Head of PE at Arnewood School in New Milton, Megan Elliott, becomes leading world netball official

THE head of PE at a New Milton school has returned from a netball tournament in the Caribbean where she was a leading official.

Megan Elliott (31), who is employed at Arnewood School in New Milton, is one of a select few international netball umpires.

She began officiating in the sport when she was 14 and has now gained her International Talent Identified Umpire status (ITID).

She was supported by the school as she travelled across the country to umpire tournaments, gaining valuable experience.

Her dedication has now taken her to the top rung of netball officiating and could lead to her umpiring at world cups and Commonwealth Games.

She said: “Ever since I was small I wanted to be involved in elite sport. I thought I wouldn’t make it as a player so I decided to start umpiring when I was 14 – I thought ‘I can do this whistle thing’.

“I worked my way up to umpiring in the Premier League and Super League – it is like having a second job, with a lot of travelling.

“Ultimately I received my ITID status and it means I’m one of the top umpires in the UK and I get to umpire internationally.”

She added: “My first trip for World Netball was to St Lucia where I umpired games between islands in the East Caribbean. It was very competitive with teams attempting to win ranking points.

“I am so grateful to headteacher Jamie Anderson and to the school for allowing me to pursue this dream.

“There is no payment for umpiring in netball – just travelling expenses – so it requires dedication and understanding employers.

“In order for the sport to be included in the Olympics it requires more men’s teams – it is one of few sports that really only girls and women play, and it is very much dominated by Commonwealth countries.

“The girls at Arnewood love it and we have a really well-attended netball club.”

Mr Anderson added: “We are all incredibly proud of Megan getting to the top of her sport as an official.

“Her dedication is remarkable and it is really in the school’s interest to have a head of PE with so much elite sport experience.”