Warrnambool and District football umpire Gavin Sell to celebrate 600th game

Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association president Gavin Sell will officiate his 600^th game in the afternoon before his 40^th birthday party that night.

Sell, whose birthday fell on July 1 when the region's leagues enjoyed a bye for interleague, said it would be a special day.

He has been allocated the Hampden league senior clash between South Warrnambool and Warrnambool at Friendly Societies' Park.

"It will blend it all into one. I have some family coming down so it will make it a bit more special I think," he said of the double celebration.

"It (the milestone) will sink in after Saturday but if you look at some of the other guys who have done 600 I think I will be one of the youngest around here to slide into that milestone.

"I had someone say to me at training 'gee, if it's 600, you've got another 400 in you'.

"I have no real plans on a number I want to get to, as long as I still enjoy it and am able to, I am happy to keep going but as soon as that enjoyment or fun goes away, that's when I will stop."

Sell's connection with umpiring stretches back 28 years ago and has been a constant in his life ever since.

"The pocket money side of things was the big lure for me as a young 13-year-old kid," he said.

"I have probably stayed for the friendships and social side of things.

"I enjoy being part of that footy community."

He started on the boundary line in 1996 before graduating to the centre in 2001.

"I was approached about doing some junior games in the morning and running the boundary in the seniors," Sell said.

"I've come up through the ranks through the years and now am a full-time member of the senior squad."

He's umpired five senior grand finals - one in the Hampden league and four in the Warrnambool and District league - across his career. The 2018 decider between Koroit and Camperdown was a career highlight.

"It was a great buzz, it felt like my feet didn't touch the ground all day, " Sell said.

"Big crowd, last game of the year - it's where everyone wants to end up, doing the best game on the best day.

"It was a pipeline dream that happened."

Sell, who works at WDEA Works as an employment services team leader, said central umpiring required a fitness base.

"I am not the fastest runner but I use running and the training side of things more so for mental health," he said.

"I don't mind getting out after work and going for a run and even some mornings I run with a running group."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: