Welsh umpire Clare Barwood has made history at the Nations Cup in Oman as the first female to umpire the Egyptian men's team.
Clare's umpiring journey started whilst studying at Bangor University. Following the conclusion of her studies she continued playing and umpiring at club level moving to Ardudwy hockey club.
The head of North Wales' Welsh Hockey Umpires Association (WHUA) encouraged Clare to consider taking her umpiring further, until in 2017 she embarked upon qualifications allowing her to umpire some age group internationals. By the summer of 2018 she had progressed to umpiring in a European club tournament.
Clare would like to thank the Welsh umpiring development group, WHUA, Karen Evans, Louise Knipe and the NPUA, who she says have all had a huge bearing on her umpiring journey:
"As a former hockey player and now umpire, the hockey community continues to help me grow as a person. I am very lucky to have some pretty strong female role models, who I now also consider friends who have helped me along the way."
Commenting on her recent achievements, Clare said:
"I often joke at work that my casual side hobby, Internationally umpiring hockey, can feel like a second job between fitness, nutrition ,video work and studying the game. It has taken a lot of hard work and support but I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to travel internationally doing what I love.
Oman was an incredible tournament to be involved in, not only for the hockey but to experience a culture pretty different to ours
To come this year I have EHL Finals and Pro-League, certainly a big two to tick off my umpiring bucket list. These opportunities are massive and I want to continue to make the most of them whilst continuing to enjoy my umpiring and being part of the hockey community both here in Wales and internationally."
If you are interested in starting your umpire journey please sign up for a course on our website
If you're a current umpire and are interested in progressing further to contact WHUA at umpires@hockeywales.org.uk.