Twenty-four of the world's best hockey umpires have been selected to officiate matches at the upcoming Paris Olympics – and three Kiwis are in that mix.
"For me, it's been a dream to get there," said Cantabrian Gareth Greenfield, who is off to his first Games.
"When you start umpiring and understand what it takes to get there, to then be at the pinnacle is pretty exciting."
Palmerston North Boys' teacher Dave Tomlinson is relishing a return to the Olympics after a Covid-plagued debut in Tokyo.
"It wasn't what you'd expect as an Olympic Games so to be going to Paris, having dreamt about an Olympics, and watched it growing up will be special," he said.
It's also a chance to be on sport's biggest stage with Greenfield, who he first met umpiring a Hatch Cup final some 27 years ago.
"That tournament was the start of a pretty special friendship that's been going since then," Tomlinson said.
For Gisborne's Amber Church, it'll be her third Olympics – but her first where there's been gender parity among match officials, with the International Hockey Federation selecting 12 women and 12 men.
"It means a lot. In hockey, there's no longer a barrier of gender in terms of umpiring," she said.
The Kiwi trio are respected globally, having gained their 'golden whistles' for bringing up 100 international matches.
"I think firstly we're just good people – we get on with everybody, we don't bring any baggage or any sort of politics into the sport," Tomlinson said.
"We're able to interact with a whole bunch of teams, whole bunch of people. We're pretty cool, calm, and collected and nothing fazes us."
And despite their global recognition, they'll always have time for the grass roots – like the Under-21 invitational tournament in Christchurch – as it's where their deep-rooted passion for the sport started.
"We were always taught the value of giving back and volunteering," Church said.
"That is why I do it and to make sure I'm setting a good example for other people and showing that there are pathways in our sport you can draw into that may not be a playing path or athlete."
Greenfield told aspiring umpires to keep on working towards their goals.
"No matter where you are and where you start your umpiring career, dream big one day you might get there," he said.
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