Earlier in May Australia welcomed seven new International Umpires. Table Tennis Victoria is thrilled to say that two of the umpires who obtained their International Umpire status, Kameron Chan and James Lew are Victorian.

We had a chat to Kameron and James about their umpiring journey, why they became Officials, some favourite memories and why they think it is great to be an Umpire.

For James, umpiring was never something he thought of until the 2012 Australian Junior Championships when he umpired a few matches in a team event final.

“My coach, Simon Gerada, watched one of the games and he suggested that I get into umpiring. Since then, I have umpired at numerous tournaments and after years of experience, I attained National Umpire status in 2018. Soon after this, I was given my first major opportunity in December 2018 at the World Junior Championships in Bendigo.” Said James

James Lew after passing the IU exam.

Kameron’s path was a little different, he was nagged by his coaches during his playing days to complete the State Umpires’ course which is the first step in becoming an Official. Always being told that it was a great opportunity for those who really love the sport.

After his return to table tennis in in 2015 he finally did it.

“I did the written component of the course in Bundaberg before completing my practical component under Neil Montfort in May 2016,” said Kameron.

“I was fortunate enough to attend a National Umpires course in 2017, again with written and practical components, before practising as one for two years before doing this International Umpire's exam.”

Kameron (right) at the Australian Open.

Between the pair of them they have umpired some great events and built up some awesome memories.

“My favourite memory by far, is the 2018 World Junior Championships because that was my first major international tournament,” recalled James.

“Because of this, I was very excited but also extremely nervous. I remember being on the show court and dropping the coin during the toss at the beginning of a couple of matches. Which was embarrassing,

“The biggest match I umpired was a closely fought singles quarter-final between Yukiya Uda of Japan and Yingbin Xu of China.” He said.

Kameron fondly remembers a couple of anecdotes from his first time umpiring in Victoria.

“When I moved down in 2016 for my studies - which I believe was the same year Dominic Huang moved up to Queensland for his studies. Fanny Ho was the Referee of the event I was volunteering at and when I looked for her, she knew immediately who I was,” said Kameron.

“She sat me down and went through a whole spiel about umpiring, attitude and etiquette and how opportunities like the Commonwealth Games could come with hard work.

At the end of the chat, she said, 'remember the lesson about 'Referee is God?' well it's time to put that to practise - go fill up that kettle.' From that moment on, I wanted to also become a Referee, which I achieved in March 2019.

“Later in the day, Fanny was introducing me to the volunteers at the desk and was mentioning how I moved from Queensland, Claire Montgomery who was Tournament Director, overheard and then said 'What? So, we got an Umpire for Dominic? TTV really stuffed up that trade'. Pretty much showed how table tennis down here is very different to up there.”

Since that 2016 event, Kameron has become one of TTV’s favourites and we are glad he made the choice to come down from Queensland.

Both James and Kameron agree that one of the best benefits to umpiring is getting to sit in the best seat in the house. Although there are many things to be proud of when becoming an Umpire.

“While umpiring is great because you get the best seat in the house, it's also good to not have to worry about the result of the match because it doesn't matter from an Umpire's perspective who wins or loses,” Said James.

“The valuable element for me though, are the new friends I have made over the years and the amazing support I have received from friends, family and the whole table tennis community.

“Officiating is so rewarding for anyone wanting to get involved as you are able to see Table Tennis at the highest level. While being remembered for playing such an important role in not just the match but in table tennis overall. In my case, I will have the opportunity to travel to tournaments around the world while exploring the host city/country at the same time” James said.

“It is a really humbling experience. On paper it qualifies me to be part of many more events should I choose to. But then again, it reminds me that I still have much, much, much more to learn,” explained Kameron.

“It is a consolidation of not only the time and energy spent during this journey but also the people that have helped me along the way, so this very much goes out to them as well. For now, this opens up more doors for me but in honesty, the journey is not over yet - it is very much beginning.” He said.

“Having recognition as an International Umpire is just incredible. I am so grateful for all the support from those who have wished me well and I really hope to have the opportunity to share my story with many others.” Said James.

Everyone at Table Tennis Victoria are extremely proud of Kameron and James and cannot wait to see them umpire at an international level.

If you are someone you know would be interested in officiating, please follow the link at the bottom of this article.

https://www.tabletennisvic.org.au/officials/become-an-official/