days, but not necessarily better,” he said.

“Players play on much more than they used to, but sometimes the skills are not good and there’s a lot of turnovers.”

When it comes to the best players he’s umpired over the years, Williamson couldn’t split two of the Bendigo league’s all-time greats – Castlemaine, Kyneton and Eaglehawk legend Derrick Filo and Maryborough champion Jamie Bond.

“Jamie Bond and Derrick Filo could turn games,” Williamson said.

“There’s been so many great players over the years, but those two stood out for me.

“I had an on and off relationship with Bondy because I reported him a few times, but jeez he could play.” More sport from page 29.