The View from the Middle

By Daniel Dunne

At this summer’s Women’s Hockey World Cup there will be, for the first time, a mixture of both genders officiating to reinforce the sports ‘Equally Amazing’ values. There will be a total of 25 officials from 14 countries appointed, representing all five continents at this year’s tournament. The event itself will take place at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park between 21 July and 5 August. The life of a referee for any sport is hard and hockey is no different. There will be abuse, decisions to make and a rapturous crowd to contend with so keeping a clear head won’t be easy for the officials in the middle. We managed to talk to Alison Keogh, a FIH qualified referee from Ireland, who will be an umpire at this year’s tournament in England. Alison has been with the FIH for just over 5 years now and has been involved in hockey from a young age before becoming a club captain, the Three Rock Rovers physiotherapist all while studying for a PhD in physiotherapy.  She spoke to us about her experiences as an umpire and the upcoming Hockey World Cup.