Gordon Nurse Awarded Member of Honour Recognition

As Gordon steps down from his role at England Hockey it would be remiss of us not to recognise his invaluable contribution to England Hockey over several decades.  A leading commercial and chancery practitioner with a particular interest in sports regulation, Gordon has provided advice for England Hockey and other sports organisations in many sporting matters include the drafting of club constitutions, the obtaining of charitable status by organisations concerned with sport, as well as the drafting and enforcement of disciplinary regulations.

A leading commercial and chancery practitioner with a particular interest in sports regulation, Gordon has provided advice for England Hockey and other sports organisations in many sporting matters including the drafting of club constitutions, the obtaining of charitable status by organisations concerned with sport, as well as the drafting and enforcement of disciplinary regulations. He was involved in the drafting of the constitution to set up the new National Governing Body following the bankruptcy of the old English Hockey Association in 2002. 

Gordon chaired the England Hockey Appeal Panel for more than 30 years and has given his time and expertise willingly to support our sport.  He has also held the role of Disciplinary Commissioner of the International Hockey Federation since 2012 and was a member of the Hockey Jury of Appeal at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and Chair of the Jury of Appeal at the 2020 (played in 2021) and 2024 Olympics.

In 1968 Gordon began his adult hockey playing career playing for Norfolk Wanderers Hockey Club (now Norwich City Hockey Club of which he became an honorary Vice President). He first played county hockey for Norfolk in early 1969, subsequently playing more than 100 times for his county. In 1972, after three seasons at Cambridge University, he joined Tulse Hill Hockey Club, playing 485 times for Tulse Hill 1^st XI and being a member of the Tulse Hill indoor squad that won the National Indoor Hockey Championships in 1974, 1983 and 1986.  Gordon was an England U23 international player between 1969 and 1971 and an England Indoor international player from 1973 until 1982, receiving 49 caps and scoring 44 goals. He also received one England Outdoor hockey cap in 1974.

Gordon was elected President of Tulse Hill Hockey Club in 1997 and, in 2002, became the first President of the merged club, Tulse Hill & Dulwich Hockey Club, holding that position until 2025.  He also began umpiring in the 1990s, in Surrey and Kent, and was a Southern Counties Hockey Association umpire from 2002 to 2014. From 1969 to 2021 Gordon was either a club representative or a member of the management committee of the London League, until the London League was dissolved following the reorganisation of the leagues and the abolition of the Regions.

Gordon was awarded Member of Honour at the FIH Pro League tournament at Lee Valley in June 2025.