News for 28 July 2017
All the news for Friday 28 July 2017
Top-class international hockey comes to Glasgow next week
Scottish Hockey will bring international hockey back to Scotland when it hosts a major European tournament next week.
Men’s EuroHockey Championship II will be held at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre on 6-12 August 2017 and will feature Scotland, Wales, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, Portugal, Russia, and Ukraine.
Scotland recently competed against the best hockey teams in the World at the prestigious Men’s World League in London last month. Now they face tough European opposition as the Scots aim for success on home turf at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games legacy venue.
Scotland has been drawn in Pool A against the highly-rated France, Ukraine, and Portugal. Pool B has Wales, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Russia.
Play the Square
As part of the build-up for the tournament there will be hockey played in the heart of Glasgow this weekend. Scottish Hockey will host a fun day of Hockey in George Square as excitement builds for men’s EuroHockey Championship II in Glasgow.
Play the Square will see a six-aside U12 mini Euros tournament played out this Saturday 29 July 2017 at 1pm-5pm at George Square in Glasgow. The matches will be played on an inflatable pitch while a second inflatable pitch will offer the chance for people to come and try hockey in an iconic Glasgow location.
Hamish the Hockey Hippo will also be in attendance to cheer on the teams taking part – Hillhead, Western Wildcats, Kelburne, and Clydesdale will all have mixed U12 teams showing their skills in a fun tournament.
Tickets
Season tickets giving access to every game will be available to purchase in advance, and day tickets will be available at the gate each day of the tournament.
Day Ticket Price: Adult £7
Day Ticket Price: Concession £3
Season Ticket: £20
Season ticket in advance (Includes free programme)
Tickets are available to purchase in advance. Call 0141 550 5999.
Adult: £18
Child: £8
Schedule
Pool A
Scotland
France
Ukraine
Portugal
Pool B
Wales
Czech Republic
Russia
Switzerland
Sunday 6 August
11:45 | Pool B | Russia v Switzerland
14:00 | Pool B | Czech Republic v Wales
16:15 | Pool A | Ukraine v Portugal
18:30 | Pool A | France v Scotland
Monday 7 August
16:15 | Pool B | Switzerland v Wales
18:30 | Pool B | Czech Republic v Russia
Tuesday 8 August
16:15 | Pool A | Ukraine v France
18:30 | Pool A | Scotland v Portugal
Wednesday 9 August
11:45 | Pool B | Russia v Wales
14:00 | Pool B | Switzerland v Czech Republic
16:15 | Pool A | France v Portugal
18:30 | Pool A | Scotland v Ukraine
Thursday 10 August
Rest Day
Friday 11 August
09:30 | C | 4th Pool A v 4th Pool B
11:45 | C | 3rd Pool A v 3rd Pool B
14:00 | SF1 | 1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A
16:30 | SF2 | 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B
Saturday 12 August
09:30 | C | 3rd Pool A v 4th Pool B
11:45 | C | 3rd Pool B v 4th Pool A
14:00 | ¾ | Loser SF1 v Loser SF2
16:30 | Final | Winner SF1 v Winner SF2
Scottish Hockey Union media release
Oceania Cup Tickets on Sale
Author: Holly MacNeil
Tickets have now gone on sale for the 2017 Oceania Cup which will be held in Sydney from 11 – 15 October, with daily or 4-day season passes available. First held in 1999 the Oceania Cup is played every two years, and is the continental championships for the Oceania region.
The event, which will be hosted at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, will be the next chance for the Vantage New Zealand Black Sticks men to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. The Kookaburras, Hockeyroos and Black Sticks women all qualified for the World Cup at the recent World League Semi-Finals.
In order for the Black Sticks men to qualify for the 2018 World Cup they need to topple the world number two ranked Kookaburras and win the Oceania Cup.
Along with Australia and New Zealand, Papa New Guinea will round out the teams competing for Oceania Cup glory and their shot at qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
Each nation will play each other in the pool rounds before the top two ranked nations face off in the gold medal match for the glory of the Oceania Cup title. With the addition of the newly introduced Oceania InterContinental Hockey5s competition including teams from the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Fiji and Samoa; the Oceania Cup will truly have something on offer for everyone to enjoy.
