schoolsthatrockFIH Indoor Hockey. Lyndal Robertson, a talented and dedicated teacher from Curro Edenvale, was selected to be the first-ever female in the African continent to officiate at the World Cup Indoor Hockey Tournament. The FIH Indoor Hockey tournament took place from 5 to 11 February 2023 in Pretoria.
The tournament was hosted by South Africa and brought together some of the best hockey players from around the world.
As an ardent sportswoman, Robertson began playing hockey at a young age. She was also was awarded a hockey and tennis scholarship at Rhodes University. During her studies, she represented the university at first team level for hockey, squash, tennis, water polo and badminton. However, her passion for coaching, umpiring and officiating outdoor hockey only blossomed. This happened after she became a sports administrator and sports stooge at Victoria Girls High School in Grahamstown whilst studying for her PGCE.
Coach and umpire
She has since gone on to coach and umpire several different hockey teams across the country and as far afield as Croatia. In 2004 she travelled to America to complete her Master’s in Education (Health, Recreation and Physical Education) at Delta State University. Upon her return to KwaZulu Natal, she developed a healthy appetite for umpiring and officiating indoor hockey games. She received her FIH Indoor Umpiring badge from the International Hockey Federation in 2018. Just before joining Curro Edenvale as a teacher, head of department and sports advisor.
From the moment the school opened in 2019, Robertson has been instrumental in helping grow the foundational level of hockey. She is incredibly proud to have helped the girls team compete in the Eastern Gauteng Hockey League last year.
“Lyndal’s achievement is fantastic. Everyone at the school is incredibly proud to see our teacher excelling on an international level. We wish her only the best for the tournament,” says Andre van Wyk, Executive Head at Curro Edenvale.
Robertson’s fantastic selection comes on the back of three consecutive disappointments. In 2020, she was selected to attend the All-Africa games in Namibia and was also nominated to attend the World Cup Hockey Tournament in Belgium in 2021 and 2022, but all three were unfortunately postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With South Africa being the 2023 World Cup, she is both humbled and grateful for the opportunity to represent not only her country, but the African continent.
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