Many bowlers throughout the country will have never have heard of Tom Hogg.
But at his home club of Morrison Avenue in the northwest suburbs of Christchurch, and in the Bowls Canterbury Centre, he is a legend in his own umpiring time. So much so that he was recognised as Bowls Canterbury’s Official of the Year in 2022, and now has been named Bowls New Zealand’s Umpire of the Year.
Tom started playing bowls 30 years ago. “We had just had the Commonwealth Games in Auckland. I got hooked on watching the lawn bowls competition on free-to-air TV. I must’ve mentioned it to a mate at the local rugby club, and he ‘escorted’ me along to the Morrison Avenue Bowling Club (I don’t want to say I was dragged along!)”
“I’d always loved sport. I’d played rugby. cricket, squash and golf. So adding in bowls was not a big shock to my wife Judy … although she firmly remained a tennis person.”
Tom took to bowls like the proverbial duck to water … eagerly throwing his hat into the ring for club, centre and national competitions. “We even qualified a couple of times in the Fours at the Nationals,” he laughs.
Tom also put up his hand for administrative roles at the club. “He’s held a wide range of positions at the club,” says Club President Ray Blyth. “He’s been the Secretary for 11 years, and Treasurer for 3 years. He’s been just about everything at the club. And he’s still involved these days as recorder, bar manager, and of course, umpire.”
But over the years, Tom became more and more drawn to umpiring. “Although not to the exclusion of playing bowls!” he hastens to add.
The result has been that this year, in 2022, he’s umpired at club and inter-club event in Canterbury … at centre championships, centre finals and champ of champs … and at the Nationals in Christchurch in January this year.
His umpiring mana in the Canterbury Centre has lead to his being appointed the Centre’s Allocation Committee Convenor.
“That’s probably just a fancy title for making sure that there are umpires available for all centre events,” he says. “There’s a surprising number of events on, during the week and over the weekends. I’m always available to fill in if there’s a gap in the roster.”
Fortunately for Bowl Canterbury, Tom is now retired after being a linesman for 33 years, He’s also given up pre-retirement roles caretaking at Harewood Primary School then St Bede’s College. And he’s also given up dangerous weekends away with his mates ‘on tour’!
“In fact the last time I was away with them was in 2011. We were coming back from a Fours in Westport when the earthquake struck. It was a long day getting everyone home safely in Christchurch.”
“So I now have a lot of time on my hands for helping with umpiring. Having said that, I only want to remain a level 2 umpire helping out where I can,” he says.
But that’ll do. He’s still a ‘top’ umpire. It’s not his official umpiring level that makes him such a stand-out umpire. In Ray’s words, it’s his fairness, his honesty, his integrity, and his willingness to go the extra mile. “He upholds the spirit of bowls,” says Ray.
Tom reminds us that umpiring is isn’t just about the skills required to adjudicate the game … it’s about the values the umpire brings onto the green as well.
And there, Tom is already top level!
Congratulations on being Umpire of the Year, Tom.
