EuroHockey

Discover all the information regarding our competitions

Visit our calendar and keep an eye on upcoming events.

Stay informed with the latest EuroHockey news.

Discover the team and values that drive EuroHockey.

Jolanta Liškauskienė and Rogier Warris (pictured above) have been appointed as the Technical Delegates to lead the officials team at next August’s EuroHockey Championships in Mönchengladbach.



Richard Chere, meanwhile, will take on the Technical Delegate for the EuroHockey ID Championships which run parallel to the main event.



For Liškauskienė from Lithuania, it will be her first time being in the role for the outdoor championship having been the TD indoors in Berlin earlier in 2024. She was also a Technical Officer for the 2023 outdoor edition, a role she has also been appointed to for next February’s Indoor World Cup.



“I am truly honoured and excited to be appointed as the Technical Delegate for the EuroHockey Championship in Mönchengladbach,” she said of the news.



“I am especially thrilled to be working with Rogier from whom&nbsp;I have learned a lot over the years and whose guidance has been significant in my growth and development in this position.



“In preparation for the event, we will focus on thorough planning, engaging with our team, and ensuring every detail is addressed to facilitate a smooth and successful competition. It is an absolute privilege to help shape the experience for all participants of this incredible event of the sport we all cherish.”



&nbsp;Warris, from the Netherlands, he will work with Liškauskienė at the Indoor World Cup in Porec where he will be the TD. Recently, he was a Technical Officer at the Olympic Games in Paris and the 2022 World Cup in Terrassa.



For his part, he says he also: “absolutely thrilled to be appointed… for European hockey’s flagship tournament.



“The fact that I will be joining up with Jolanta makes it even more special for me. We have known each other for a very long time but I think it is in fact the first time that we are officially appointed to the same event.



“I look forward to working with Jolanta, all appointed officials, the participating teams and the local organisers to create an environment where Europe’s top hockey players can show their great hockey skills.”



Chere’s appointment to the ID Championships is another strong step forward in his career in officialdom. He was a judge in Mönchengladbach in 2023 for the championships and has since also earned an appointment to the Indoor World Cup as a Technical Official.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="809" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-1024x809.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5005" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-1024x809.jpg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-300x237.jpg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-768x607.jpg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-1536x1214.jpg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-2048x1618.jpg 2048w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-1x1.jpg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-200x158.jpg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EuroHockey_WP9_9389-1-500x395.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Excited about his role, he says; “In 2023, I was fortunate enough to spend the day watching the previous championships at Gladbacher Hockey and Tennis club and see the uniqueness of the event with everyone participating and working to help each other to achieve their own personal best.



“The camaraderie between the teams was fantastic. This was topped off by the fantastic gold medal matches between Germany versus England and Italy versus Belgium at the stadium at Sparkassen Park where the skill level displayed was fantastic as well as the noise from the supporters.



“As such, my team of officials and I are looking forward to creating a fair and fun championship in 2025 where each of our participants can thrive and excel.”&nbsp;

Jolanta Liškauskienė and Rogier Warris appointed as Technical Delegates for 2025 EuroHockey Championships

Pauline Cuypers <a href="https://eurohockey.org/eight-talented-umpires-graduate-from-udp-group-15">graduated from EuroHockey’s Umpire Development Programme</a> earlier this month as she continues her ascent with the whistle with the Belgian keen to rise ever further.



Having been a player on the pathway to the international stage, she told the EuroHockey website that making the decision to focus on umpiring was a big one.



***



Growing up, the Red Panthers shirt was the initial focus and she played at international underage level for Belgium and went on to be a Dames 1 goalkeeper for Braxgata and Mechelse hockey clubs.



Indeed, she picked up a Belgian indoor national title in 2022 with Royal Racing Club de Bruxelles but umpiring has since become centre-stage for her for the past four years.



“I started about eight years ago,” she told EuroHockey. “Mainly I was doing youth games while I played myself until a certain point when some coaches and umpires like Sebastien Michielsen suggested I should make the next step.



“When I was a goalkeeper, I was always ‘busy’ thinking what was happening in the head of an umpire. I thought about how I see the game and what I would do [with certain decisions].



