KaMana Workshops Empower Female Referees at Football NSW
Football NSW recently welcomed surf ironwoman and KaMana co-founder Lizzie Welborn to deliver a series of empowering workshops aimed at supporting the development of female referees.
Held at Valentine Sports Park, the sessions were delivered to participants from both the Football NSW Referee Development Program (RDP) and the senior Referees Branch, focusing on key areas such as performance mindset, daily habits, nutrition, and an athlete’s relationship with food.
The workshops form part of KaMana, a program co-founded by Welborn and fellow surf ironwoman Harriet Brown, designed to educate and empower female athletes to build confidence and reach their full potential both in sport and in life.
For Welborn, the program is deeply personal.
“When I was younger, things like nutrition, body image and the menstrual cycle weren’t spoken about,” she said.
“When I started struggling with these things, I didn’t have the confidence to speak to anyone about it.
“During this time, I wish I had a resource that could help me realise that I was not alone in the way I was feeling, and that there were actions I could take to build confidence in myself and my body.
“This is a big motivating factor behind the work we do—creating a space for female athletes to learn about these topics and have the confidence to ask for help when things don’t feel quite right.”
Football NSW Referees Development & Education Manager Emma Kocbek highlighted the importance of initiatives like this in supporting the holistic development of match officials.
“A major priority with developing our female referees is focusing on the areas that are often overlooked,” Kocbek said.
“We want to create an environment within football that gives our match officials the opportunity to thrive both on and off the field, and sessions like the KaMana workshops are a really important part of that.”
The initiative reflects Football NSW’s continued commitment to supporting female participation and wellbeing across all areas of the game, ensuring referees are equipped not only with the technical skills required on the pitch, but also the tools to succeed beyond it.
*Photo by Cameron Callaghan
