| Eleni Tee | |
| Fullname: | Eleni Andriana Tee |
| Otheroccupation: | PE teacher |
| Umpireleague1: | AFL |
| Umpirerole1: | Field umpire |
| Umpireyears1: | 2017– |
| Umpiregames1: | 78 |
| Umpireleague2: | AFLW |
| Umpirerole2: | Field umpire |
| Umpireyears2: | 2020– |
| Umpiregames2: | 4 |
Eleni Andriana Tee is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW).
Tee is the first female field umpire to officiate a match sanctioned by the AFL, which occurred in the 2016 NAB Challenge match between the Carlton Football Club and Essendon Football Club, played on 28 February 2016 at Princes Park.[1] [2]
Tee also became the first female to be appointed field umpire for an AFL home-and-away match, when she was selected to officiate the and match in round 9 of the 2017 AFL season.[3] She was congratulated by then Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull.[4]
Tee commenced umpiring in 2008 with the North Eastern Metro Junior Football Association in Adelaide,[5] before commencing to umpire in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Tee umpired her first senior SANFL match in August 2013, becoming the first female to officiate as a field umpire in a SANFL match.[6]
She then moved to Melbourne on a three-year AFL female pathway scholarship at the end of 2014, where she umpired in 12 Victorian Football League (VFL) matches during the 2015 season, umpiring her first VFL match in June of that year.[7] [8] Tee was also added to the AFL umpires rookie list as a field umpire at the beginning of the 2015 season, and trained with a dedicated coach within the AFL umpires group.[9]
After officiating in two intra-club matches in the 2016 AFL pre-season, involving and,[10] she was appointed to her first AFL sanctioned match after what were described as "strong performances" by the AFL's national umpiring director, Wayne Campbell.
Tee then became the first female field umpire to officiate a match sanctioned by the AFL during a pre-season practice match between and in February 2016. Tee followed up this achievement in May 2017 when she was the first female to be appointed field umpire for an AFL home-and-away match, officiating the Essendon v round 9 match.
On 1 November 2018, Tee was awarded the Young South Australian of 2019 in a ceremony at Adelaide Oval.[11]
Tee was awarded an Order of Australia Medal in the 2021 Australia Day Honours, for "service to Australian rules football, particularly as an umpire."[12]
Outside of umpiring, Tee is a physical education teacher at St. Bernard's College, Melbourne. Both her parents were football umpires, and her partner, Dillon Tee, is also an AFL boundary umpire.[13] In July 2019, Dillon proposed to Eleni in the middle of the Melbourne Cricket Ground after they had both umpired the Round 19 match between Carlton and .[14]