“Also, my mom was an umpire so that was another part! When I umpired a game myself, I realised I actually liked it and there was some potential! From there, I became more and more ambitious!”



Unbeknownst to her, she was put forward by the Belgian federation to get involved with the EuroHockey development pathway, linking up with the Umpires for Europe programme in 2021.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="637" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-1024x637.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-4814" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-1024x637.jpg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-300x187.jpg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-768x478.jpg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-1536x956.jpg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-2048x1275.jpg 2048w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-1x1.jpg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-200x125.jpg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307117255-500x311.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Umpiring at last summer&#8217;s EuroHockey U18 Championships in Krefeld. Picture Arnau Benavent/World Sport Pics</figcaption></figure>



She developed through this to be selected in Group 15 of the Umpire Development Programme during which time she was elevated to the FIH’s High Potential list of umpires.



Speaking about the value of the courses, she says the collaborative approach taken is one of the crucial factors.



“We were a very close group and are also close with Group 14 and 16 of the UDP. We have some very honest and open discussions



“I really like it because you&#8217;re often talking about stuff you don&#8217;t you don&#8217;t think about when you just have your own hockey game. Like in Surbiton [at the EHL], there&#8217;s so much more going on.



“For example, we had a meeting about specific things we can control on a tournament; where you normally just roll into your tournament and you don&#8217;t think about it, now you have extra managing tools in your backpack by discussing and talking to others.



“We also connect with everyone, everybody has a story to tell and you can learn from everyone. Not everybody is as lucky as we are in Belgium so it&#8217;s good to share experiences, to see other things.



“I really like how EuroHockey and the UDP built this community that it is more than just talking about, hey you did this wrong, you didn&#8217;t see this foot.



“But more about how can we make people better? How can we make our colleagues better? How can we approach as a group? How can we help people out? How can we even make connections off pitch? I think it&#8217;s something I really like.



“The more you receive experience and information, you know how to deal with negative points and you see that there is positive in a lot of feedback. So you learn to have a different way of thinking about things.”



Looking ahead, she has received a big boost by being included in the FIH Pro League panel for the upcoming season.



She is looking at getting more elevated European appointments too having been part of the 2022 EuroHockey Under-21 Championships and various club level tournaments.



And she hopes the sky is the limit if she continues along this path.



“I will not stop until I&#8217;ve given everything that I can possibly do. It&#8217;s a big dream for a lot of us on the UDP but I hope one day to make it to the Olympics.



“It will be a lot of hard work, putting a lot of effort and time in it. But if you want to be ambitious, there&#8217;s never enough until you&#8217;re there. But I will have to work very hard and then we will see!”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-find-out-more">Find out more</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://eurohockey.org/eurohockey-institute#institute-officiating-umpires">Click here for more about the EuroHockey Institute officiating courses</a></li>



<li><a href="https://eurohockey.org/eight-talented-umpires-graduate-from-udp-group-15">Click here to read about the UDP Group 15 graduation</a></li>
</ul>

“Everybody has a story to tell and you can learn from everyone” – Pauline Cuypers on the UDP approach

Raphäel Adrien is among the latest graduates of <a href="https://eurohockey.org/eight-talented-umpires-graduate-from-udp-group-15">EuroHockey’s Umpire Development Programme (UDP)</a>. The German umpire has been on a rapid rise in the past 12 months, moving up to the FIH High Potential Panel earlier this year and he spoke to EuroHockey about his life with the whistle.



***



Adrien&#8217;s umpiring journey coincides almost directly with his hockey journey in general. Twelve years ago, he took up the sport as a 15-year-old at Wiesbaden DHC where they also ran an umpiring course.



And he admits he “developed faster than on the playing side” and people around the club “acknowledged I had a bit of talent for it” so he began to get support quite early on.



“I started hockey in the first place as I wasn&#8217;t really good enough at football anymore. There was like a summer holiday course in my hometown – my parents were working during the day so these courses were there for you to play something or do a computer course [to fill your day].



“I took hockey and I remember the first day talking to my mother and saying like ‘oh I&#8217;m not so sure if I really want to do that’. My mother said just give it a try… and just like that, I got hooked.



