Queensland’s spirit of volunteerism to create a hockey legacy for 2032 and beyond

Sport

24 May 2024

2 mins

Volunteers are the backbone of community sports all across Queensland, and it’s the likes of Hockey Queensland volunteer officials Lyn Hill and Brent Brown that keep grassroots sports thriving.

Lyn Hill started volunteering with the Rockhampton Hockey Association as a teenager. Now based in Brisbane, Lyn is an Oceania Hockey Umpire Chair and a member of the National Appointments Committee that selects umpires for Hockey Australia National Championships.

She is a crucial Hockey Queensland volunteer and has performed roles as Chair of the Hockey Queensland Umpires Committee, Chair of the Hockey Queensland Indoor Committee and has helped develop and implement the Hockey Queensland Umpire Mentor Program to identify, appoint and mentor umpires for club, state, national and international events.

Hockey Queensland volunteer Lyn Hill with Panthers Hockey Club athletes

Her mentorship has helped guide many umpires to the world stage, including Brisbane local Aleisha Neumann, who umpired field hockey at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and has been selected again for Paris 2024.

Sunshine Coast local Brent Brown is a Federation of International Hockey (FIH) International Advancement Panel Technical Official and a Hockey Australia Advanced Lead. In this role, he dedicates countless hours volunteering as a Technical Official at community, state, national and international events.

In his role as Hockey Queensland’s Technical Committee Chair, Brent is frequently called upon to mentor and coach technical officials to improve the skills of developing officials. As a Hockey Queensland Pride Ambassador, he proudly supports the diversity and inclusion of all in the hockey community to make the sport a supportive and welcoming environment.

Hear from Lyn and Brent about why they love volunteering and what they’re most looking forward to with the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon.