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News for 21 November 2019

All the news for Thursday 21 November 2019


PL2020: Its once again Kalinga for Indian hockey

s2h team



India’s men’s team will play all their 2020 FIH Pro League home matches at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, as expected. The Kalinga stadium held the 2018 World Cup, the FIH Series Finals in June and the Olympic Qualifier against Russia earlier this month.

The World Cup drew capacity, passionate crowds to the venue and with healthy turnouts for the other events, the Kalinga Stadium was more or less an automatic choice for the Pro League matches.

India are not fielding a woman’s team for the event.

The FIH confirmed the venues and timings of the league matches on its website on Monday.

India, who missed the first edition last year, take on The Netherlands in their opener at home on January 18 and, as per the new stipulation, play the Dutch again the next day instead of travelling to take on their adversaries away.

Next year, however, the roles will be reversed with the Netherlands hosting India twice and the same pattern will hold for all other encounters.

The FIH explained the new format reduces by half the travel of the teams compared to the earlier one. The new scheme, it added, would thereby reduce costs for teams, benefitting athletes’ welfare and reducing the impact on the environment.

India’s campaign is equally divided between playing at home and travelling overseas.

India play host again, this time against World Cup champions Belgium on February 8 and 9 and entertain Australia on Feb 21 and 22.

They then start their overseas campaign with matches against Germany on April 25 and 26 at the Ernst Reuter Sportsfeld in Berlin, before setting off to play Great Britain on May 2 and 3 at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London.

Another away encounter awaits India in Argentina with matches on 5 and 6 June at the Club Natacion y Gimnasia, Tucumán.

New Zealand then visit India on May 23 and 24 before India wind up their campaign with matches against Spain on June 13 and 14 at the Estadio Betero in Valencia.

Unlike the inaugural edition, the league will be purely round-robin devoid of the Grand Final playoffs for the top finishers.

The nine-nation league will involve 144 matches for each gender. The league starts on January 11 and ends on June 28.

Australia won the first league beating Belgium 3-2 in the final. The Netherlands beat Great Britain 5-3 for bronze. The Netherlands won the women’s title beating Australia in a penalty shootout. Germany took bronze beating Argentina, also in the tie-breaker.

The Grand Final for either gender was held in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.

India’s fixtures (all times IST):

18 Jan: vs Netherlands, 1900.
19 Jan: vs Netherlands, 1700.
Feb 8 & 9 : vs Belgium, 1700.
Feb 21 & 22: vs Australia, 1900.
April 25: vs Germany, 2100.
April 26: vs Germany, 1900.
May 2 & 3: vs Great Britain, 1830.
May 23 & 24: vs New Zealand, 1900.
June 5 & 6: vs Argentina, 0130.
June 13 &14: vs Spain, 1630.

Stick2Hockey.com



Kookaburras squad announced for 2020

Nic Kerber



The 27-player Kookaburras squad has been announced for next year’s bumper international calendar, headlined by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and defence of the FIH Pro League title.

The majority of this year’s squad that qualified for Tokyo 2020, won the inaugural Pro League and secured the world number one ranking have been retained, with exciting young talents, 20 year old Victorian Nathan Ephraums and Sydney based Kurt Lovett, aged 22, the two new inclusions.

Ephraums and Lovett were both members of this year’s National Development Squad and performed outstandingly during the recent Sultana Bran Hockey One League, Lovett scoring eight goals for the season as part of NSW Pride’s all conquering men’s championship team.

In 2017 Ephraums was named the player of the tournament at the Sultan of Johor Cup while representing Australia’s Under 21 team, and has spent periods of this year training with the Kookaburras at their base in Perth.

Kookaburras Head Coach Colin Batch said the duo’s form over the past 12 months more than warranted their selection.

“Kurt had a break out season in Hockey One. He had a number of good games including in the finals and put his name forward in a way that we couldn’t ignore,” said Batch.

“Kurt has knocked on the door for a while now. He competed at the Junior World Cup in 2016 but wasn’t able to break into the senior squad…what we’re seeing now is much more direct output from him…he’s scoring goals, breaking from midfield, creating some really good opportunities on the counter attack, and he is a more mature player now.”

“Nathan had some good performances in Hockey One but it is also what he has done over a period of time when he has trained with us in VAA (Visiting Athlete Agreement) opportunities, and he was also part of our build up for the Oceania Cup.”

“He has performed well every time he has come into our group. He’s got a great attitude, wants to learn, is really exciting around the attacking circle and finishes well.”

When it comes to selecting a squad, Batch reiterated what it is ultimately determined by.

“We’ve got to keep stressing to the athletes that it’s their performance on the pitch that matters,” said Batch.