“I was quite late to it and sometimes I think what if I would have started earlier because I never played high level hockey.



“There&#8217;s many others umpires who started at a young age, they played high level, they know more of the game but I think I have a different kind of view on that because I always had the outside view.



“Like maybe I&#8217;m not the most tactical guy. I never had a high-end coaching on tactics and stuff but maybe it is another way to see the game.”



Getting vital early encouragement also paid dividends.



“Quite early, they saw something in me and they were like ‘we need to push this guy!’ I could name five or six people who supported me but there&#8217;s many more in the background who backed by talent.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="821" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-1024x821.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-4803" srcset="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-1024x821.jpg 1024w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-300x241.jpg 300w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-768x616.jpg 768w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-1536x1232.jpg 1536w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-2048x1643.jpg 2048w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-1x1.jpg 1w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-200x160.jpg 200w, https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/AMB2307118194-2-500x401.jpg 500w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Umpiring in 2023 with fellow UDP Group 15 graduate Pauline Cuypers. Picture: Frank Uijlenbroek/World Sport Pics</figcaption></figure>



“I had fun on the pitch and people were really nice. Having people actually believing in you helps a lot and so it made it more fun to do than playing at the weekend. It also gave me a chance to be involved in some ‘proper’ hockey – I could umpire in like the third German league or go play in the eighth division and not have a good game.



“So you start telling your coach, I can’t play this weekend as I have this game to umpire and it goes from there.”



Soon, he was getting into the realm of being earmarked for the EuroHockey umpiring courses, starting with Umpires for Europe (U4E).



“It is amazing to get so many young people from so many different countries together all with a shared passion for the sport but also to have all their different inputs into it.



“You have the mentors with U4E from so many different countries and so much knowledge over the years with Rob Ten Cate as the head, inspiring stuff.”



On the UDP, his mentors were Olympic umpires Fanneke Alkemade and Paco Vazquez.



“There’s so much you can learn from people like this and I can still hear advice from when I started U4E before Covid. There&#8217;s still stuff I have in my head from umpire managers, asking me ‘does this add value?’ They have so much to offer just soak everything up.”



Adrien made his FIH Pro League last summer before officiating at the EuroHockey qualifiers in Dublin and he is hoping to continue to pushing up the ladder having been included on a high potential panel.



“I&#8217;m on the second highest level now and it is amazing to do the games with people you see on TV, going to Olympics and World Cups.



“In terms of ambition, there&#8217;s a dream target, and it&#8217;s the Olympics. I don&#8217;t lie, there&#8217;s many umpires who say, one day I want to be there. It&#8217;s also my goal, but there&#8217;s so much stuff you can&#8217;t control at this high level.



“We have talked about this also in the UDP; there&#8217;s stuff you can control and there&#8217;s stuff you don&#8217;t control.



“If they give you chances, you should take them and show them that you&#8217;re there for a reason. So I&#8217;m just trying to get as much appointments as I can get and then show them that I deserve to be on that level.



“I am driven because it was quite fast [the rise] in the last year. I know that it&#8217;s not going to go on like this forever so I&#8217;m taking everything I can. Just soaking everything in.



“I want to thank my national association actually, really, for putting me in the U4E program from the beginning. And then for Eurohockey for selecting me for UDP and giving me the chance to develop as an umpire but also just as a human being personally in my everyday life.



“Through the amazing network EuroHockey has built, I’ve umpired in the Dutch Hoofdklasse through those connections. “There&#8217;s some of my closest friends in this programme that I can call every time I need something. This whole support network, everybody&#8217;s there for everyone.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-find-out-more">Find out more</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://eurohockey.org/eurohockey-institute#institute-officiating-umpires">Click here for more about the EuroHockey Institute officiating courses</a></li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://eurohockey.org/eight-talented-umpires-graduate-from-udp-group-15">Click here to read about the UDP Group 15 graduation</a> </li>
</ul>

“If they give you chances, take them and show them that you’re there for a reason” – Raphäel Adrien on his umpiring journey

Barbara Morgan was presented with the EuroHockey Diploma of Merit in recognition of her fantastic work for the sport at the Officials Committee last week in Brussels.



