Life Member - Jan Hadfield AM

As a player, a coach but predominantly in the umpiring space – Jan Hadfield’s imprint on hockey not only in Australia but globally is nothing short of exemplary.

Known as ‘PB’ among her close friends, Jan commenced her hockey career in England at the age of 12, and after coming to Australia she joined St Andrews Ladies Hockey Club before going on to represent Brisbane and Queensland. Thanks largely to the influence of Annette West, Jan also invested much time and interest in coaching, and is the most successful club coach in the history of the Brisbane Women’s Hockey Association as coach of St Andrews Ladies Hockey Club Division 1.

But it was as an umpire and umpire manager where she is arguably most recognised. Jan received an AM in the General Division for significant service to hockey, including as an international umpire and to the professional development of officials. Jan served as an official at international level for 32 years.

Click here for a Hockey Queensland article on the recognition of Jan’s Life Membership.

During her career, Jan was a World Panel umpire who officiated at a number of international tournaments including the 1988 Olympics Games and the 1990 World Cup, and then as an FIH Umpires Manager at a number of world level events including the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games.

Jan was awarded her Australian Umpire’s Badge in 1977 and was consistently rated as the number one women’s umpire in Australia. She was appointed as an international umpire by FIH in 1984 and awarded World Cup and Olympic rating (international grade 1 umpire) in 1987.

Named Hockey Australia’s Official of the Year (female) four times, in 2006 Jan was awarded the prestigious Guust Lathouwers Memorial Trophy by the FIH for outstanding service to the development and promotion of umpiring worldwide.

In 2016, Jan Hadfield retired to signal the end of a remarkable period which stretched across three Olympic Games (1988, 2004, 2008) and four World Cups (1990, 2002, 2006, 2010) – an exceptional contribution worldwide.

Jan also put her talents into sports administration as a Director of the Hockey Queensland Board. Her valued contribution as an umpire, coach and administrator is recognized through her Life Memberships of St Andrews, Brisbane Women’s Hockey Association and Hockey Queensland, among a host of other accolades and awards.

Jan has generously shared her talents with Australian, Queensland and local hockey groups and umpires throughout her illustrious career and continues to play a key role on Hockey Queensland’s High Performance Advisory Group.

Jan’s Life Membership was ratified in 2019.

What she said…
“No one becomes involved in sport seeking medals, honours & awards; our goal from an early age is to have fun & enjoy the game - hockey. I feel enormously privileged & honoured to not only have been able to participate in hockey from my days at school but to continue that involvement through all levels of the game to the ultimate goal of Olympic representation. My awards from the FIH & my AM as a Member of the Order of Australia will always be treasured but I recognise they wouldn’t have been possible without the contribution I’ve been able to make to Hockey Australia over such a long period of time. The recognition provided by my peers in my Life Membership of HA is undoubtedly one of the highlights of my hockey career & is something I will always be grateful for.” Jan Hadfield AM

From those in the know…
“PB has shown over her many years of playing, coaching and umpiring that commitment is everything and worth every minute. She has not only enjoyed singular success, but made it her mission to improve and educate women umpires everywhere. When she was at the height of her umpiring career, she would still show up each week to the local club competition to assess and help new umpires aspiring to greater heights. She is quite a role model for many, and a very worthy recipient of this award.” Janne Ellis (Friend)

“Since Jan Hadfield arrived in Brisbane she has been a significant influence in Brisbane Women’s Hockey Association (BWHA) as a player, coach and umpire. She was a state level player, who then turned her unique talents to become the most successful BWHA coach at club and intra-state level. Her attention to detail and analytical mind made it obvious that when she turned her talents to umpiring that she would become the best. While Jan’s individual accolades are many, for me it is the legacy she is creating that is most important, the generations of players, coaches and umpires she has mentored and developed not only at club level in Brisbane but across the world of hockey. The Hockey Australia Life Membership is truly well deserved.” Kath Proctor (BWHA General Manager)

Hockey Timeline
Coach
Queensland
1984, 1988-1983 State Championships Brisbane 1 Coach
1984-1985 SE QLD Championships Senior Team Coach
1985 Brisbane v AIS Coach
1997 North Brisbane Swifts Coach

