Nineteen years into her umpiring career, Ayanna McClean still feels deeply about hockey. The 2023 Fédération Internationale de Hockey (FFIH) Umpire of the Year is at her second Olympic Games in Paris and has finally been immersed in a true Olympic atmosphere.
McClean has officiated in four Olympic hockey matches, marking yet another milestone in her storied hockey career.
As the highest-ranked field umpire in the region, McClean is following a path set by her FIH umpire mother, Cherrill Franco, while blazing her own trail as a testament to the indomitable spirit held in the citizens of our twin island state at the southernmost tip of the Caribbean archipelago.
Q: My first question is: how does it feel? I know you have been a referee for a while now, and you’ve been all over the world as an umpire, but can you tell me how it feels to be at the biggest multi-sport event in the world, making your country proud?
A: The feeling is slightly overwhelming because this is actually my second Olympics, and as most people know, the Tokyo Olympics were completely different; they were the lockdown Olympics. It’s the Olympics with the almost-asterisk, you know. The first time I’m experiencing the Olympics as it is, the full gamut of seeing the athletes around, seeing the fans around, and the importance of it all just kind of has a bigger impact on me as a result of seeing everything buzzing and all the hard work coming to a culmination at this point and being able to showcase all the work you’ve been doing over the last couple years or months.
I know the lockdown would have affected your experience significantly, so how does it feel now to be in a true Olympic atmosphere, and what does it really mean to you personally?
I mean, it is an amazing feeling, like last night, especially at the opening ceremony. It was one of those things, even though it was a different opening ceremony going down the Seine. The buzzing around the street, the building in the air, the level of athleticism that you are about to see—the excitement is building, and your chest feels tight every time you go into different experiences. And for a sport like hockey around the Caribbean, it’s so different because you come into it and you’re amongst groups of officials who you know—a bunch from the UK or a bigger group from the US—and it’s just you from the Caribbean myself and one other person from the Caribbean, and you say to yourself that you’re representing not only Trinidad but you’re representing the entire region.
That leads into my next question. You spoke about your chest tightening and feeling that your small island-ness among the rest of the world is an intimidating atmosphere for you.
I don’t think the word is intimidation because I don’t necessarily feel intimidated. I’ve been on this field and in these tournaments for a while, but it’s just that overall excitement, I think. Even as performers and athletes, when you get on stage for the first time, you have these little butterflies, but I think that’s what fuels you to make sure you have that little bit of pressure. I think if it’s too laisse-faire, you might not take it as seriously, but this specifically It’s just the excitement, really, to kind of blow that first whistle, walk out, and hear the anthems. It’s getting to the moment.
And just as a sporting fan, how much of an experience... How much of a vibe, just to use Trinidad and Tobago jargon, is it to be among some of the greatest athletes in the world and to really sometimes be in control of some of the greatest athletes in the world?
A lot has been said in the past about how fit football referees have to be and how prepared they have to be. Can you tell me what kind of preparation went into your appearance at the Paris Olympics?
So overall, we are very similar to, I guess, footballers in terms of the fact that two of us on the pitch are trying to see 22 players, so there’s a lot of fitness requirements. At my current level, we actually have four fitness tests a year, which involve a yo-yo test and a sprint recovery test that we have to submit. Usually, it’s in March and then in July. This cycle, they introduced an overarching coach, so it’s training. I would say 4 to 6 times a week, depending on the type of training for learning your recovery and all those different facets, so it is a lot of work because if you do a Yo-Yo test, the level we have to reach is that of almost an elite athlete to be able to keep up with elite athletes.
Another thing that gets lost in the moment quite a bit is mental fitness. A big part of the preparation is working with a sports psychologist and going through video and that type of thing so you can understand the changes in the games.
Before, we would have spoken about your history. How does your family feel about you being in Paris in 2024? I know your mom is probably overjoyed, but just kind of describe that to me.
My mother believes that all my successes are due to her, and she would say she got me into the sport, so any time I get an appointment, she is a very proud lady. She says I’m a chip off the old block, and I think this block must be quite small at this point. My father is a sports person in himself, so he understands the level of that excitement as well, and he’s a proud person. I have the support of my hockey family across the region. I get all the well wishes on social media. You have calls, you have emails, and you have What’s App messages, so there is a lot of excitement and pride not only locally but around the region.
My friends and family back home who are not even sports people get excited (saying), ‘I’m going to get up and watch’ and I’m like, ‘it’s 3 o’clock in the morning’ but it helps me stay grounded because I am not only representing myself; I’m representing a huge community that allows me to remain grounded, stay focused, and continue to make everybody proud.
A topic we usually save for old people What do you think of your legacy in the sport, not just as an umpire but also as somebody who was one of the players in the sport and is really somebody showing the different ways that you can remain in the sport?
I’m going to go back and say that my elite career isn’t over, as I am still going to the Olympics, but it has just taken a different form. A lot of the time, especially being from the region, you mightn’t get a lot of funding for certain things; there might be aspirations; and there are so many channels that you can excel at. Our athletes are talented beyond belief, and I think that this is another level that we continue to perform at. The sport of hockey in Trinidad and Tobago has continued to produce not only top athletes but also top coaches and people like myself in an official capacity.
It’s the first time for a woman within the region, the first time for a woman of colour, so those things shave that extra pressure on your shoulder, but it helps me be stronger, and it’s exciting to be that person.
I didn’t realise that you knew this was aspirational for some people, and I hope to continue to inspire.
I think it is very important to note for me that the sport of hockey has continued to produce a level of athlete performances that kind of go unnoticed except for when it actually happened.
We work with very minimal resources, but we are able to produce a level of athlete that is above average. 1.3 million of us continue to produce on the world stage. It hurts me sometimes to think that if we had even more encouragement and support, what could the sport be like in Trinidad and Tobago?
I think it’s really important to think about how those performances can continue to show off the country.