She was presented with the award by EuroHockey Vice President Inez Cooper and Honorary Life President Marijke Fleuren, a presentation which took Barbara completely by surprise.



Hailing the Scottish woman’s contributions, Fleuren said: “Barbara has been a steady rock for EuroHockey in her officiating work &#8211; all voluntary &#8211; as well as in her vital role as a member of our Covid Panel.



“In her officiating capacity, she has acted at all levels of our tournaments: Clubs, Nations, Juniors, Seniors, Championships, Trophies and Challenges, Outdoor and Indoor, always building her team in the best and friendly way while being clear to the athletes. For other officials, it always was and will be a pleasure to work with her!



“Her biggest contribution came during the difficult Covid period. Along with her panel, she assisted the executive board in making reality the slogan #EveryMatchMatters.



“Where possible, we played our tournaments with bubbles, tests, special corridors etc, as advised by the panel. If problems occurred, no problem; the panel advised how to deal with it.



“It is a fact that with Barbara and her collegues Björn Isberg, Udo Rolle and Katja Van Oostveldt, assisted by our staff, we overcame a difficult period in a positive way.



“We are very grateful to her and our sincere congratulations to Barbara!”



** Barbara Morgan is pictured with her EuroHockey Diploma of Merit with, left, Marijke Fleuren and, right, Inez Cooper

Barbara Morgan recognised for her work with EuroHockey Diploma of Merit

The&nbsp;EuroHockey&nbsp;Competitions Committees Outdoor met in&nbsp;Valencia, Spain in mid-September for their&nbsp;second&nbsp;meeting of the year.



The Committee received updates on the Euro Hockey League, EuroHockey&nbsp;5s&nbsp;U16&nbsp;Championships 2024 and&nbsp;EuroHockey U21&nbsp;Championships 2024.



The 2023&nbsp;EuroHockey Club Trophy &amp; Challenge events,&nbsp;EuroHockey U18 Championships 2023, EuroHockey&nbsp;5s Championship (Women) 2023 and EuroHockey Championships&nbsp;(II-III)&nbsp;2024 were all reviewed and discussed. The Committee expressed their gratitude towards all hosts for their efforts and contribution in hosting these events.



The Committee considered the entries and applications to host the 2024 EuroHockey&nbsp;Club Trophy and Challenge&nbsp;events&nbsp;and awarded them.&nbsp;The venues were announced last week.



The entries and applications to host the 2024 EuroHockey Championship&nbsp;(Pre-)Qualifying&nbsp;events and 2024 EuroHockey&nbsp;5s Championship events&nbsp;were also&nbsp;considered. Recommendations for the awarding of these Championships were made to the&nbsp;EuroHockey&nbsp;Executive Board. These will be announced as soon as the&nbsp;EuroHockey&nbsp;Executive Board has approved them.



They received updates on FIH events and discussed various (regulations) questions. Any changes will be published in due course&nbsp;(if needed)&nbsp;in the various sets of Regulations and Event Manuals.



The next Committee meeting will be in&nbsp;March&nbsp;2024.

Competitions Committee meet in Valencia for September meeting

Twenty-seven umpires and eight judges from EuroHockey development programmes came together in Breda for a hugely productive get-together at BHV Push.



It featured 17 umpires from the Umpires for Europe (U4E) course and 10 from the Umpires for Nations (U4N) and was their second seminar with their first taking place in Vienna in April.&nbsp;



Throughout the weekend, the umpires had a fitness test, were appointed to games at a tournament hosted by BHV Push, and had mentor meetings where they discussed their progress.&nbsp;



Eight promising umpires from this group will be selected for Umpire Development Programme (UDP) group 17 which will be announced in the coming weeks.



They worked in tandem with the Judges for Europe (J4E) course which had eight judges take part from six countries; they were educated by Rogier Warris (NED) and Edna Rutten (NED) via a classroom session&nbsp;



They then had the opportunity to sharpen their skills on the side of the pitch in conjunction with Joyce Wijnhoven (BEL) who was the tournament TD, working with Leon Rutten (NED) as technical official and Paco Vasques (ESP) as umpire’s manager.



