The Talent Academy Umpire Program provides talented umpires with the opportunity to complement their on-court performance with educational and professional development sessions, as well as exposure to high performance training environments and values. The aim is to progress the umpires to the next level of accreditation. The program is delivered is all six regions of the state Central East, Central West, Eastern, North East, Northern and Western and with experienced Umpire Coaches appointed in each of the 6 regions. The program is aligned with the talent academy for playing athletes to deliver a cohesive and successful program for all participants.
The program will comprise of eight sessions between October 2024 and July 2025, including regional training sessions, specialist days at the State Netball Centre, and culminating with the Inter-Academy tournament where all academies come together in friendly competition.
Kelly was talent identified at the Western Assoc Champs qualifying day and was invited to umpire at the Association Championships Final Day where she had the opportunity to receive further feedback from high-performance umpire coaches.