Allister first became involved in Taranaki hockey when he started playing at the age of 9 at Avon Primary School.
At 13 he played for the Stratford men's B grade team. He has represented Taranaki in the Hatch Cup, secondary school teams, the Taranaki Colts team and also in the senior men's tams.
He stopped playing in 1999, becoming an umpire and continuing his involvement with hockey.
He says one of his favourite umpiring experiences was at the Australia vs New Zealand Indoor Under 21 tournament.
In 1983, Allister became a committee member for the junior association. He has been involved in the committee of the Stratford hockey club, receiving a life membership of the club in 2007.
He has also been a member of the Taranaki Electricity Trust Society, Turf Trust and the umpires association.
Allister joined the Taranaki Hockey Board in 1998 as umpires representative for the board. He is the current chairman and has held this position for the past 12 years.
In 2014, Allister was received a service award from Hockey New Zealand for his service to hockey.
