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The development of AGOA can be traced back as far as 1987, commencing with some fairly informal discussions initiated by Wes Neal and John ‘Doc’ Sabine from South Australia and David Sinclair and Paul Mercer from Victoria.

Further discussions took place in 1989 at the Grand Prix Challenge Tournament held in Adelaide that year. This was the first national gathering of officials representing more than two states (WA, SA, Vic., ACT, NSW and Qld. officials being present). Verle Sorgen (Supervisor of Officials for the Pac 10) was invited to attend by the organisers of the event and his feedback to those in attendance was well received.

From that point AGOA was not particularly active until 1993 when a serious effort was made by all mainland states to improve the profile of officiating. One of AGOA’s major achievements during this time, driven primarily by Philip Webb and John Sabine, was the bringing together of other stakeholders involved with the sport. This action culminated in 1994 with the formation of Gridiron Australia (GA).

At this point in time AGOA’s membership structure was based on state Gridiron Officials Associations (GOA’s).

Around this time, Miles Newman (AGOA’s National Director of Training) commenced the first steps in the development of AGOA’s National Training Program.

1994 saw the creation of AGOA’s mission statement ‘…To provide World Class Officials for Gridiron Australia’, which continues to be the focus today. To this point no national assigning of officials had taken place. As national events occurred, this task had been the assumed responsibility of the respective host state GOA.

Miles Newman’s work with the National Training Program was continuing, an early draft version being created by late 1994.

In 1995 Philip Webb (AGOA’s National Director of Rules and Mechanics) commenced the development of AGOA’s 5 Man Mechanics Manual.

In 1996, at GA’s 1^st Senior National Tournament held in Canberra, AGOA assumed responsibility for the assigning of officials for the first time, the task overseen by the association’s National Selection Panel, chaired by Wes Neal. The event was also the first opportunity for AGOA to monitor the results of its Training Program.

In 1997 AGOA’s membership structure was changed to include individual membership, in conjunction with the existing GOA membership. The main reason for this change was the demise of the GOA in Western Australia leaving AGOA without enough members to continue as an incorporated body.

At the 1998 AGM the decision was made to investigate AGOA’s relationship with GA. This ultimately lead to full membership with the sports controlling body being taken up following the 1999 AGM.

There was little activity in 2000, although AGOA provided chain crew and ancillary personnel for the NFL America Bowl game in Sydney. During that year however a major milestone for the sport was achieved, with GA being recognised by the Australian Sports Commission as being the national controlling body for the sport of gridiron in Australia.

In 2001 AGOA held its AGM in conjunction with GA’s 2^nd Senior Nationals held in Canberra. During the meeting Philip Webb released the Australian Football Officials Manual, a document he had been developing and refining over the preceding years.

In the months leading up to the 2001 nationals, Miles Newman continued his development of the National Training Program, the 2^nd edition of the document being released during the event.

Miles Newman’s work with the Training Program still continues, however his current efforts are guided and supported now by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) thanks to GA’s national recognition. The completed Training Program documentation will ultimately form the basis of AGOA’s submission to the ASC’s National Officials Accreditation Scheme.

In the future AGOA’s hope is to represent the interests and improve the quality of all Gridiron Officials within Australia and New Zealand. Steps are being taken to involve areas not currently active.

WA are in the process of reforming their GOA and the New Zealand officials have their own associations and discussions are ongoing with the intent to forge closer ties with them. Another aim of AGOA is to raise its profile and gain recognition from international officiating bodies, particularly those in the USA.

John Sabine 1989 to 1995 (Founding President)

Miles Newman 1995 to 1997

Michael Bowen 1998 to 2000

Allan English 2001 to present

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Copyright © 2001 Australian Gridiron Officials Association
Last modified: July 17, 2001