Umpire Gary Burgess plans for future as he and Louise Cole bag awards

Gary Burgess has umpired World Cup finals and Commonwealth Games showpieces, but it is his consistency in the Netball Super League that he wants to be remembered for. 

It comes as he has been recognised with the NSL Umpire of the Year Award 2025, winning for the 12th time in 16 seasons. 

While Burgess is not planning to hang up the whistle just yet, he also gave praise for his ‘retirement plan’ in the form of Louise Cole, who was given the NSL Assessors Award 2025. 

“Whenever people ask me what I’d like to be remembered by in my career, I think it is my domestic record and the consistency of that,” he said. 

“The Umpire of the Year Award is awarded has changed, and it has gone full circle really.  

“Before, it was voted for by the players, then it was an individual at England Netball who selected it, and then for the last five or six years, it has been based on performance.  

“It is great to get it, and it runs along with my allocation to the Grand Final as well.  

“This year was my 16th Grand Final, so both of those privileges side by side are things I am really proud of.” 

Burgess umpired the Netball Super League Grand Final between London Pulse and Loughborough Lightning alongside Louise Travis. 

Both have been umpires in the NSL for 18 years, while Louise Cole is part of a fresh crop of talent. 

Cole passed 50 NSL matches as an umpire this season and was selected by the NSL Assessors to win the Assessors Award for the 2025 campaign. 

Burgess said: “I’m quite open in saying this, Louise is my retirement plan. Louise and a number of the other umpires in the pool are the reason why the likes of me and Louise Travis, who has also done it for 18 years, can retire.  

“The youth coming through and the way in which they are approaching their craft is absolutely outstanding, and I couldn’t be more proud of Louise.  

“I had tried to persuade her for a long time to switch into umpiring full-time because she still wanted to play and umpire. 

“A couple of years ago, she said ‘It is probably time I focus on this full-time. Do you still think I can make it to the top?’ 

“I said ‘I’ve always thought it, you’ve got natural ability, polish over time is what you need, so you’ll need to work with assessors to ensure you are consistent’, and that is the key. 

“Any umpire can have one good game, but to have game after game is a real sign of dedication and talent being developed, and that is where Louise is now.  

“She is off to the World Youth Championships in Gibraltar, and I know that she and the rest of the England umpires who have been appointed are going in the best possible form that they can be.  

“Things are looking continually positive for the future.”