When Natasha Mouat stepped out to umpire the men's final at this year's National U18 Championships in Christchurch, she was nervous but excited. It was her first national age group final - the kind of appointment umpires work years for.
"The men play a very different style of netball as they have great elevation and speed, making it more challenging to umpire," she says. "I went into the game with the mindset that I just had to umpire how I'd done all tournament - the same umpiring techniques and rules applied."
It's a long way from where it all started. Natasha picked up the whistle in her early teens at Shelly Park Netball Club, umpiring games at Howick Pakuranga Netball Centre as a way to fill in time at the courts and earn some pocket money. When she stopped playing, the umpiring stuck. She moved on to school games at Auckland Netball Centre, then higher level fixtures, working her way through the pathway - Centre Badge, Zone Theory, Zone Badge, NZ Theory - with Howick Pakuranga Netball Centre and Auckland Netball Centre backing her every step.
These days she holds her New Zealand C badge, first achieved in 2022 and recently re-endorsed during the 2026 Super Club competition. In peak season she umpires three times a week: Premier club netball on Thursday nights at Auckland Netball Centre, a full Saturday spanning Secondary School Premier and Senior A club games, and representative fixtures on Sundays.
Christchurch was her fifth national U18s tournament - a run that began in Rotorua in 2021, when she was called in as a reserve umpire just months after being cleared from ACL reconstruction. "It was at that tournament I realised there was an opportunity to progress further with my umpiring," she says. Tournaments in Christchurch, Dunedin and Waitākere followed. This year had one clear upgrade on her last Christchurch trip: "Last time it was held outside in all weather conditions, so this time it was nice to be indoors."
She made the trip south with the Northern umpire group, made up of umpires from Netball North Harbour, Auckland Netball Centre, Howick Pakuranga, Papakura and Kerikeri. Some were familiar faces, others new - and over a long, demanding week, the group helped each other get through.
"I learnt the importance of taking it day by day, focusing on your own games but also supporting the umpires around you, because everyone has different experiences at tournaments," she says. "I was thankful for the support I received over the week from umpires in the Northern group. It was an exhausting week." There was time for celebration too, with a group birthday marked with cake after dinner one night.
The umpire coaches at the tournament gave Natasha positive feedback on her PVT and decision making across the court - areas she's been working on being consistent at for many seasons. She's also come home with a list of things to sharpen, including one surprisingly simple change: switching from a plastic whistle to a metal one.
Next up is the Upper North Island Secondary Schools (UNISS) tournament in Hamilton, where a strong showing could put her in the frame for the New Zealand Secondary Schools tournament later this year.
Her advice for young umpires eyeing the same path? "Just keep going and be patient, as you never know where umpiring will take you. Everyone develops at different rates, so keep working hard and the opportunities will come as a result."
Keen to pick up the whistle? Find out more about the umpiring pathway here
