Ayanna McClean is a hockey umpire from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

and former defender for the Trinidad and Tobago women's national field hockey team. She is the second person from the Caribbean to be qualified to umpire at a World Cup or Olympic tournament, after Roger St Rose, and the first woman. She is the daughter of Cherril Franco, who was the first woman from Trinidad and Tobago to become an FIH Grade One umpire.

Playing career

McClean started playing hockey when she was 11. McClean was previously a member of the Ventures Hockey Club and she captained both her school team at South-East Port-of-Spain and the under-21 Ventures team. She received a hockey scholarship to attend

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in 2004, and later captained hockey team at Hofstra as well. She was a member of the under-21 Trinidad and Tobago training squad. She later represented Trinidad and Tobago at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

Umpiring career

While still playing at Hofstra, McClean became an FIH certified umpire. Her first international appointment was at the 2005 Junior Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. She went on to umpire at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

, the 2009 Pan American Cup and the 2010 Pan American Youth Championships. In 2010 she was appointed as a neutral umpire for the inaugural

Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...

in Singapore. At the 2013 Pan American Cup McClean was honored for umpiring her 50th international match. Upon receiving her FIH Grade One in 2013, she became the highest-ranked female umpire from the Caribbean, and has been so since. In the run-up to the Olympic Games of 2016 she was heavily involved in umpiring Olympic Qualification tournaments, including the 2015 Hockey World League Semi-Final in Valencia, Spain, the 2015 Hockey World League Final in Rosario, Argentina, and the

2015 Pan American Games The 2015 Pan American Games (), officially the XVII Pan American Games () and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 Pan-Am Games (Toronto 2015), were a major international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Pan American Games, ...

in Toronto, Canada. In 2017 it was announced that McClean was appointed to umpire at the 2018 Hockey World Cup in London, UK. On the Olympic Games of 2024 in Paris, she was the referee for the match of Belgium against Japan https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/results/hockey/women/gpa-000800--

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McClean, Ayanna Living people Women field hockey umpires Trinidad and Tobago female field hockey players Year of birth missing (living people) Sportspeople from Port of Spain Hofstra Pride athletes Trinidad and Tobago expatriate sportspeople in the United States Field hockey players at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Trinidad and Tobago Hofstra University alumni