Mid Canterbury’s Kevin Opele was named Outstanding Senior Official of the Year at the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards this week. Photo Adam BurnsIf versatile had a name within Mid Canterbury sporting circles, it would be Kevin Opele.

A highly adaptable operator, the 42-year-old has been a sporting official for 22 years and has come to juggle several codes at the highest level in the district.

In all likelihood, he is probably clutching a whistle more often than not.

The height of these chameleon-like qualities reached remarkable levels last year when Opele was in charge of four pivotal sporting occasions.

He officiated the Luisetti Seeds Combined Country Cup rugby final, the Watters Cup final, Mid Canterbury Netball’s premier one final and the Aoraki Rugby League grand final.

It made him a clear-cut contender at the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards this week, and he was named Outstanding Senior Official of the Year.

For a role that can be a thankless proposition, acknowledgement for this official is more than warranted, and Opele was thrilled with the accolade.

“Like any award, it’s a pat on the back for all the hard yards that you chuck in yourself,” he said.

“I was pretty stoked with it.”

His delight was bolstered by some of the challenges which come with being a proficient referee or umpire.

The experienced adjudicator said it can be an isolating job compared to being among a team.

“She’s pretty lonely being an official in sports,” he said. “It’s not like you meet up with team-mates and go through training sessions.”

Although one perk which comes with the territory includes watching “hours and hours” of sport to hone the technical insight within each code.

He said it was not so much knowing the rules but when and how you applied them.

“I learned a lot from going out and training with teams.

“Their interpretation and my interpretation can be quite different, but if you work with teams to get a better outcome then the game is obviously a helluva lot better.”

Given the subjective nature of some sports’ laws, particularly rugby, dialogue with both coaches and players was key.

Although officiating three winter codes is no small feat, netball’s mid-week games helped Opele co-ordinate his respective commitments.

His winter schedule meant rest days on Mondays and Fridays.

Like your average youngster, Opele played sport at high school, including football and hockey, before taking up rugby at the age of 16.

“Touch (rugby) was probably the most enjoyable game I played,” he said.

“And then later, when I pointed out what I thought was poor officiating, they told me to have a go. That’s basically how I started officiating.”

Opele officiated touch rugby for more than a decade, which led him all the way to the very top level.

“I went into internationals.

“That was pretty much the grounding for me in officiating was doing touch.”

The first touch international that he was in charge of between New Zealand and Australia remains a career highlight.

The speed of the sport also attuned his reactions which had benefited his judgement across other codes, he said.

As a referee, he believes he has a casual approach to officiating, preferring sporting fixtures to be more free-flowing.

“One year with Hampstead and Southern I did it to the letter of the law, and it was the worst 40 minutes you’d ever seen in a game as players couldn’t adapt to my expectations,” he said.

“I decided I was going to let it play out like it should and in the second half there was only two penalties in the half.

“When I blew the whistle at the end everyone was just on their hands and knees.”

Despite boasting a rich resume, there are still further milestones within Opele’s sights.

He is hoping to gain a New Zealand badge in netball, which may or may not be possible this year with no representative tournaments.

“That’s the last one I need to tick off,” he said.

For the upcoming season, he is scaling back his refereeing duties by taking a break from rugby.

“I’ve said I’ll help if they’re in dire need.

“But yeah I’m giving up one of the sports just to give some time to myself.”

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 13 June 2020