Local touch football referee, Ryan Wake, has long been a standout in his field. But he was recently recognised as one of the top referees in the country upon his promotion to Level Six - the highest ranking possible in Australia.
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Wake is the first Goulburn resident to receive his Level Six badge, which now means he is eligible to officiate both national and international touch fixtures.
While the achievement is pleasing for Wake, he is now more focused on what it will allow him to do.
"I haven't really thought about it much to be honest," he said.
"It's one of my goals, but not my biggest goal set at the moment. I've just been notified that I'm in the State of Origin squad as a referee.
"My next goal after that would be a World Cup."
In order to be selected for any such top-tier assignments, Wake now has to make sure the standard of his performance is consistently up to the level expected of international referees.
The journey to Level Six has taken Wake roughly six years to achieve. For the first three, he was required to complete courses to advance his level, while the last three saw him promoted based on knowledge and on-field performances.
In order to continually advance through the ranks, Wake has been required to officiate a huge number of events each year.
"It's a bit of a challenge, because you've got to go to multiple tournaments every year and travel around a lot," he said.
Many people would struggle to find the time to balance constant work and umpiring commitments in the same way that Wake does. Fortunately, he said, his employer is very understanding about his sporting engagements.
"I'm an electrician at David Ault Electrical," Wake said.
"My boss is pretty good with me getting holidays to go away and do what I love to do."
Having begun umpiring at the age of ten to spend time with his father and make some extra pocket money, Wake's family has been very supportive of his refereeing career, and he said they were "pretty proud" of his latest achievement.
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