The umpires and officials community of WGMA is very sad to have lost one of its longest serving and most dedicated members and friend, Brian Moore. I first met Brian at my very first WGMA World Cup in Cape Town in 2010 and am happy to say that a new bond was forged that grew stronger, every tournament thereafter.

In the early years, Brian was an umpire, but from 2014, when he started to have difficulties with his mobility and WGMA started to take match tables very seriously, he switched to the functions of Technical Official and Judge without hesitation, as long as it enabled him to stay with his numerous hockey friends.

Brian was a special character among “the third team”. It made no difference if he was umpiring in Singapore at 40 degrees and 98% humidity or sat behind a match table in pouring rain or attended a tournament Gala Dinner (always proud in his kilt!), Brian was always a gentleman.

He was a teacher by profession and loved to tell endless stories about all the pupils he had taught and who had gone on to do great things, varying from high flying politicians to Olympians. But that is not where his endless stories ended. Brian had a knack for switching between jovial banter about nothing in particular and serious conversation about major world topics and true to his profession enjoyed a good lecture.

WGMA and I myself, in particular, owe Brian a lot. He was an honest, reliable and dedicated official. Whenever a new WGMA Championship was on the books, one phone call was always enough to enlist his help. He never complained about the duties assigned to him even at the strangest hours. This is probably best expressed by the way he volunteered for his TO duties during the WGMA World Cup 2018 in Barcelona, by sacrificing most of the fun and take charge of the fourth pitch for eight days in a row, which earned him the title of “King of Casteldefels”. Brian made a great many friends in hockey all around the world and we will all sorely miss him. A last big hug for you, my big man.

Jaap Quarles van Ufford
WGMA Technical Director