Hockey Australia’s General Manager of Hockey, Ben Hartung commented: “On behalf of the Oceania Hockey Federation, we are delighted to be hosting the Oceania Cup in 2017 at the world class hockey centre at the Sydney Olympic Park.
“The rivalry between Australia and New Zealand is set to peak as the New Zealand men will be trying to utilise the Oceania Cup as qualification for the 2018 World Cup. The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras have already secured their spots at the 2018 World Cup however pride will be on the line and they will be keen to be crowned the continental champions.”
Supported by Destination NSW, the Oceania Cup will bring hundreds of competitors, spectators and hockey enthusiasts together to celebrate Oceania hockey. Without the support of Destination NSW, this important event in the hockey calendar would not be possible.
To ensure you don’t miss out on this exciting event, head to www.hockey.org.au/oceaniacup to secure your tickets!
Current World Rankings
Men:
Australia #2
New Zealand #8
Papa New Guinea #61
Women:
Australia #5
New Zealand #6
Papa New Guinea #50
2017 Oceania Cup Match Schedule:
Pool Phase: Play each team once
Final Phase: 1st v 2nd in Gold Medal Match. No match for 3rd ranked team.
Wednesday, October 11
Women's PNG v NZ 6:00pm
Men's AUS v PNG 8:00pm
Thursday, October 12
Women's AUS v PNG 6:00pm
Men's NZ v AUS 8:00pm
Friday, October 13
REST DAY
Saturday, October 14
Men's PNG v NZ 3:00pm
Women's NZ v AUS 5:00pm
Sunday, October 15
Women's gold medal match 1st v 2nd 3:00pm
Men's gold medal match 1st v 2nd 5:30pm
Hockey Australia media release
Green Army to the World Cup? What happens next?
Ireland will hope that at least three of the five continental championships work out in their favour. Pic: Adrian Boehm
The Irish women’s seventh place finish at the Hockey World League Semi-Final sees them third on the list of sides waiting to find out whether they qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
So, what exactly needs to happen for Ireland to reach the marquee competition for the first time since 2002?
Currently, the top five finishers in the two World League Semi-Finals qualified automatically for London 2018. There are Netherlands, China, New Zealand, Korea and Australia from the tournament in Brussels and USA, Germany, England, Argentina and South Africa.
With England also hosting in 2018, this meant the next best place side of the World League finishers – Japan – are also assured of their place at the World Cup.
The final five places will go to the continental champions from their respective tournaments which take place between August and early November. If the continental champion already has a place at the World Cup, the next best placed side on the World League list will be elevated.
Currently, Italy are first in line to take up the next ticket that becomes available with Spain next and then Ireland. Here’s the breakdown of when and how the next few months pan out.
– Pan-Am Cup, August 5-13, 2017 – should either Argentina (3) or USA (4) win, the next side on the World League will earn a World Cup place. Potential upsets? Canada (19), Chile (20) and Uruguay (23) are the hopefuls but would be a massive outside chance
– EuroHockey Championships, August 18-26 – Netherlands (1), England (2), Germany (7) already qualified; should Ireland (16) win the tournament, they qualify automatically; a Spain (10) win is not disastrous either as it moves Ireland a place up World League list. As such, the only bad outcome from this tournament is a tournament win for either Belgium (14), Scotland (17) or Czech Republic (24).
– African Cup of Nations, October 19-29 – South Africa (13) are qualified via the World League and have won the last six editions. Next best placed is Ghana (32).
– Oceania Cup, October 9-15 – Australia (5) and New Zealand (6) are qualified. Currently only world number 50 side Papua New Guinea are listed as entering. They would need to beat both sides… this is a banker for an extra World League spot.
– Asia Cup, October 28 to November 5 – China (8), Korea (9) and Japan (11) are qualified; this is perhaps the most up for grabs tournament with India (12) and Malaysia (21) the sides with a chance of upsetting Ireland’s chances.
From those tournaments, three of these outcomes need to work out in Ireland’s favour and hand the side their first ticket to the World Cup since 2002.
