Former UK Athletics official from Waterlooville made OBE for services to sport and community in Hampshire

Wendy Elizabeth Haxell, of Waterlooville, heard about being made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in November. She has been officiating athletics for more than 50 years and worked at the London Olympics in 2012 for British Athletics.

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Ms Haxell told The News: ‘It was staggering. It made me all shaky and I was really quite surprised. It was a real sense of recognition.’

The 75-year-old started officiating athletics at the weekends while she was a teacher, following advice from a friend’s father in 1969. ‘He said “it gets you out, it’s a different sort of thing to the classroom and you’ll enjoy it”, Ms Haxell added.

‘I just kept going. It’s like a family. You get to know people all over the country and they are all very supportive of each other.

‘If you’re not fit enough to be an athlete yourself, it is one way to give to the sport.’ The Portsmouth native worked her way through several exams and started officiating at the Alexandra Stadium, now called Mountbatten Centre.

Officiating was unpaid, with travel and food expenses only available at national meetings. Ms Haxell said she specialised in track out of the four disciplines: track, field, starting and timekeeping.

She later learned the official procedure for photo finish. Ms Haxell said her career progressed into the management, tutoring and mentoring of officials.

‘I have always had a passion for sport, and my father was very much into it,’ she added. ‘I’ve always watched athletics, and others such as tennis, but I always wanted to be involved in a sport.’

In 2011, she was elected onto the UK Members Council (UKMC) - a monitoring body connected to British Athletics - as the officials’ representative. At the London Olympics and Paralympics in 2012, she was the call room manager, in charge of 38 officials.

She pushed for an equal number of men and women on the team, as well as every county and discipline being represented, and said the team ‘gelled together in the end’.

‘If you are dealing with as many men and women in athletics, then you’ve got to have an equal number, so you have women looking after women and vice versa,’ she added.

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Ms Haxell was also the meeting manager at the National Special Olympics held in Portsmouth in 1997. She has also helped to train and produce officials in Hampshire, and was a part of Women in World Athletics – a UK Athletics (UKA) initiative which held conferences looking at the role of women in management and athletics developments.

Ms Haxell is now a full-time carer for husband Dennis, and looks fondly on her career. She believes athletics in Hampshire is in a good stead.

‘Hampshire has always been good for officiating due to the group of people who lead the county and develop over people. Some areas don’t develop people enough, but Hampshire never has that issue.’