JAMIE DWYER
AUS 2001 – 2016
5 x FIH Player of the Year
One of the all-time greats of the game, Jamie Dwyer represented Australia over 350 times, scoring more than 190 international goals over an outstanding 15-year career. A four time Olympian, his trophy cabinet holds Olympic, Commonwealth and World Cup Golds and he was decorated at the 2005 Australia Day Honors for his sporting achievements for his country. This national recognition was echoed globally when he was awarded the FIH World Hockey Player of the Year five times between 2004 and 2011. Along with Luciana Aymar and Teun de Nooije, he was as a leader in hockey’s ‘skills revolution’ of the late 90s and early 2000s.
LUCIANA AYMAR
ARG 1998 – 2014
8 x FIH Player of the Year
Known by her native country as the ‘Maradona of field hockey’, Luciana Aymar was the youngest player to break into the Argentinian squad at just 16 years and went on to become the only player in history to receive the FIH World Player of the Year Award a staggering eight times. Leading a golden age of Argentinian women’s hockey, she inspired her team to four Olympic Medals, six Champions Trophy and two Hockey World Cup golds. In 2008 she was declared a Legend of Hockey by the FIH and is widely regarded as the best female hockey player of all time.
TAYYAB IKRAM
FIH President
Former Coach - PAK, CHN
FIH President, Tayyab Ikram has devoted a long and successful career to the game. In 1995 he became the youngest top-grade coach in international hockey and went on to become head coach for both China and Pakistan. Recognized by the FIH as a ‘Master Coach’ he is also a member of the IOC Olympic Solidarity Commission where he is known for his global advocacy of athletes’ rights within the IOC movement. He champions hockey worldwide and, as FIH President, is instrumental in developing the growth of the game globally.
SELWYN MAISTER
NZL 1965 – 1980
Montreal Olympic Gold
Selwyn Maister represented New Zealand for 15 years and played at 3 Olympics, famously clinching Olympic Gold in the 1976 Games in Montreal - the first Olympics on turf. The team’s shock defeat of Australia in Montreal earnt them a place in the New Zealand Hall of Fame and Maister was awarded a Queens Service Medal in the 2012 New Year Honors for services to Hockey. An Oxford Blue and captain of the New Zealand team between 1973-74, he went on to become the assistant coach to the New Zealand Women’s Hockey team and inspiration to thousands of children at Harewood Hockey Club in Christchurch.
MIKE SMITH
The Hockey Museum
Founder of Mercian Hockey
One of The Hockey Museum’s founding Trustees, Mike Smith is responsible for curating the first and only collection of hockey history in the world. A lifelong player and advocate for the game, he has taken on many administrative roles at club, county and national levels. He became one of the first Hockey Association coaches in the early 1970s and founded the specialist hockey company, Mercian in 1974 cementing his place at the heart of the UK hockey community. His involvement in the 1986 World Cup in London, the first Men’s World Cup on turf, saw the first display of hockey memorabilia and planted the seed of The Hockey Museum which has preserved and celebrated hockey since 2011. The Hockey Museum is a unique asset for the game.
JEROEN HERTZBERGER
NED 2007 – present
EHL all-time top scorer
All-time top goal scorer for the European Hockey League, Jeroen Hertzberger is the captain of HC Rotterdam and one of the best forwards in the world. He made his debut for the Netherlands’ national team in 2007 and went on to represent his country in three Olympic Games. He has played in three FIH Hockey World Cups and helped the Dutch team to Gold at both the 2015 and 2021 European Hockey Championships. He continues to make his mark on the global game as a player and role model for the next generation of players. His YouTube channel, HertzbergerTV, is a excellent resource for skills development.
JON WYATT
GBR & ENG 1995 – 2002
FIH Sport and Development Director
Former captain of both Great Britain and England, Jon Wyatt won 195 caps between 1995 and 2002. A double Olympian, he participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics before captaining Great Britain at the Sydney 2000 Games. He won a Commonwealth Bronze Medal in 1998 and captained his club side, Reading, to a European Cup Victory in 2003. He then took his leadership skills off the pitch where he went on to lead one of the big sports marketing agencies in London, before joining the FIH as Sport and Development Director in 2018.
