A former Fiji international has swapped his stick for a whistle to become the first international hockey umpire from the South Pacific Island.
Epeli Tukuca, who played for the national team for a number of years, says that as younger players came into the side, he realised that his days of playing at the top level were numbered and so he sought a new challenge. It took the 36-year-old from Lautoka just four years to reach the high standard of umpiring required by the International Hockey Federation and Epeli is now graded as an FIH international umpire.
Explaining why he decided to move into umpiring, Epeli said: “I’ve been associated with hockey for 20 years since my high school days in Tilak, and it was my enjoyment of competition in the national team that convinced me to try out this new adventure.
"As I'm getting older and the younger players coming into the scene it was getting harder and harder to get into Fiji hockey so I asked myself how else can I contribute to Fiji hockey and I thought why not take up umpiring."
Over the four years that Epeli has been working towards the qualification, he has attended umpiring clinics in Australia and New Zealand. He was helped with travel and expenses by the Oceania Hockey Federation, the Australian Masters Hockey Association and New Zealand Hockey.
While hockey is a growing sport in Fiji, the competition on the island is still not at the level that Epeli needed in order to attain his international umpiring status. For this he needed exposure to elite competition, so his love of travel was combined with officiating all over the Southern Hemisphere. Over the past four years he has umpired at the 2012 FIH World League/Oceania Pacific Cup in Suva, 2013 Oceania U21 Hockey World Qualifiers Tournament (Gold Coast), the 2013 Australian Masters National Championships in Sydney, 2013 Oceania Cup (Men) that was held at Straford in New Zealand, the 2014 Oceania Qualifying Tournament for Nanjing Youth Olympic Games at Port Vila in Vanuatu.
He also umpired at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, China and the FIH World League/Oceania Pacific Cup in Suva last December.
Fiji Hockey President Doctor Robin Mitchell congratulated Epeli on his achievement.
Epeli said the achievement was a milestone not only for him but Fiji Hockey Association as well and he hoped that the level of umpiring in Fiji would upgrade as a result of his progress.
"People have seen that I have travelled to other parts of the world and they're interested in it now, so I am planning on running umpire courses around the country."
