Australia:
Queensland umpire Steve Rogers has been recognised with the sport’s highest honour, awarded 2024 FIH Umpire of the Year after a history-making season officiating at the highest level.
Steve became the first Australian to receive the honour since its inception in 2015 at the glitzy FIH Stars Awards ceremony in Oman overnight.
His invite to the big night, which included news he had won, arrived in his inbox just a few months after he umpired the men’s gold medal match at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“You never expect to get anything like this, I had to read it a couple of times!” Steve admitted.
“It was similar to when I got the call-up for the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics, I thought ‘Is this the right email?’ I opened it, read it and then re-read it just to make sure it was for me.
“You go out there just to umpire and do your best every game, and now to be awarded this award. It’s so special.”
The recognition follows the biggest 18 months of his career, which started with a remarkable yet well-deserved call-up to the 2023 World Cup.
Travelling as a reserve umpire, Steve made his World Cup debut after an umpire went down sick. That performance kickstarted a dream tournament as he quickly impressed to earn the appointment of the World Cup men’s final.
“It’s been such a whirlwind,” he says, still in disbelief.
“I remember talking to the umpire manager before the semifinal, and I said, “Look, I know I’m done, there are more experienced umpires here. I’m just happy to be here and I’ve officiated a quarter-final. He wanted to break the news to me that I had earned a semifinal, but he couldn’t!”
“I had the same thoughts before the final was announced at that event and again at the Olympics. The biggest moments of your career go by in a blur, it’s surreal.”
His World Cup final performance led to his biggest call-up yet, an Olympic debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. There, he continued to impress, earning the sport’s pinnacle appointment, the men’s gold medal final.
“I just remember the goosebumps. Walking out of the tunnel ahead of the match with goosebumps… Even reflecting on it now, it’s just… wow.”
Steve’s childhood dream of becoming an international umpire and officiating a World Cup or an Olympic final started when he was just 12 years old.
A hockey player at the time, umpiring became a passion he stumbled upon by chance, thanks to his older brother, who was a high-level umpire in Queensland.
When an umpire failed to show up in Ipswich, his brother coerced him to urgently fill a gap and take charge of a lower senior men’s game.
“I didn’t blow my whistle once in that game!” He laughs.
“I was too petrified! And that’s where it all started.”
Steve puts the best 18 months of his career down to his love of hockey, his mentors in Ipswich who helped him through his career, the support from his family, the opportunities he has received in Australia and his resilience to get through the highs and lows of high-performance sport.
When he’s not performing at the highest level, Steve mentors the next generation of umpires in Australia, and his biggest piece of advice is a mantra he continues to carry through his career.
“You’re only as good as your last game,” he says.
“If I go out in my next game and I don’t perform, that’s what I’ll be remembered for… there are a lot of critics, and there is a lot of criticism directed at umpires, but the main thing is to go out there and do your best every single game.
“I can’t thank my family and everyone enough for their support. It’s been a long, long journey that’s for sure. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs, so this is pretty special.”
