Frances achieves her Olympic dream
09/12/2011
Frances (right) at the 2011 Women’s Champions Trophy Final Argentina v Holland
Sussex hockey umpire, and Teacher at Central Sussex College, Frances Block is celebrating after learning that she has been appointed to the London 2012 Olympic Games. For ambitious Frances, the appointment is a dream come true, and the culmination of a six year plan, which has seen her tirelessly work her way up, umpiring local and national league games, right up to international level, with the Olympics as her ultimate goal.
Frances' appointment is nationally significant, as she is the only female hockey umpire from the UK to have been offered a place at the Olympics. The seventeen-strong team of female international umpires at the 2012 Games includes women selected from the Federation of International Hockey (FIH) from all around the world. Frances is also the first female umpire from the UK to be selected for the Olympics since the Games in Sydney in 2000. The men's appointments are not due to be announced until after Christmas 2011.
An Olympic appointment is the icing on the cake for Frances, 39, from Brighton, whose career has seen her involved in all aspects of the game, and who was this year named 'Performance Umpire of the Year' by the England Hockey Board. Before a car accident prevented her from playing, Frances was a keen hockey player, and also achieved success playing football and cricket, representing Brighton and Hove as well as Sussex during her cricketing career. After her playing career came to an end in 1999, she turned to umpiring, initially to help out at her old hockey club, but this quickly escalated, and she soon gained official level qualifications, and was approached by the Sussex Hockey Association to officiate at county league matches.
Since then, Frances has never looked back, and has officiated at numerous prestigious international events including this year's Indoor World Cup, the Commonwealth Games in India last year, the 2010 World Cup in Argentina and this year's Champions Trophy in Holland. However, she is keen to stress that the glamour of the international games is offset by months of preparation, and at weekends from September until April, she has put in the hours at local and national men's and women's league matches around the country, often in cold and rainy conditions during the winter. It is these hours that have helped her learn her trade, as it is here that she is able to observe a range of games, players and umpires, to develop the skills needed to become an International Umpire. This umpire training is supported by hours spent in the gym, carrying out eyesight training and video analysis. Being a PE Teacher has also helped her to apply sports psychology to her training and matches.
In preparation for London 2012, which will involve a stay in London from 26 July to 12 August, Frances has been training hard, and says that she is now the fittest she has ever been. She has been following a specially developed programme called 'The Road to London' which will ensure umpires at the games are in peak physical and mental condition in time for the opening ceremony. It will also train officials on the video umpire process.
Speaking of her excitement at learning of her Olympic appointment, Frances says: "I cannot believe it, I am so excited and it's such a relief to finally know I am going to the Olympic Games. I am originally from North London and so for me it's an absolute dream to be able to umpire at the London Olympic Games. I cannot thank everyone enough for all their support. It's an honour to represent Great Britain, I hope I go on to make everyone proud."
Outside of hockey, Frances is Curriculum Team Leader for Sport and Public Service at Central Sussex College's Crawley campus. She went on to train at the University of Brighton, and started her career as a PE Teacher at Worthing College, before teaching at Central Sussex College's Haywards Heath campus ahead of taking up her current role. As her career as a Hockey Umpire takes off, she is increasingly grateful for the support shown to her by the College, and says that she couldn't have done it without such an understanding employer. She would also like to thank Sussex and the South Hockey Umpires Association, the National Programme Umpires Association (NPUA), the England Hockey Board and Great Britain Hockey for their continued support and encouragement throughout her career so far.
Colleague Darren White, who is a fellow Lecturer in Sport at the College and former professional footballer is also proud of Frances' achievements, and says: "This is the highest accolade an umpire can achieve and can only be considered if they have umpired at World Cups and Champions Trophies. The road to high level umpiring is a tough one and Frances is one of the top 10 female umpires in the World Panel - which is the highest level of umpiring award. All of her colleagues at Central Sussex College are so proud of what she has achieved,"
As for future ambitions, having achieved her ultimate goal of the last six years, Frances has now set herself some new challenges relating to her actual performance at the Games. Since the retirement age for International Hockey Umpires is 47, she hopes to remain in peak condition and continue at the top of her game to be appointed to the next Olympic Games, in Brazil in 2016.