Umpire
Queensland
1975 State ‘A’ Umpires Badge

Australia
1977 ‘AA’ Umpires Badge
1984-1989 Umpiring Panel
1987-1991 Umpire International Matches
1988 Umpire Bi-Centennial Tournament
1988 Umpire Inter-Nations Cup
1998-2000 Umpiring Officer

International
1984 FIH International Umpire appointment
1984 America’s Cup (Boston, USA)
1985 Four Nations Tournament (Glasgow)
1985 Test Series Australia vs England (Australia)
1985 Test Series Australia vs West Germany (Australia)
1986 Six Nations Tournament (Sydney)
1987 FIH International Grade 1 Umpire appointment
1987 BMW Tournament (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
1987 Australian Women’s Hockey Team Tour (Korea)
1987 Australian Women’s Hockey Under 21 & AIS Tour (Korea)
1987 Champions Trophy (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
1988 Six Nations Bi-Centenary Tournament (Padova, Italy)
1988 Seoul Olympic Games
1989 Five Test Series Australia vs New Zealand
1989 Champions Trophy (Frankfurt, Germany)
1990 European Cup
1990 World Cup (Sydney)
1990 European Championships (Frankfurt, Germany)
1991 Women’s European Nations Cup (Brussels, Belgium)
1991 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (New Zealand)

Umpire Manager
Queensland
2003, 2004 Umpires Manager – Premier League

International
1998 FIH International Umpire Manager appointment
1999 Asian Games (Bangkok)
2000 Champions Trophy (Amsterdam)
2001 Six Nations (Korea)
2001 Women’s Champions Challenge (South Africa)
2002 World Cup (Perth)
2004 Olympic Qualifier (Auckland)
2004 Olympic Games (Athens)
2004 Pan Am Cup (Bridgetown, Barbados)
2004 Champions Challenge (Melbourne)
2004 Champions Trophy (Canberra)
2005 Junior World Cup (Santiago)
2006 World Cup (Madrid, Spain)
2006 Commonwealth Games (Melbourne)
2007 Champions Challenge (Azerbaijan)
2008 Olympic Qualifier (Victoria, Canada)
2008 Olympic Games (Beijing)
2009 Champions Challenge (Cape Town, South Africa)
2009 3rd Pan Am Cup (Bermuda)
2010 World Cup (Rosario, Argentina)
2010 Champions Trophy (Nottingham, England)
2010 Asian Games (China)
2010 Conduct Umpiring Seminar (Shanghai, China)
2012 Olympic Qualifier 2 (Kakamigahara, Japan)
2013 Hockey World League (London, England)
2014 6 Nations Invitational Tournament (Hastings, NZ)

Administrator
Queensland
1980-1982 Grading/Selection Committee
1982-1992, 1994-1996 Umpires Board
1983-1989-1992(c), 1993–1995(c), 1996–1998(c)Senior Selector
1984-95 Judiciary Committee
2002, 2003 Umpires Steward – Div 1
2004–2008 Umpires Coach – Div 1 & 2
2003-2008 Hockey Queensland Board Member

Australia
1984-current Women’s Championships Umpiring Panel
1984-current National Umpire Manager
1984-2000 Australian Women’s Hockey Association Umpires Committee
1998-2000 National Umpiring Officer
2003-2009 Australian Officiating Commission
2010-2011 National Officiating Manager

Awards
1985 Life Membership St Andrews Ladies Hockey Club
1997 Hockey Queensland Distinguished Service Award
2001 Life Membership Hockey Queensland
2003 Brisbane Women’s Hockey Association Long Service Award (20 years)
2003/04 Australian Hockey Official of the Year (Female)
2006/07 Australian Hockey Official of the Year (Female)
2006 Federation of International Hockey (FIH) Award – Guust Lathouwers Memorial Trophy (awarded every two years for outstanding service to the development and promotion of umpiring)
2008 Life Membership Brisbane Women’s Hockey Association
2017 Queensland Government ‘Service to Sport Award’
2018 Member of Order of Australia (AM)