RIC CHARLESWORTH
AUS 1972 – 1988
Former Coach - AUD
Ric Charlesworth clocked up 227 games, 85 goals and was selected for five Olympic Games as player and captain for the Kookaburras between 1972 and 1988. But his impact on the game extended far beyond his highly successful playing career. As coach of the Australia Women’s Hockey team he helped to take the women’s game to another level, leading them to two Olympic Golds, four Champions Trophy victories, two Hockey World Cup titles and a Commonwealth Gold. In 2008 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame before coaching the Australian Men’s team to six major titles between 2009 and 2014, including the 2014 World Cup.
TERRY WALSH
AUS 1976 – 1986
Former Coach - MAS, AUS, NED
One of Australia’s finest strikers, Terry Walsh scored 70 goals over a 175-game career for the Kookaburras which took him to four World Cups and two Olympic Games. His exceptional attacking skills continued into his coaching career where he led the Australia Men’s team to Gold in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and Bronze in their home Olympics in 2000. He then coached the Netherlands to Silver in the 2004 Olympic Games and India to their first gold in 16 years at the Asian Games in 2014. Deemed a ‘Master Coach’ by the FIH, he also holds an illustrious place in the Hockey Australia Hall of Fame.
NIKKI SYMMONS
IRL 2001 - 2013
European Hockey Hall of Fame
With 208 appearances for Ireland to her name, Nikki Symmons became the first Irish athlete to reach the 200-cap milestone. Over a 12-year international career, she scored 31 goals for Ireland and remarkably represented her country in both hockey and cricket. In 2015 she was inducted into the European Hockey Federation Hall of Fame. After her retirement in 2013 she completed a Masters in Sports Administration and is a respected sports industry expert. Nikki is a spokesperson for the LGBTQIA community and has been included in the 2021 Top 100 LGBT+ Future Leaders.
JOHN WILLMOTT
The Hockey Museum
President World Grand Masters Association
As Chair of the Hockey Museum, the first and only museum of hockey in the world, John Willmott is dedicated to preserving, sharing and celebrating the rich history and heritage of the game he continues to love and play into his 60s. He is President of the World Grand Masters (60+) Association and has served the game in numerous positions including as Stadium Director for the 1986 Hockey World Cup in London and as an Official of the BOA at the Seoul Olympics. He has been instrumental in growing the game in the UK through the installation of numerous elite and community hockey turfs.
PAUL KAMPHUIS
GM Polytan Asia Pacific
Turf installation at 4 Olympics
A civil engineer who has installed over 500 hockey turfs including three World Cups and every Olympic Games since Beijing 2008, Paul Kamphuis’ experience in the sports surfacing industry is unrivalled. As the General Manager for Polytan Asia Pacific and the global lead for Sport Group’s hockey business, he has witnessed turf’s transformation up close, often helping to drive and facilitate the innovations that have made it the 3D, fast-paced and dynamic game it is today. He lends a technical voice to The Surface which is crucial to understanding how turf actually changed over its 45-year evolution.
SUE CATTON
Hockey Manager, London 2012
FIH Order of Merit
As Olympic hockey manager in 2012, Sue Catton was instrumental in revolutionizing the fan experience and changing hockey’s colours forever with London’s iconic blue pitches. She went on to become the Head of Events and Competitions at England Hockey where she masterminded the delivery of four major European and world-level events including the 2018 Women’s World Cup. In 2019 Sue further revolutionized hockey by leading the Big Stadium Hockey project which took hockey (and 12,000 fans) to the Stoop Rugby Stadium in London. During her 30-year career in sports event delivery she has served as a non-exec director at the FIH and England Hockey and was awarded the FIH Order of Merit for her exceptional contribution to Masters Hockey in 2018.