Michelle or Michi Meister is a hugely experienced top class umpire, with two World Cups (2014 and 2018), three Indoor World Cups (2011, 2015 and 2018) and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games already on her umpiring CV. She is on the umpires roster for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Meister made umpiring history in 2018 when she became the first female umpire, alongside Belgium’s Laurine Delforge, to umpire in the men’s EuroHockey League.
Prior to becoming an umpire, Meister played hockey in Germany for 20 years, and since she stepped into an umpiring role, she has taken charge of more than 300 club matches in the German national league and has 91 senior international matches to her name.
In 2018, Meister was voted FIH Female Umpire of the Year.
How important for you as an umpire is a return to international hockey ahead of next year's Olympic Games?
Michelle Meister: For us umpires it is as important as for the players and coaches to return to international hockey ahead of next year’s Olympic Games. It is important for us to get match practice, to get the feeling for the game. We need to get used to the speed and the tactics of top class teams. We need to know the abilities of individual players.
What have you been doing to ensure you are physically and mentally prepared for Pro League hockey?
Michelle Meister: During lockdown and the past few months, it was only possible to keep your fitness by training on your own mostly, which is hard and boring. But it had to be done because it is absolutely necessary that we are fit when Pro League starts again. By watching matches and talking to colleagues, we could keep our minds focused and we shared experiences and expectations but nothing actually compared to the feeling of being part of the game and supporting the players to show their best performance.
As umpires, what excites you about the FIH Pro League competition?
Michelle Meister: FIH Hockey Pro League to me is a fantastic way of bringing world class hockey together to show the world how exciting and spectacular our sport is. I am really looking forward to restarting the Pro League and I am sure you are too.
#FIHProLeague
Photo credit: World Sports Pics/Frank Uijlenbroek
