STRONG performances at both international and national level have seen Port Macquarie-Hastings Hockey Association umpire Simon Thresher selected to represent Australia at the 2020 Masters World Cup.
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Thresher has officiated in five international fixtures before, but next year's trip to the United Kingdom will be his first World Cup appearance.
While he will be able to see first-hand some of the best players in the world, it will also allow him to tick off a bucket list item or two along the way.
"The World Cup is being played in Nottingham, UK where my family are from and it will be my first time over there," he said.
"That was part of the attraction because it's been a travel bucket list item for me so I thought why not combine the two."
After first picking up a whistle almost three decades ago, Thresher admitted it could be his hockey swansong.
"I'm probably going to hang the whistle up after it to tell you the truth," he said.
"I've been toying with whether or not to hang it up after 30 years of umpiring and this came up so maybe I'll use it as my last international appointment."
His selection comes on the back of the Trans-Tasman series on the Gold Coast earlier this year and despite having experience officiating at international level there was still bound to be some nerves.
"You still get nerves because you don't know what to expect," Thresher said.
"Given the World Cup is in the UK, a lot of those strong hockey nations all through Europe will be there like the Spanish, Germans and the Dutch.
"This tournament in particular will be where the nerves kick in when I first jump onto the field.
"It's going to involve the best players from around the world so there will still be those who have just come out of Olympic teams.
"It's not like the hockey will be diminished in any way and will still be a high intensity competition."
Thresher's selection reinforces that pathways are available to regional athletes and officials to represent their home associations on the world stage.
"There isn't necessarily a need to go to the big cities to be noticed in our sport," he said.
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