Our three international referees were active during the recent women’s international matches in Lucerne. The games against Austria and Poland provided an excellent opportunity for our young talents, Julia Wagner and Aiden Hankins, to expand their experience in international matches. All the games were fiercely contested and marked by finesse. The pace of the game was also different from what our talents were used to. Nevertheless, a positive conclusion was drawn in the end. Although some game scenes were naturally discussed afterward, both referees performed well and improved their performance from game to game.

Julia Wagner and Aiden Hankins are currently part of EuroHockey’s development program. The “Umpires for Nation” is the second development program designed to prepare young national referees for the international level. Swiss Hockey supports them in this journey as best as possible.

The two young referees were able to benefit from the experience of our international representative, Benjamin Messerli, during these international matches. He mentored them and officiated one game per weekend with both of them. The Sunday game was then led by our two young referees.

We would like to thank all three of them for their support during the Swiss women’s international matches against Poland and Austria. Their time and commitment as referees are invaluable to the association. We also look forward to working with such dedicated and talented referees in the future and wish them continued success in their international careers.