Bhubaneswar Hockey World Cup

A dream of any sports official is to be able to officiate in the biggest, most prestigious tournament that his/her sports can offer. For Field Hockey, nothing will be bigger than the World Cup (http://www.fih.ch/events/world-cup/world-cup-2018/...) where the best 16 teams in our sport come to compete.

Hello all, my name is LIM Hong Zhen, 33, father of 2 lovely daughters, Mikayla 4 & Emma 5 months old. Husband to Jamie. In 2017, I was notified by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that I am appointed for this prestigious tournament as 1 of the Umpire in the Elite Panel of officials selected for the tournament. This is a great privilege and honor for me as I will be the 1st ever Singapore Umpire to officiate in the World Cup of our sports. I also achieved another major milestone in 2016 by being appointed for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics since 1972 (http://www.tnp.sg/sports/team-singapore/hockey-ump...).

To reach the World Cup has always been a dream since i traded my playing career for this officiating path back in 2006. And as we all know to be one of the best in any modern sports, be it an athlete or official, the demand is very high in terms with the number of hours one must put in day in day out to train and stay healthy, fit and current with the sport. Off the pitch where most of the hard work are done through sweating hard in the gym training for our strength & conditioning, and then back to the pitch to officiate in as many games and tournaments before any appointment takes a lot of time away from work & family to polish our skills to the most optimum level going into the games this November.

As part of the build up towards World Cup, I recently officiated in the XXI Commonwealth Games 2018, Gold Coast, Australia, where I was appointed as the Umpire for the Gold Medal match between Australia & New Zealand. Another 1st for me and the nation as the 1st ever Singapore Umpire to take charge of the Finals in the games.

With more and more TV coverage today for all sports, we as officials, not only the players are under pressure to perform in every game. Our each decision are now under the 'spot light' and review by thousands to millions around the globe.

We, as Hockey Officials we are not professionals, we all volunteer our time and work leave for tournaments and fork out of pocket individually for any pre-tournament fitness & gym program, nutrition supplements one require to train 5 times a week. To purchase sports equipment and/or related treatment which we require to be able to perform at the same level or even better than the athlete in terms of fitness and conditioning.

I am seeking funding, no matter how big or small, to ease some finical requirements leading up to the games and during to cover expenses. I hope with your support, i can continue with this passion and inspire the next generation of officials to achieve their dreams one day as well!

Thank you for your time in reading my story :) Any help would go a long way!