Wales Netball Celebrates World Cup Umpires Past and Present

In February we celebrated that Welsh umpire Alison Harrison would be umpiring at the world cup in Cape Town this summer for the Netball World Cup. As a National Governing Body, we are proud to see Alison umpire at the World Cup and represent Wales on the international stage once again.

Since the beginning of the Netball World Cup (previously known as the World Netball Championships), there has only ever been seven umpires that have represented Wales as an umpire. The first was M. Williams at the 1963 games in Eastbourne, England with the last being Sue Atkinson at the 1999 games in Christchurch, New Zealand. The full list of Welsh umpires to represent Wales at a World Cup are at the bottom of this article.

Alison now adds to the list and makes her the eighth person to represent Wales at a World Cup, and we can’t wait to watch her in Cape Town in the coming days!

To celebrate the Netball World Cup, we have worked in partnership with Sam Dobedoe (Director/ Producer / Editor) at Eternal Films to make a docu-mini series, shining a light on some of the key roles that make the game of netball – from grass-roots clubs to the Welsh Feathers! We are delighted to release the first episode of the docu-mini series today which is an interview with Alison.

Alison talks through her personal netball journey, the challenges she has faced, and why she’s dedicates so much of her time to her umpiring role.  To see the video, head to our YouTube channel using this link.

History of all Umpires that have represented Wales at a Netball World Cup:

1963 Eastbourne, England – M Williams (WAL)

1967 Perth, Australia – Maureen Milner (WAL)

1971 Kingston, Jamaica – Maureen Milner (WAL)

1975 Auckland, New Zealand – Maureen Milner (WAL)

1979 Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago – Marian Williams (WAL)

1983 Singapore – Marian Williams (WAL)

1987 Glasgow, Scotland – Anne Roberts (WAL) & Avril Roper (WAL)

1991 Sydney, Australia – Avril Roper (WAL)

1995 Birmingham, England – Pat Ellis (WAL)

1999 Christchurch, New Zealand – Sue Atkinson (WAL)

2023 Cape Town, South Africa – Alison Harrison (WAL)