“We saw that in Hockey One but it’s also what we see in our daily training environment day in day out. We assess that and will continue to do so into next year – that the players are training consistently well week in week out.”

“I think we’ve got a good core group but there are some really good young players pushing up from underneath, so the depth of men’s hockey in Australia is really solid at the moment, which creates that pressure and intensity.”

With minimal turnover in the squad for next year, Batch believes this Kookaburras group is yet to reach its full potential, something he hopes will come on the biggest stage at the 2020 Olympics.

“We did really well in 2019 so we can tick that off as a good year but know there is a lot of improvement left in this group,” said Batch.

“I’m looking to all of the players to create more opportunities and growth in the group both individually and for us as a team, and if we are going to be successful next year we have to have that.”

“We talk about the 2020 national squad but this is the squad that the Olympic team will come out of, so that in itself is a great achievement for all of the athletes who have been selected.

“Our goal is to play well at the Olympics. Our preparation has to be good all the way through. We start training in early January and then Pro League begins in late January so for us the focus is to keep improving and maintain that enthusiasm and excitement.

“If you do all of those things it puts you in a good position to have success rather than always thinking about the outcome.”

With the announcement of the 2020 squad, other notable aspects include Tasmanian Eddie Ockenden possibly heading towards competing at a fourth Olympics and breaking Jamie Dwyer’s all-time Kookaburras appearance record, while a host of players including Tom Craig, Blake Govers, Tom Wickham, Matt Swann, Jeremy Hayward and Jacob Whetton are nearing individual milestones.

But these individual achievements pale in comparison to the Kookaburras’ primary mission – winning Australia’s second Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey.

The Kookaburras’ next internationals will be their opening matches of the FIH Pro League 2020 on 25/26 January against Belgium in Sydney. Tickets for the matches are available now through Ticketek.

The team that will represent Australia at Tokyo 2020 is expected to be announced in mid June.

Kookaburras 2020 squad
Name, Date of Birth, Hometown, Hockey One Team, Caps (Goals)
Jacob Anderson, 22/03/1997, Mackay QLD, Brisbane Blaze, 19 (8)
Daniel Beale, 12/02/1993, Brisbane QLD, Brisbane Blaze, 171 (28)
Josh Beltz, 24/04/1995, Hobart TAS, Tassie Tigers, 39 (3)
Tim Brand, 29/11/1998, Chatswood NSW, NSW Pride, 34 (15)
Andrew Charter (gk), 30/03/1987, Canberra ACT, Canberra Chill, 177 (0)
Tom Craig, 3/09/1995, Lane Cove NSW, NSW Pride, 97 (27)
Matthew Dawson, 7/04/1994, Killarney Vale NSW, NSW Pride, 132 (12)
Johan Durst (gk), 18/03/1991, Melbourne VIC, HC Melbourne, 3 (0)
Nathan Ephraums, 9/06/1999, Keysborough VIC, HC Melbourne, -
Blake Govers, 6/07/1996, Wollongong NSW, NSW Pride, 97 (83)
Jake Harvie, 5/03/1998, Dardanup WA, Perth Thundersticks, 64 (3)
Jeremy Hayward, 3/03/1993, Darwin NT, Tassie Tigers, 149 (62)
Tim Howard, 23/06/1996, Wakerley QLD, Brisbane Blaze, 54 (1)
Tyler Lovell (gk), 23/05/1987, Perth WA, Perth Thundersticks, 141 (0)
Kurt Lovett, 15/01/1997, Parkes NSW, NSW Pride , -
Trent Mitton, 26/11/1990, Perth WA, Perth Thundersticks, 168 (75)
Eddie Ockenden, 3/04/1987, Hobart TAS, Tassie Tigers, 358 (70)
Flynn Ogilvie, 17/09/1993, Wollongong NSW, NSW Pride, 103 (21)
Lachlan Sharp, 2/07/1997, Lithgow NSW, NSW Pride, 42 (8)
Josh Simmonds, 4/10/1995, Melbourne VIC, HC Melbourne, 15 (0)
Matthew Swann, 16/05/1989, Mackay QLD, Brisbane Blaze, 198 (7)
Jack Welch, 26/10/1997, Hobart TAS, Tassie Tigers, 8 (2)
Corey Weyer, 28/03/1996, Biggera Waters QLD, Brisbane Blaze, 38 (3)
Jacob Whetton, 16/06/1991, Brisbane QLD, Brisbane Blaze, 197 (64)
Tom Wickham, 26/05/1990, Morgan SA, Perth Thundersticks, 48 (20)
Dylan Wotherspoon, 9/04/1993, Murwillumbah NSW, Brisbane Blaze, 86 (30)
Aran Zalewski, 21/03/1991, Margaret River WA, Perth Thundersticks, 183 (23)

Hockey Australia media release



Oikawa and Ockenden claim MVP honours



A Japanese international and one of Kookaburras’ co-captains have been named the Sultana Bran Hockey One League 2019 Women’s and Men’s MVPs.