The Hook
Malaysia move up to world No. 12
by S. Ramaguru
KUALA LUMPUR: The national men’s hockey team have moved up two rungs to world No. 12.
In the latest rankings list released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), Malaysia have overtaken South Korea (No. 13) and Pakistan (No. 14) for the first time.
Malaysia now have 930 ranking points, thanks to the creditable fourth-place finish at the World Hockey League Semi-Final in London last month.
The only Asian team ahead of Malaysia is India (1,461 points) at No. 6. To date, Malaysia and India are the only two Asian teams to have qualified for the 2018 World Cup Finals in India.
National midfielder Fitri Saari was pleased with Malaysia’s move up the rankings.
“It’s a big boost for us. It will certainly spur us to play better and seek more ranking points. We had a good outing in London and we must follow it up and play better in the forthcoming tournaments.
“There is a need to stay consistent and I hope to work harder with the others to ensure we keep moving forward,” said Fitri.
Malaysia’s next assignment is the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from Aug 19-30.
“The focus now is on the SEA Games and then we have the Asia Cup (in Dhaka, Bangladesh in October). There are ranking points awarded in the Asia Cup and we have to play well there,” said Fitri.
Besides Malaysia, the other teams competing in the Asia Cup are India, South Korea, China, Pakistan, Japan, Oman and Bangladesh. It is also a qualifier for the World Cup Finals with the champions gaining an automatic berth.
THE RANKINGS
1. Argentina 1845 points, 2. Australia 1825, 3. Germany 1700, 4. Holland 1683, 5. Belgium 1640, 6. India 1461, 7. England 1357, 8. New Zealand 1214, 9. Spain 1178, 10. Ireland 1143, 11. Canada 1015, 12. Malaysia 930, 13. South Korea 898, 14. Pakistan 895, 15. South Africa 733.
The Star of Malaysia
Former captain disappointed at Pakistan hockey team’s latest rankings
KARACHI: Salman Akbar, the former captain of Pakistan hockey team, has expressed disappointment at the team’s new low of slipping to worst ever 14th place in FIH rankings, terming it the darkest day of Pakistan hockey.
Pakistan, after finishing 7th and missing three major events previously, was placed at 14th position, its worst ever since the inception of Hockey Rankings.
“It is the darkest day of Pakistan hockey, there is nothing more frustrating than this,” Salman told Geo.tv.
“Missing major events, failing to qualify for Olympics and World Cup and now hitting rock bottom shows how our national sport is being run,” he said.
The former captain said that people at the helm of affairs should remove incompetent people from the set-up of Pakistan hockey team and bring in professional people to revive the game in the country.
“There may be people who were legends of their time, but it is not necessary that they’re equally capable of running the modern style game, a good coach doesn’t need to be a legend,” he said.
Salman argued that cosmetic changes in team management such as removing coach or manager will not serve the cause.
“We just can’t get away by renovating a building which is on the verge of collapse. Instead, we must go and create a new building,” he said.
The former captain demanded that hockey be taken out of the clutches of old-fashioned seniors and improvement is only possible if the game gets proper treatment from the government and other officials.
Geo TV
Odisha fights back to hold Army XI
BPCL labours hard to overcome HUTN
K. Keerthivasan
Forging ahead: BPCL’s William Xalxo gets clear of a HUTN defender.
It was a day when favourites didn’t entirely cover themselves with glory in the 91st MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup All-India hockey tournament, at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, here on Thursday.
After BPCL huffed and puffed to a 2-0 win over Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu (HUTN) in a Pool ‘A’ tie, Hockey Odisha, with an average age of 18, played way above its level to pull off a 4-4 draw against a formidable Army XI team in a Pool ‘B’ match.
Wonderful team effort
Trailing 3-0 at one stage, Odisha exhibited wonderful team effort and rallied in a splendid fashion. Cyril Lugun scored Odisha’s first goal with a thundering backhander in the 42nd minute to make it 1-3.
Only a romantic would have expected the newbie to script a fightback, but it did so in grand fashion.
