A TORN anterior cruciate ligament in his knee brought a premature end to Greg Oaten's touch football career as a player.
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He wanted to remain involved in the sport so hung up the boots and picked up a whistle.
Following last weekend's National Touch League in Coffs Harbour, Oaten is now a recognised level six official.
It means the 56-year-old can now referee at international level and although he won't be at next month's World Cup in Malaysia, a Junior State Cup championship finals appearance looks likely.
His refereeing journey started when he moved to Port Macquarie in 2013 and now he becomes the first from the area to achieve a level six badge.
"I rang up (former president) Chris Veech when I moved to Port Macquarie and asked if he wanted a level two referee," Oaten recalled.
"He asked whether I thought the Pope was Catholic or not and within six months I was referees director and then I focused on growing the referee pool here and helping people get up the ladder.
"To do that I've had to climb the ladder myself so my goal was always a level four which is state and once I got that I figured why not level five which was national."
I'm just opening the field for everyone else to follow.
- Greg Oaten
Once he achieved level five, level six became the next goal.
Oaten said while it was a personal achievement, it was also a team achievement for Port Macquarie Touch Football Association.
"In a lot of sports, the referee is the poor individual out in the middle who cops it all but in touch you've got three interchanging all the time," he said.
"I'm just opening the field for everyone else to follow.
"I'm 56 so there are no shortcuts and at the end of our summer season I was doing sprint training every day for an hour or so at various locations around Port.
"It's hard yakka but it all paid off."
Brad Walsh, Emma Bleasdale, Sophie Evans and Jesse Budnick all appear to be following in Oaten's footsteps after upgrading to level four and level three badges recently.
"I'd like to think that I'm trailblazing and if I can do it as an older guy then some of our younger people can do it as well," he said.
"I hope that I also inspire some of the parents to take up refereeing rather than sit on the sideline."
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