Canberra Chill defender Shihori Oikawa edged out Hockey Club Melbourne pair Amy Lawton and Madi Ratcliffe, and Brisbane Blaze’s Ashlea Fey to win the women’s top individual prize.

A member of Japan’s 2018 World Cup squad, Oikawa was a composed figure and a constant in the Chill defence in the team’s run to the semi finals, while she also chimed in with a goal in the penalty shootout loss to the Perth Thundersticks.

On the men’s side, Tassie Tigers captain Eddie Ockenden polled three votes ahead of Brisbane Blaze’s Matt Swann, who suffered a season ending hamstring injury in Round 5, with Swann’s Blaze team mate coming in third.

The Kookaburras co-captain was inspirational and instrumental in the Tigers’ impressive run up to the finals, which included a purple patch of seven goals in two games.

The MVPs were decided by the umpires providing votes on a 3-2-1 basis after each match of the regular season.

The announcement of Oikawa and Ockenden as the MVPs was made during the Sultana Bran Hockey One Grand Final double header.

Sultana Bran Hockey One League Media release



Hockey New Zealand to host more coach development opportunities

The third Hockey New Zealand (HNZ) Coach Developer pilot was held in Palmerston North from the 15th to 17th of November.

Sixteen participants from eight associations engaged in the two and a half-day workshop to gain an understanding of Coach Developer, develop the core skills critical in supporting coaches, and engage in collaboration across the hockey community. The learning environment created enabled participants to be stretched out of their comfort zone to explore and grow.

The workshop was facilitated by Hockey New Zealand trainers Jamie Carroll, Ben Owers, Hymie Gill and Rugby New Zealand’s Michael Marnewick, with the support and guidance from Master Trainer Pat Barwick.

The HNZ will compile the feedback from the participants and trainers to continue to support Hockey New Zealand in developing a hockey-specific coach developer model for the future.

Hockey New Zealand would like to thank the participants and trainers for their engagement and acknowledge Hockey Manawatu and their coaches, for their support of the Coach Developer pilot.
FIH Academy Coaching Courses

The FIH Hockey Academy has been developed by FIH to support the development of a global hockey workforce. This includes providing a range of programmes, resources and tools in four key areas: Play, Coach, Officiate and Manage.

The Coach area offers 4 levels of coach education supporting community through to high-performance coaches. Please click here to find further information about the FIH Hockey Academy.

Upcoming FIH Hockey Academy development opportunities will be shared below.

FIH Hockey Academy Level One Coaching Course –Auckland & Christchurch

HNZ is excited to offer coaches the opportunity to attend an FIH Hockey Academy Level One Coaching course in New Zealand for 2020. The FIH Hockey Academy Level 1 Coaching course provides coaches with an introduction to the knowledge and core competencies required to coach hockey to children and adults.  All school, club and association coaches are invited to register.

HNZ will be offering an opportunity in both the North and South Island, alongside the FIH Hockey Pro League. Please find the details below, including a registration link.

AUCKLAND

FIH Level One Coaching Course
8.30 am-3 pm, Saturday 8th February 2020
National Hockey Centre, North Shore, Auckland
Cost: $60.00, this will include lunch and refreshments
Registration Link:  Click Here
Registrations close January 24th 2020

CHRISTCHURCH

FIH Level One Coaching Course
8.30 am-3 pm, Saturday 15th February 2020
Nga Puna Wai, Augustine Drive, Wigram
Cost: $60.00, this will include lunch and refreshments
Registration Link:  Click Here
Registrations close January 31st 2020

Any questions regarding the courses advertised, please contact Nicole Youman, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hockey New Zealand Media release



Hockey goes into the blue for World Children's Day



FIH is throwing its full support behind World Children’s Day by encouraging hockey communities across the world to don blue kit as they take part in hockey activities.

Unicef’s World Children’s Day is a global day of action for children’s rights. Among the many celebratory activities taking place around the world, children will be taking over high visibility roles in sport and the media and participating in national summits, where they will discuss the issues of today and the future.

With the colour blue symbolising World Children’s Day, famous landmarks around the world will light up in blue to show support for children’s rights.

