Zak Middleton knew something was up the moment he spotted a familiar figure in the Hamilton crowd trying to hide their face.
"Half way through the game I had a feeling something was up," he said. "Once I clocked it at the third quarter break, I just thought, right, one more good quarter to go, and weirdly, that calmed me, rather than wound me up."
The Round 3 ANZ Premiership clash between the Magic and the Tactix was his assessment for the International Umpire Award (IUA), the highest qualification in the game. He passed, becoming one of just over 40 current holders worldwide, currently eight in New Zealand and two in the Netball Northern Zone.
It capped an eight year climb from a New Zealand A award, achieved in 2018, which at times did not seem possible.
What it actually takes
For Zak, umpiring a top level game is an all day commitment on game-day, not a sixty minute one.
“It's an all-day thing. Often we catch up with our colleagues for breakfast and/or lunch, and arrive at the venue at minimum 90 minutes out, checking the court surface, the posts, the match balls,” he said. Nothing gets to the court without being looked over first. Following this are your physical/mental warmup exercises and team checks, before suiting up, putting on the microphone unit, and heading out there.
His preparation can look counter intuitive. Ahead of international campaigns such as the World Youth Cup in Gibraltar, Zak deliberately umpired unstructured school and club games back in Auckland.
"Preparation for tournaments like these needs to be specific, and in this case I wanted a bit of chaos," he said. "Messy, unpredictable netball tests how well you know the rules, or if you've just memorised a pattern. At international level the game won't follow a script, so I train for that."
The international stage brings its own challenges. Language barriers, foreign playing styles, unique player behaviours, and at times small differences in interpretations of the rules, meaning every tournament is a fresh puzzle. A one goal margin between Malawi and Fiji stands out as one of the most mentally demanding games he's officiated.
The mindset shift
Zak is the first to say netball doesn't define him – a perspective he had to learn.
"For a long time, I was chasing outcomes, focusing on uncontrollable things, and it wore me down," he said. "I had to learn the hard way to switch to a performance and growth mindset. But in addition, I found a better balance with work, family and other activities, and realised what was actually important. While Netball was important, it wasn’t at the top of the tree, and it didn’t define me. That's when the umpiring got better, funnily enough. Now I am able to just enjoy the ride, but still looking to grow and develop."
He's quick to acknowledge the sacrifices his family has made along the way, his partner Lua and daughter Ayanna-Grace and the backing of his workplace, Selwyn College, where he manages the sports department.
To keep his IUA, Zak will need to be re-endorsed every four years.
Zak Middleton recently achieved his International Umpire Award (IUA), joining an exclusive group of international netball umpires.
The people who got him there
The award carries one name, but Zak said plenty of others helped carry him to it.
Raewyn Ronaldson was one of the first people to take a chance on him, working hard to lift him into the National Umpire Squad and set the whole journey in motion. In recent years, his umpire coach Fay Meiklejohn helped sharpen his game, change his mindset, and back his development. Both have strong connections to the Northern Zone with decades of service.
And through the last six to seven years back home, it was his partner Lua and daughter Ayanna-Grace who absorbed the early starts, the long weekends and the campaigns away from home.
“While I have singled out a couple of people in particular, I am fortunate that the entire National Umpire Squad, both on and off-court are team-first, and we all push each other to succeed. When one succeeds, we all succeed, it’s not a solo effort” is the message, every IUA holder has a list of names behind them.
Why he wants you on the whistle
For all the international travel and elite assignments, Zak still turns up to local premier club and secondary school games on a weekly basis. Giving back matters to him, and he's got a clear message for players and parents watching from the sideline.
“Netball is still as popular as ever in the community space, but the number of officials struggles to keep pace, come and pick up the whistle,” he said. “It's a realistic pathway to the very top of the sport for those willing to put in the work, and for those who still play there's a hidden bonus – umpiring makes you a sharper player, once you understand the rules from the inside out.”
His hope is that his story nudges more umpires from the Northern Zone to chase international qualifications of their own.
Keen to follow Zak's path? Head to our umpiring section to find out how to get qualified, where to start, and how to get involved in officiating across the Northern Zone.
