Sport
9 August, 2024
Lake officiates 900th game
AS a member of the Warrnambool District Football Umpires Association, Jamie Lake last weekend officiated his 900th game.
Taking to Bushfield Recreation Reserve on Saturday afternoon to officiate the senior game between North Warrnambool and Koroit, Lake was joined for his milestone match by wife Nicole (a goal umpire of more than 20 years), stepson Campbell Pedler (on the boundary) and “good mates” and fellow field umpires, Casey O’Keefe and Corey Mahoney.
“To celebrate my 900th game with family and friends really made the day extra special,” Lake said.
“I’ve never actually played footy, I’ve always umpired – starting at the age of 14.
“I absolutely love it. Sure, we occasionally cop abit of flack from the other side of the fence but I still really enjoy my role in the game.
“Now, at the age of 52, my passion for umpiring is just as strong as it was when my journey started. If you didn’t love it you certainly wouldn’t keep going back week after week.”
Lake’s list of umpiring achievements is a long and impressive one.
Of those 900 games (725 of which have been senior games), 775 have been as field umpire, 124 on the boundary and one as goal umpire.
His Hampden League tally amounts to 378 games (including 314 in-field) while 331 have been as a Warrnambool District League senior official (299 as field umpire).
Over the past two decades, Lake has officiated at nine senior Hampden League grand finals and a further seven Warrnambool district grand finals.
He has also umpired eight underage/reserve grand finals and 19 senior inter-league matches and more recently was a field umpire for the senior women’s grand final.
He was part of the Australian Country Football Championships in 2008 and also officiated in the AFL International Cup matches that same year.
Three years later he officiated in the VCFL Country v VAFA match and in 2012 was awarded the Sports Star Achievement Award for Football Umpiring.
“Umpiring has allowed me to remain involved in the game and I also enjoy being able to help mentor some of our up-and-coming youngsters,” Lake said.
“The likes of Lachlan Speed, he’s relatively new to field umpiring but he has loads of potential and it’s good to be able to help others on their journey.”
