Eleni's Story
AFL
31 Years Old
Adelaide, South Australia
I was always the only girl in the umpiring team and did worry about wearing white when it was ‘that time of the month’. Thankfully our umpiring uniform changed to grey and black shorts not long after I started.
Growing up, I played any and every sport that I could! From netball and volleyball to football, cricket and football umpiring. Both umpiring football and cricket required me to wear white shorts and pants. At cricket, this didn’t bother me much as the whole team wore white, but when I umpired football, I was always the only girl in the umpiring team and did worry about wearing white when it was ‘that time of the month’. Thankfully our umpiring uniform changed to grey and black shorts not long after I started. Being involved in umpiring from 13 years of age, with such few other girls and women, there weren’t many opportunities for education when it came to menstruation. I’m excited about the “Game Changing. Period.” initiative as it provides coaches, players and umpires with evidence-based information about menstruation that I didn’t have access to growing up.Â
Eleni is an Australian Football League field umpire.
She is notable as the first female field umpire to officiate in a match sanctioned by the AFL in the NAB Challenge in 2016 and became the first female to be appointed field umpire for an AFL Premiership season match, when she was selected to officiate the Essendon and West Coast match in Round 9 of the 2017 AFL season.
Eleni commenced umpiring in 2006 in Adelaide, South Australia. She umpired her first senior SANFL match in August 2013, being the first female to officiate as a field umpire in a State League match nationally.
She then moved to Melbourne on a three-year AFL Female Field Umpire Pathway scholarship at the end of 2014, where she umpired in the VFL throughout the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Eleni was elevated to the AFL Field Umpire Senior list in 2017.
Eleni was named the 2019 South Australian Young Australian of the Year and, in 2021, was awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia for her services to umpiring nationally.
Outside of umpiring, Eleni worked as a secondary school Health and Physical Education and Science Teacher and is currently employed at the AFL as “Umpiring Growth and Development Coordinator – Schools and Female”.
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