Being two of the best umpires out of a group of 103 at a major netball tournament is a big achievement for Central teens Isla Redgrave and Grace Moir. 

Umpiring has been a part of both girls’ lives for the past four years. 

Isla initially started umpiring as a way to challenge herself and give back to the sport.

“I found out I actually quite liked umpiring and enjoyed the other aspects of netball rather than just the game itself,” Isla said. 

She said support from others in the netball community drives the passion to continue with umpiring.

For Grace, an injury put her off “wanting to go all out with playing netball but I still wanted to be a part of netball so that's where umpiring came in.” 

Isla and Grace recently travelled to Christchurch with Dunstan High School for the Junior South Island Secondary Schools Netball Championships.

Isla and Grace at the Christchurch tournament. 

Both girls were appointed to umpire finals games after showing their skills across the multi-day tournament. 

Isla has recently passed her zone practical assessment leading to her gaining the Netball New Zealand Zone Award. Only a handful of umpires from Central Otago have received this award in the past decade.

Grace has completed the theory aspect of the Zone Award and is working towards completing her practical. She hopes to have this by the Senior South Island Secondary Schools Tournament in August. 

Isla said her goals are: “to achieve my NZ C theory this year and continue as far as I can when I make the big move to Dunedin next year.” 

PHOTOS: The Central App