Recently, 10 promising Taranaki umpires enjoyed an extension session run by Ken Metekingi, a NNZ National Squad member, ANZ Umpire and IUA Talent ID.

Put together by Netball Taranaki and the Centre Umpiring Development Group, the sessions are designed to assist umpires up-skill and progress through to top-tier national umpiring levels.

Ken shared his thoughts on what everyone agreed was a valuable initiative.

"I was incredibly impressed with the diligence, respect, team camaraderie & determination by the Taranaki Umpires who came along to the session that I was invited to run. Mostly proud of their yoyo result - no one likes to run a yoyo but they did it and supported one another at the end. Fantastic!

Having known some of the umpires for a long time (and to have Paula, Paddy & Sandy there) it was very satisfying for me to conduct a session to people who were very thankful and open to learning. The investment that Netball Taranaki has made into this session and umpiring in general, will pay dividends in the long run - everyone should be proud of themselves and I thoroughly look forward to seeing the benefits of such a great group of umpires.

An ongoing concern across the country is the frequency that these sessions occur. I would highly recommend another session next year or even in the latter part of this year to reinforce what has been spoken about and to discuss the demands of the game - like most things, people tend to fall back into old habits.

Having driven home and had time to reflect, it help me to give back to people I thoroughly care about and the sport I love so thank you for the opportunity to give back to our fantastic sport".