Reflecting on the weekend, mentor Dawn Bonner said: “Breda presents a great opportunity for EuroHockey to coach and develop the future generation of international young umpires.



“The success is the format which includes a briefing from an accredited umpire’s manager and matches with junior players from Dutch clubs who have a high level of ability that gives the young umpires a good opportunity to practice their umpiring skills as preparation for international hockey.



“It also allows them to mix and work with their peers while having fun. This is a great EuroHockey programme that supports international young umpire development which supplements the education element that is delivered at Easter.”



Julia Jungbluth (GER) is one of the U4N participants and she added: “This was a great opportunity to be coached by experienced international umpire managers, exchange our perspectives on umpiring and learn from our fellow umpires from all over Europe.&nbsp;



“It was an amazing chance to show and improve our skills at a top level as well as to bond and make friends with like-minded people who are on the same development path as us.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://admin.eurohockey.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Judges-for-Europe-1024x773.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-2536" style="width:840px;height:634px" width="840" height="634"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The J4E group; picture above are the the umpire groups.</figcaption></figure>



From the J4E course, Irene Corales agreed: “It was a very comfortable and complete dynamic with lessons in the morning which we could put into practice in the afternoon; a course to learn the role of EuroHockey judge, from within and in action.”



U4E participant Aleš Větrovský (CZE) &#8211; now in his second year on the progamme &#8211; added: &#8220;If someone wants to improve their whistling and get further in Europe, this is definitely a good way.&nbsp;



“The views of people from abroad are, in many ways, different from those in the Czech Republic while you have Olympic umpires also watching over you and helping you like Paco Vázquez this year.&nbsp;



“In addition, the umpires you meet there are very likely to be met at various tournaments for the rest of your international career.&#8221;



** To find out more about each of the programmes mentioned, go to the EuroHockey Institute page here: <a href="https://eurohockey.org/eurohockey-institute#institute-officiating-umpires">https://eurohockey.org/eurohockey-institute#institute-officiating-umpires</a>

Breda gives developing umpires and judges a big Push in right direction

Twenty European officials have been appointed for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris with the confirmed list announced by the International Hockey Federation this morning.



Austria’s Elisabeth Fuerst is one of the two Technical Delegates appointed. They will be backed up by 14 technical officials including Germany’s Christian Deckenbrock and Sonja Schwede, Netherlands’ Rogier Warris and France’s Sylvie Petitjean.



England’s Margaret Hunnaball and Dutchman Roel van Eert make up half of the team of four umpires managers.



On the umpiring front,&nbsp; England’s Dan Barstow, Hannah Harrison and Rachel Williams, Netherlands’ Coen van Bunge and Jonas van’t Hek, Scotland’s Sarah Wilson and Martin Madden, Ireland’s Alison Keogh, Germany’s Ben Goentgen, Czech Republic’s Jakub Mejzlik, Belgium’s Laurine Delforge and Poland’s Marcin Grochal are all rewarded for their excellent performances in recent years.



Udo Rolle &#8211; a recent recipient of the EuroHockey Diploma of Merit &#8211; is one of the three medical officers appointed.



They are part of an officials team which includes two technical delegates, 14 technical officials, four umpire managers and 28 umpires.



Speaking on the announcement of officials for Olympic Games Paris 2024, FIH President Tayyab Ikram said: “Officials play a fundamental role and give a very substantial part of their free time to their passion for the sport! This is remarkable and I’d like to thank each and every hockey official, anywhere in the world.&nbsp;



“To all those who’ve been selected for the Olympic Games in Paris next year: huge congratulations! This is a fantastic achievement. On behalf of FIH, I want to assure you of our full confidence, support and respect.&nbsp;



“And I’m particularly pleased that the split of all officials across both genders will be an exact 50-50, in line with the overarching gender equality principle which prevails in our sport.”



** To read the full list of appointed officials, click here: <a href="https://www.fih.hockey/events/the-olympic-games-paris-2024/officials">https://www.fih.hockey/events/the-olympic-games-paris-2024/officials</a>

Category: Officials