After a wonderful combination with Rakesh Tete, Sanjay Xalxo befuddled the Army’s defence to push one home.
Soon, holding a wonderful pass on the right, Amit Chirmako’s strike ricocheted through the legs of the ’keeper Arpit Chowdhary and the scores were even
With 10 minutes remaining, Army inched ahead through a sliding goal from Machaiah. Odisha didn’t buckle and got its fourth goal with a push by Sibren Lakra, who was alert to the rebound off the ’keeper’s pads in a penalty corner move.
No good moves
With three Olympians in Tushar Khandker, William Xalxo and Devindar Walmiki, BPCL couldn’t stitch one good move in the first half. Its defenders were busy staving off raids by a team which had mostly youngsters.
However, in the second session, the contest became more interesting with some good runs on either flanks.
BPCL opened the scoring thanks to Kawaljit Singh’s deflection off a riveting shot from Sahir Mohammed from the right. In the meantime, HUTN did defend well and its forwards had their chances.
Hariharan’s pass from the left saw no takers in the 19th minute and later Veera Thamizhan could have converted, but his shot weak shot went over the post. BPCL settled the issue through Sher Singh.
The results:
Pool ‘A’: BPCL 2 (Kawaljit Singh 53, Sher Singh 70) bt HUTN 0.
‘B’; Army XI 4 (A. P. Siraju 19, Binay Bhengra 29, Anselm Hemrom 32, B. B. Machaiah 60) drew with Hockey Odisha 4 (Cyril Lugun 42, Sanjay Xalxo 45, Amit Chirmako 56, Sibren Lakra 66).
The Hindu
England Hockey Championships are coming!
England Hockey are to launch entry to the new England Hockey Championships on Monday 31 July, this is an exciting re-vamp of the existing Knockout Cup Competitions.
To see the new England Hockey Championships pages of our website, click HERE
Based on insight surrounding the Adult and Junior programmes, a number of important changes will be implemented to our programme for the 2017-18 season.
The England Hockey Championships have been designed to be more inclusive, allowing more of your clubs and respective teams to participate in a national championship, with more evenly contended games.
This has been implemented with the introduction of a new tiered structure aimed at widening participation to all teams within your club and not just the 1st & 2nd XIs.
Though no changes, the Masters Championships and Mixed Championships will now sit under the new and exciting England Hockey Championships re-brand – so head over and take a look for yourself!
Under the new Junior Championships, a new tiered structure will provide greater competitive hockey opportunities for more junior players in clubs. The introduction of these tiers will also help a level playing field in games.
We’re also introducing a new Competition Management System (CMS) operated by SportLoMo to support your club. This will allow you to enter teams, follow draws, results and statistics. Similar to the old provider, Fixtures Live, each club will have a CMS liaison officer (club secretary) who’ll be sent login details for the new system on 31 July.
To discover more about the new England Hockey Championships, click HERE
England Hockey Board Media release
East Grinstead Hockey Club Mens' 1st Team Welcomes New Head Coach
After 5 seasons as EGHC Head Coach including two Premier League Wins, Karl Stagno steps down. EGHC welcomes Glenn Kirkham as new Head Coach following his retirement from Premiership player duties in April this year.
Following five seasons as Head Coach of East Grinstead Hockey Club’s Men’s 1st Team, Karl Stagno has chosen to take a step back and spend more time with his young family as well as focus on his role as Director of Hockey at Whitgift.
Since joining the team at East Grinstead, Karl has made a huge contribution including winning the league in the regular season on two occasions as well as bringing his passion and professionalism to the club. In addition to the positive impact he has had on our 1st Team squad, he has also inspired dozens of youngsters at the club in the performance camps he has led.
While Karl will step down from his post as Head Coach, we are pleased he will continue his affiliation with EGHC as a part of our wider coaching team.
Today we are delighted to announce that Glenn Kirkham will take up the reigns as Head Coach of our Men’s 1st Team with immediate effect.
Glenn retired from playing Premiership hockey in April this year, after 11 years at East Grinstead and having been an instrumental part of EG’s 2 Premier Division Titles and 7 of the club’s National Indoor titles in that period. He also accrued 223 combined international caps, including winning European Gold with England in 2009.
