On Saturday 1 February history was made as four umpires combined to provide the first mixed gender umpiring teams at a top tier international fixture.
South Africa’s Wanri Venter, plus Aleisha Neumann, Stephen Rogers and Adam Kearns from Australia, comprised the umpiring team for the men’s and women’s FIH Hockey Pro League matches between New Zealand and Belgium. The matches were held in Auckland, at the North Harbour Hockey Stadium. For Wanri and Stephen, the matches were doubly daunting and exciting as the two umpires were also making their FIH Hockey Pro League debuts.
What were your overriding emotions when you first stepped out on the pitch this weekend?
Aleisha Neumann: “Just excitement. To be involved with a men’s fixture for the first time is quite exciting. I was maybe a little bit nervous around the speed of the match and what might come out of that. But to do something different and to be the first person to do it, well that is pretty special.”
Stephen Rogers: “It was very different, being my first Pro League game and also being the first male to umpire a women’s game. It was nerve-wracking but exciting as well. It was good.
Wanri Venter: “It was exciting. There was a little bit of nerves but the nerves meant the game meant a lot to me. It was really exciting being there umpiring with Adam. We had really good connections throughout the game so that was good too.”
What were the best words of encouragement/words of wisdom you received either before or during the weekend?
Adam Kearns: “I said to all three of the guys, ‘just be yourself, you are all skilful umpires so trust yourself as you would in any other game’. I hope that helped!”
Aleisha Neumann: “It’s just a game of hockey. It’s the same processes, the same rules just of a slightly different nature so, yeah, just be yourself.”
Wanri Venter: “You are still a team out there. You are not alone. You work together and that is the biggest part of it. Our cooperation on the field was exceptional and that really just added to making me feel comfortable.”
Stephen Rogers: “Just enjoy the ride.”
What will you have gained from this experience? And did you enjoy it?
Stephen Rogers: “I thought it was good. It was a little bit different to what I am used to. Especially a lot of ‘inside the circle’ stuff. With the men, they tend to lead out a little bit more but with the women there was only one player leading out, so it was a little congested for me. That meant I had to change a few little things. But it was good.”
Wanri Venter: “For me, being the first Pro League match, it was about feeling comfortable and feeling that I was part of the process.
Aleisha Neumann: “For me it was a little bit of timing. So understanding when the men’s game is quicker than the women’s and at other times, when you could potentially ‘hold’ the whistle and allow them to play the advantage because skills they were performing may not appear or are very rare in the women’s game. So just working on that timing and getting used to the flow of the game.”
Adam Kearns: “For the last couple of years, with the Pro League, as a group, we have all become a lot tighter, so we can share more [experience and knowledge] on-field and pass on that knowledge. It’s nice to have a good crew and we are all friends now so we have developed good trust and we can start to demonstrate that [on the field of play].”
What was the biggest difference when umpiring the different gender?
Aleisha Neumann: “A bit of what I said earlier around the timing. And also just the physical size of the people on the field. In the women’s game I am normally one of the taller people and I can see over the crowd but with the men, they are bigger shapes on the field so it is about working on those angles so I have sight of the ball.”
Stephen Rogers: “Mine is more about the ‘inside the circle’ stuff. The more congested way the ladies played but it was all okay.”
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