Amar Chudasama

Sports Award

Age:

24

Biography

I began my umpiring journey at 13, to understand the game better and develop a better standard of discipline. Hockey was in need for local and grassroot level umpires, so this was a fantastic opportunity to gain experience and support clubs within Leicestershire and Rutland, as well as within the East Midlands. I was also playing at a high junior level, therefore the 2 integrated seamlessly. At the age of 17, I made the difficult decision to stop playing at senior level and focus on umpiring, as a neutral official. This allowed me to develop a much higher standard of umpiring and, just 2 years later, I had achieved my level 3 accreditation.

After 3 years at this level, I have umpired men's and ladies' national league matches, junior and senior international fixtures, including GB, Germany, Holland, Malaysia and Wales, and countless national tournaments. This experience has been fantastic and allowed me to drive forward. I still continue to support grassroots hockey, by coaching and assessing young umpires and helping them come through the system.

Looking forward, I am targeting more national level hockey but beyond that, European and International hockey as I seek to achieve the Olympics and other world hockey events. The grant is an invaluable resource that will allow me to pursue these objectives and I am extremely grateful for the support of the JHMT family. I would like to thank them for their kindness and support, and I look forward to working with the charity and supporting more young athletes!