Townsville hockey umpire whistles up top award

TOWNSVILLE’S Aleisha Neumann is at the top of her game with the whistle in hand.

Neumann has had a massive year as a hockey umpire after officiating at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the Hockey World Cup in London, and the recent Australian Hockey League.

The Kirwan State High School teacher was recognised for those achievements at last weekend’s Hockey Australia Awards on the Gold Coast when she was named Australia’s Women’s Umpire of the Year.

Neumann is also a finalist in the Queensland Sports Awards, which will be announced later this month, and she said it was a nice reward after such a busy year.

“It takes a lot of sacrifice at work and training and other things to go and represent my country at international events,” she said.

“It’s just been a rollercoaster of a ride. I debuted internationally in 2014 and I didn’t think in four years I’d end up at a World Cup.”

Neumann started umpiring when she was 13 to help out at her junior club and rose through the ranks to become one of Australia’s top officials.

This year’s World Cup was her biggest event to date and she admitted it was a daunting experience when she was in charge of England’s opening match in front of more than 10,000 fans. “You always have those little bits of nerves and anticipation before the match, but once you get into that it’s a little bit like playing,” Neumann said.

“You put that crowd noise out of your mind and you just focus on the job at hand and making sure you do the right things for the players in the game.”

Neumann has also represented the Australian Country team as a player while she was named player of the final as Brothers clinched the Townsville division one premiership this year.

She’s had to sacrifice some playing opportunities as umpiring has taken over, but Neumann said she was setting her goals high.

“The 2020 Olympics is a goal. I don’t see myself making it as a player, but there’s definitely a pathway there as an umpire,” she said.