Glenn commented “with Karl stepping back, the opportunity to take on a Head Coach role at a club I love was something I couldn’t resist. There are exciting times ahead for club hockey in England, and I want to be part of that. The EGHC Family is one that has supported me on my journey and I’m looking forward to supporting emerging talent who wants to join us on the next stage of our journey”.
Simon Longhurst, Chairman of EGHC’s Performance Setup commented “its difficult to identify a successor to Karl given his qualities and achievements over the past few years. The fact that he is keen to remain involved as we transition to a new Head coach, speaks volumes for his professionalism and passion for the sport and the club. Our answer was staring us in the face all along; with Glenn we have one of the current generation’s most respected players and another consummate professional. We’re all delighted Glenn will begin his Premiership coaching career at EG and can’t wait to build our support team around him”.
The Men’s 1st team will next be in competitive action early in September at the start of the 2017 / 2018 Season.
East Grinstead Hockey Club media release
FIH publishes new standards for Hockey Turf and Facilities
Building on the success of the FIH Quality Programme for Hockey Turf, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) has launched new standards for hockey turfs, hockey fields and Hockey5s courts.
Available as downloads on the FIH website, the new standards mark another milestone in the development of high quality, sustainable hockey facilities.
Published in four parts to allow people to select the sections relevant to their needs, the new standards have been written to assist everyone involved in providing the facilities the game needs as it becomes a leading global sport.
Part 1 is an introduction and provides general guidance and is aimed at those considering a new hockey facility. It provides advice on the various categories of hockey turf and is intended to help National Associations, clubs, colleges, schools and communities to select the most suitable type for their particular hockey activities, ranging from development level community fields to international competition fields. The guide also provides information on the design and construction of a hockey facility and describes the benefits of appointing an FIH Preferred Supplier or FIH Certified Field Builder to construct new hockey facilities.
Part 2 defines the performance and durability standards that FIH Approved Products need to achieve. Primarily intended for FIH Preferred Suppliers and FIH Certified Manufacturers the Standard describes the sports performance, player welfare, durability and environmental characteristics each category of hockey turf needs to achieve. With each hockey turf product now being tested for over 30 different properties, only the best will be able to carry the prestigious FIH Approved Product quality mark.
Part 3 describes the performance and construction requirements for a hockey field. This is the document the FIH hopes those designing and building hockey fields will use as a basis of ensuring a new field meets the needs and expectations of the sport and describes the criteria a field needs to satisfy if it is to become an FIH Certified Field; a demonstration of its quality and suitability for hockey.
Part 4 of the Standard is similar to Part 3 but describes the performance and construction requirements for small sided hockey facilities used for Hockey5s and other versions of mini-hockey.
A principle change in the new Standard is a focus on encouraging manufacturers to develop surfaces for use at the higher levels of the sport that require less water, with the desire that they will eventually be able to produce surfaces that perform as a Global category Hockey Turf without any water.
Equally important, the new Standard also sees an expansion of the multi-sport categories of Hockey Turf approved by the FIH. Recognising that sharing facilities with other sports that wish to play on the types of surfaces hockey prefers is often a key way of securing investment in new facilities, the new Standard has categories that will enable sports such as tennis, netball and lacrosse to be played at a recreational and development level on hockey fields and courts.
Speaking of this, FIH Director of Sport and Development, David Luckes, said: “We believe that the long-term success of our sport lies in the quality of hockey facilities around the world. These new specifications will help us progress the development of hockey facilities with the goal of ensuring the next generation of hockey players, the future of our sport, will be able to learn and develop their hockey skills in safe and reliable environments.”
This Programme is an integral part of FIH’s Hockey Revolution, a 10-year strategy that aims to make hockey a global game that inspires the next generation. A major initiative was launched to increase the degree of professionalism in hockey with the Quality Programme forming a major component of this.
The Programme is also in-line with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations to improve sustainability, not only in relation to the Olympic Games (Recommendation 4) but also to Recommendation 5 in reference to Olympic Movement stakeholders and the integration of sustainability within organisations and operations.
FIH site