Local hockey umpire officiates at South American championships

Leading local hockey umpire Devin Hooper officiated at the South American Hockey Championships (SAHC) held between April 3 and 11.

20100417hooper — Devin Hooper umpiring at the South American Championships in the game between Chile and Venezuela.

According to his manager Roger St Rose, Hooper’s already steady performances improved as the tournament progressed. The umpire received further accolades when he was selected to officiate in the men’s final in which top ten world ranked Argentina defeated Chile.

In addition to the prestige of being invited to officiate at this international level, Hooper was considered among the best of the officials on show as he was selected to carry the whistle for the men’s final. This was a first for Guyana and the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) expressed great pride in the achievement.

Hooper is one of Guyana’s five hockey umpires to gain official recognition from the International Hockey Federation (FIH) as an international umpire. In 2008 Hooper was invited to umpire in the PanAm Junior Championships in Trinidad and Tobago and put on an excellent performance which later earned him his accreditation in 2009.

Currently the captain of GCC, Hooper was introduced to hockey in 1989 and went on to an illustrious career as a player, representing Guyana for 17 years and captaining the junior national team back in 1996. His umpiring career, however, began in 2001 in the local competitions and in a short time he ascended to being one of the leading local umpires

“The quality of hockey at the games was very high and so it demanded a lot from us,” Hooper said.

“Without an artificial pitch in Guyana we do not have international games, so I had a very short time to adjust to the level. Fortunately there was good support from the umpires’ manager in advising us and it seems like they were pleased with my efforts,” he added

Hooper went on to highlight the fact that, while he is proud of this achievement, a great deal of hard work must now be put in to get to the world-class tournaments. He wishes to encourage young people in particular to not only focus on playing hockey but also officiating which is so necessary for the advancement of the sport.

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