Seven USA Umpires & Technical Staff Appointed to Prominent International 2024 Events

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Field Hockey is pleased to announce that seven USA representatives have been appointed as umpires and technical staff to several prominent upcoming international events. 

For the imminent Argentina leg of the 2023-24 FIH Hockey Pro League season, taking place in Buenos Aires from February 14 to 19, Maggie Giddens and Benjamin Peters will represent USA as umpires. They will be joined by USA Field Hockey’s Director of Umpiring Sean Rapaport, who will represent South Africa.

Representing USA at numerous high-profile events, Giddens recently was an umpire at two events with Olympic qualification on the line – the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile and 2024 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier in Valencia, Spain. Giddens has been involved in every season of the FIH Hockey Pro League, officiating both women’s and men’s matches.

Other prominent past appointments for Giddens include FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Peters will be making his FIH Hockey Pro League debut, after recently participating as an umpire at the 2023 FIH Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup and 2023 Pan American Games. Peters’ list of competitions he has officiated at is lengthy but includes a Youth Olympic Festival, FIH Hockey World Leagues, Junior Pan American Championship, Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games Qualifier, South American Games, Pan American Games, Pan American Cups, Men’s Nations Cup, and many test series.

USA will also have a representative each at both the men’s and women’s FIH Hockey Nations Cup. Peters has been appointed as an umpire at the men’s Nations Cup, which will be held in Gniezno, Poland from May 31 to June 9. Lurah Hess has been appointed to the esteemed role of technical delegate at the women’s Nations Cup, set to be held in Spain from June 3 to 9.

Hess has been a technical official, judge or tournament director for more than 10 years now. She was critical in 2017 acting as a technical official at both the men’s and women’s Pan American Cups. Her most recent appointments were at the 2023 Pan American Cup as a technical official, FIH Hockey Women’s World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022 as a technical official, 2022 Pan American Cup as a technical delegate, and 2022-23 FIH Hockey Pro League as a match manager.

At the 2024 Indoor Pan American Championships (IPAC), taking place March 18 to 22 in Calgary, Alberta, USA will have four representatives with Allie Mikelson and Brian Tyson as umpires, Aaron Dudek as a technical official and Kim Scott holding the role of technical delegate.

The 2023 USA Field Hockey National Umpire of the Year Award winner Mikelson has been a picture of umpire development in the United States. Mikelson had her first international appointment in 2022 when she was selected to represent USA at the CAC Qualifiers in Bermuda. This was followed by the 2023 Junior Pan American Games (JPAC) and 2023 Hockey5s Pan American Cups. Domestically, she was selected to officiate the Ivy League tournament as well as the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division I Tournament. She was appointed as the reserve official in the 2023 National Championship game.

Tyson is an up and coming umpire on the international scene, having debuted at the 2023 JPAC in St. Michael, Barbados last spring. Since then, he has been an umpire and video umpire at several test matches in Charlotte, N.C. Tyson was also appointed to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship umpire team.

Involved in the international umpire world for over ten years, Dudek most recently was a technical official at the 2023 JPAC and has represented USA at various events as a technical official or judge including Pan American Cup, FIH Hockey Pro League and Indoor Pan American Cup.

Kim Scott, an International Elite Panel Technical Official, has served as a judge, technical delegate or technical official for more than 180 international matches. In 2023, Scott kicked off the year as a technical official at the 2023 FIH Indoor World Cup, served as an assistant technical delegate at the 2023 CACGames in July, and ended the year as a technical official at the 2023 FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup. Now, she will step into the role of technical delegate at the upcoming IPAC.

Other prominent events on Scott’s résumé include various domestic international series and indoor invitationals along with two seasons in the FIH Hockey Pro League, 2019 Pan American Games and 2021 Indoor Pan American Cups.

"Recognizing and celebrating excellence is important, so special mention must go to Lurah and Kim for their appointment as technical delegates for their respective events,” said Rapaport, USA Field Hockey’s Director of Umpiring. “I know they will help create the perfect environment for the officiating teams to deliver the outstanding performances that the teams desire and deserve. Aaron offers his vast experience at yet another top event.”

“On the pitch, Allie and Brian will enjoy their first IPAC experience together, having both excelled at the JPAC last year, and continuing on their developmental pathways. Wearing my umpiring hat, it's great to be able to share the Pro League experience with Maggie and Ben. Maggie comes off a successful showing at the Olympic Qualifier in Spain while Ben makes his Pro League debut and will follow it up with his second Nations Cup appearance later in the year after shining at the Junior World Cup recently."