The Pro League fixtures between England and Netherlands were not the only international hockey fixtures taking place this weekend, as Lausanne in Switzerland, home of the IOC, hosted the inaugural Hero FIH Hockey 5s tournament.

The event was the first ever senior international Hockey 5s tournament and saw five men’s and women’s teams from three continents compete. Although England were not playing in the tournament, there was English representation in the officiating team, with Rachel Williams and Sean Edwards appointed as umpires.

Once again English umpires excelled at the top level, as Rachel umpired the final of the women’s competition in which Uruguay defeated hosts Switzerland, while Sean umpired the men’s final between India and Poland.

For Sean, it was a second appointment to a Hockey 5s event, having previously umpired at the Asian Youth Olympic Qualifiers in Bangkok. When asked about this weekend’s tournament in Lausanne, he explained:

“It was a really impressive setup; FIH constructed a purpose-built stadium right on the edge of Lake Geneva, and from the stands there were amazing views across the harbour and the lake. There was a DJ playing music throughout and an announcer commentating on the live action – it was a bit different to what we’re used to on a Sunday afternoon, but it’s got a lot of potential to help bring new audiences to our sport.”

“The matches themselves were high intensity, even more so than indoor. There are almost no stoppages with sideboards and end boards keeping the ball in play, so concentration was probably the key skill.”

“There’s always a lot of preparation that goes on in the months leading up to a tournament to ensure we perform at our best. As well as the physical fitness stuff, there’s lots of mental preparation including reviewing video of our own games and the teams competing, online briefings with the umpiring team and sharing clips within the group. This one was a bit different with very little Hockey 5s footage available so a lot of it was spent reviewing and discussing the rules and how we’d apply them, as they are quite different to the eleven a-side version of the sport.”

Rachel has also umpired a Hockey 5s event before, her first event being the EuroHockey5s Future Heroes Cup B in Poland. Since that appointment in 2016, the movement of #EquallyAmazing has taken shape which promotes gender equality and at the Hero FIH Hockey 5s, mixed gender appointments were encouraged – diversifying the umpiring appointments, mixing the women’s and men’s tournaments with female and male umpires appointed across genders.

At this event, Rachel made her mark in record books being the first female in world hockey history to umpire a men’s India vs Pakistan game. We asked Rachel about that experience:

“It was fitting to have the inaugural FIH Inclusion and Diversity Day at the start of this tournament, as the Hero FIH Hockey 5s brought together men’s and women’s teams from all over the world; Switzerland, Poland, Uruguay, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Malaysia. It was awesome to have the opportunity to be involved in this spectacle for our sport. Dynamic hockey, even-encounters with final match ups not known until the last few games! The India v Pakistan men’s game promised to be fast and exciting, and certainly didn’t disappoint! The atmosphere was incredible with a packed stadium (standing room only) and the players showcased their skills ending with a 2-2 draw. India vs Pakistan was my first men’s game at International level, and I’m hoping that the visibility of a female in a game like this will empower other women and girls to know these opportunities are also for them; the cool thing about being the first is paving the way to ensure you won’t be the last!”

So what’s next for our English cohort:

“There are a few European Hockey 5s tournaments this summer which English umpires are appointed to, so we’ll be looking to share our experiences and what we learned from the tournament to help their performance. As well as umpires continuing to contribute to the ongoing Pro League season, we have five umpires heading to the upcoming Commonwealth Games which will be a real highlight being hosted in Birmingham”

Congratulations to Rachel and Sean on their excellent performances at the tournament and their appointments to the finals.

If you are interested in learning more about the pathway to reaching the top level as an umpire in England, you can find more here. 

England under 21 women’s team is set to compete at the FIH Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa, from Friday, but, they aren’t the only English representation at one of the most prestigious events in the hockey calendar. 

Rebecca Woodcock, one of the country’s best female umpires, is also in action which sees the world’s top fifteen under 21 teams compete for the title of world champions.

For Woodcock, 26, it’s a first appearance at a Junior World Cup but she is no stranger to world-level events having recently umpired Japan v Korea in the final of the Asia Cup in Oman. 

We caught Woodcock to learn more about her umpiring journey, as well as her preparation for the tournament. You can read more about her story here: https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/media/news/rebecca-woodcock-represents-english-umpires-at-fih-hockey-womens-junior-world-cup

Despite England’s men withdrawing from the 2021 Junior World Cup due to Covid-related travel restrictions, there was still representation at the event in India in the form of umpires Dan Barstow and Paul Walker.

It was a third appearance at the event for Dan, who has also been appointed as an umpire for the 2022 Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Men’s Hockey World Cup. He took charge of seven fixtures in total, including overseeing the final as Argentina beat Germany 4-2.

Before heading out to India, he spoke to us about how he got into the role and his experiences so far. You can learn more about his experience here: https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/media/news/how-dan-barstow-prepared-to-umpire-the-2021-junior-world-cup-final

NPUA is delighted to announce that five of its members have been appointed to officiate at the FIH Indoor World Cup in Liege, Belgium next year.

Lee Barron, Sean Edwards, Louise Knipe and Rachel Williams (all England) and Cathy Wright (Wales) have been selected by the FIH Appointments Committee to attend the event in February 2022, which is the sixth time the tournament has taken place.

For Louise Knipe it will be a record sixth appearance at the prestigious event, having also been appointed to all five previous tournaments.This will be her fourth Indoor World Cup as an Umpire Manager; she also umpired at the first two Indoor World Cups (Leipzig 2003 and Vienna 2007).

Rachel Williams will be attending her second FIH Indoor World Cup, having officiated at the 2018 tournament in Leipzig, where she umpired the semi-final between Belarus and Germany.

It will be a first appearance at the Indoor World Cup for Cathy Wright, who umpired the final of the European Indoor Nations Championship between Belarus and The Netherlands last year.

Lee Barron will be making his third appearance at an Indoor World Cup, having previously been selected for the events in Leipzig 2015 and Berlin 2018; umpiring the final on both occasions.

The tournament will a first Indoor World Cup appearance for Sean Edwards, who has previously officiated the finals of the African, Asian and European continental championships.

Barron and Edwards are no strangers to umpiring together; the pair having presided over the final of the 2020 European Nations Championship.

Simon Gillett, Chairman of the NPUA Indoor Performance Committee said of the appointments “Congratulations to all concerned. Special congratulations go to Lou Knipe, our World Cup specialist, and Lee Barron who makes it three in a row – only the third man to have ever achieved that feat. For the first time ever, England will have two umpires of the same gender at a World Cup. What an amazing set of appointments for England and NPUA.”

The 2021 NPUA Conference will take place on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th September, between 9am and 1pm each day. This year’s conference will be an online event once again, however the NPUA Executive Committee hopes to be able to return to an in-person event from 2022 onwards.

We are delighted to announce that NPUA will be hosting an online coach & assessor convergence session on Saturday 12th June, 9:30am to 12:30pm. The interactive session will be facilitated by International Umpire Managers Liz Pelling & Hamish Jamson, and involve watching a pre-recorded match, with interactive note taking, followed by a group discussion on the key themes from the match. 

Full details and joining instructions will be circulated nearer to the event, but in the meantime, please keep the date free in your diary.