England’s Frances Block received the International Hockey Federation (FIH) ‘Golden Whistle’ as she umpired her 100th senior international hockey game as Scotland women took on Poland in Pool C at the 2015 Unibet EuroHockey Championships in London last week.
Frances became the 39th women's umpire to receive a ‘Golden Whistle’ and only the second English umpire to do so after Gill Clarke reached this milestone back in 1997.
Since becoming an international umpire in 2004, Frances has officiated at many world level events, her highlight being the London 2012 Olympics.
She has also officiated at two Hockey World Cups – in Rosario, Argentina in 2010 and also The Hague, Netherlands in 2014 as well as the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in 2010.
In addition to those events, she umpired at four Champions Trophies – Monchengladbach, Germany in 2008; Nottingham, England in 2010; Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2011 and Rosario, Argentina in 2012, and two Indoor World Cups – Poznan, Poland in 2011 and Leipzig, Germany in 2015.
Speaking of her award, Frances said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have achieved my Golden Whistle. I was very lucky to have been able to achieve it in London with my family there to watch. It is an honour to represent my country so I am extremely proud to have reached this milestone. The most memorable experience was of course umpiring at the London 2012 Olympic Games but to be honest umpiring in Bermuda is not far behind!”
Looking towards the future she said: “If I am selected for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio then that really will be the icing on the cake but I am also looking forward to England hosting the women's World Cup in 2018.”
Frances has dedicated a considerable amount of her life to hockey and now she has got to the point where she wants to give a little back to the sport that has given her so many happy memories. She said: “I hope I can play a part in inspiring young people to get involved in umpiring. I would like to work with England Hockey to encourage schools to promote officiating within the PE curriculum and I will look to take up a coaching role in the future.”
Whether it’s umpiring international matches or inspiring the next generation, Frances is a role model in many ways. The ‘Golden Whistle’ is recognition of her commitment and dedication to the sport of hockey and acts as an inspiration to many other up and coming umpires around the world.
For more information about the FIH ‘Golden Whistle’, click here.
