Curran appointed to Olympic final

OLYMPICS

Ged Curran is the first Scottish umpire to be appointed
to the men`s Olympic final, today between the Netherlands and
Germany – and that at his first Olympic experience.

It was a nervous wait for the Dundee-based official, his
appointment depended on the outcome of the semi-final clash between
Great Britain and the Netherlands, but Jason Lee`s all-English
outfit were crushed 9-2 by the rampant Dutch, and Curran was free
to take charge of the ultimate Olympic encounter.

“My head is still buzzing from the news,” said the
Taysider.  “Before the tournament I set myself some targets
and goals, now I`m delighted that I`ve achieved them, and more.

“There is no doubt in my mind that this is the pinnacle of my
umpiring career, and it will be an occasion I will never
forget.   I`ve already taken charge of the finals of
three Champions Trophy, the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, and
more recently the Olympic Qualifier earlier this year in Japan, but
the Olympic final surpasses all that went before.”

The London Games has had an additional significance for Curran,
he recorded his 100th international cap in his first game of the
tournament between New Zealand and India.

Curran, and his colleague for the final David Gentles from
Australia, took charge of the pool match between Germany and the
Netherlands, with the latter winning 3-1.

Asked if this might be a disadvantage for the final, Curran
said:  “The previous game is not important to the handling of
the Olympic final, both teams will be going for the victory on the
day, one will get gold and the other silver, and my job is to see
that the better team wins fairly.    In any case,
both coaches were very complimentary at the end of the first
match.”

But Curran and Gentles will not be alone for the game at the
Riverside Arena, they will have the additional support of the video
umpire, in this case Ireland`s Colin Hutchinson.

Curran is a convert to the use of technology.  “The use of
the video umpire has moved our game forward, avoiding the glaring
mistakes that can be made by umpires, it helps to minimise those
errors and avoids decisions affecting a fair outcome for both
teams.”

This represents the zenith of Scottish umpiring involvement in
the Olympic Games in recent years, it started with Craig Madden in
Seoul and Atlanta, then David Leiper for two Games, and finally
Andy Mair who took charge of the bronze medal match in
Beijing.  Scotland`s women have also been prominent with
Margot Barr, Jean Robertson, Janice MacDonald, Jean Duncan and
finally Anne McRae.

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