FIH is encouraging hockey groups in schools and colleges and national associations to get behind the movement. They can do this by running tournaments, matches or other hockey-related activities, or simply by putting on some blue kit and supporting World Children’s Day.

And the support starts with the international governing body as all the staff in the FIH offices in Lausanne, Switzerland, will be pulling on blue shirts to mark the occasion.

On the same day, FIH will be announcing the winners of the Olympic Day competition. This took place in June 2019, with national associations invited to enter projects that symbolised hockey’s ability to change lives for the better.


This illustration has been kindly offered by Sabine Hahn, author of the kid’s books series “The Hockey-Kids”. Learn more about Sabine Hahn’s work by clicking here. ©Sabine Hahn

A number of national associations entered initiatives that were taking place within their hockey communities, but the judges decided that the following were standout examples of how hockey could be a conduit for a better life. The three prizes each align to a current FIH campaign:

Chile, whose project targeted women and minority groups – particularly people with physical and learning difficulties – was awarded the Inclusion Prize. This links to the FIH Equally Amazing policy.

Afghanistan were awarded the Impact Prize, which aligns to the FIH Beyond Hockey initiative. The national association ran a series of programmes in art and music, which celebrated hockey and its ability to break down barriers and promote peace.

Zimbabwe and the Czech Republic shared the prize for Initiation, part of the Hockey Dreams campaign. In Zimbabwe, a nation-wide art competition invited children to paint or draw pieces which raised awareness of the inspirational power and beauty of sport. The Czech Republic held a beach hockey tournament for children and their parents, which demonstrates that hockey can be enjoyed anywhere by different communities.

Both World Children’s Day and Olympic Day are powerful reminders of the power of sport to do good. So do share your World Children’s Day activities with the international hockey community. Using the #WorldChildrensDay and tagging FIH and UNICEF, post selfies, group pictures, video clips, comments and let’s spread the word.

We know sport is a powerful tool for change, so let’s make sure that we do our bit to help make the world a better place for the next generation.

#WorldChildrensDay  #UNICEF

FIH site



Squads announced for Academy Series



The squads have been announced for the inaugural Academy Series taking place across Scotland this weekend.

The series is part of ongoing enhancements to the talent pathway as confirmed earlier in the year. Unlike its older inter-city siblings the Super Series and Development Series, where all games are played at the Glasgow National Hockey Centre, the Academy Series will be staged at different venues around the country over the weekend of competition from Friday 22nd until Friday 24th November.

On Friday night the girls’ Academy Series will play at GHK while the boys’ Academy Series takes place at Clydesdale. On Saturday matches will be played at Uddingston, and then Dalnacraig will be the venue for games on Sunday.

The Academy Series is designed to provide another layer of competition between inter-district and international competition for the best 50-60 young hockey athletes aged eighteen and under in both genders. This will give the best youth hockey players in Scotland the opportunity to stake a claim for a place in our national under 18 programmes and under 21 programmes, who both have European A Division Competitions next summer.
 
Edinburgh Lightning Girls

Ava Yip – ESM
Lucy Brown – Grange
Molly Byers – Fjordhus Reivers
Erin Lawrence – Fjordhus Reivers
Grace Drummond – Watsonians
Izzy Lamotte – Watsonians
Jennifer Veitch – Inverleith
Nina Constable – Grange
Olivia Hogg – Fjordhus Reivers
Neve Wood – Watsonians
Faith Joubert – Watsonians
Ellie Rutherford – Edinburgh Hockey Club
Holly Shepherd – Watsonians
Ava Findlay – Edinburgh Hockey Club
Abbie Grant – Edinburgh Hockey Club
Molly Morris – Watsonians
Itske Hooftman – Inverleith
Jemima Reed – Edinburgh Hockey Club
Emma Fraser – Inverleith
Molly Turnbull – Fjordhus Reivers

COACH: Jude McMullan
 
Edinburgh Lightning Boys

Logan McClure – Kelburne
Charlie Gates – Grange
Jake Inglis – Inverleith
Cameron Ede – Grange
Daniel Pearson – Dunfermline Carnegie
Jamie Croll – Grange
Matthew Hughson – Grange
Keir Robb – Grove Menzieshill
Iain Hare – ESM
Callum Grant – ESM
Max Bargeton – Grange
Peter Caughey – Grange
Adam MacKenzie – Western Wildcats
Ollie Wilson – Inverleith
Samuel Gardiner – Perthshire
Lucas Grubb – Grange
Charlie Temperley – Grange

COACH: Kerr Thomson

Glasgow Thunder Girls

Christie Allan – Gordonians
Jess Mitchell – Western Wildcats
Anna McWilliams – Uddingston
Adie Murray – Edinburgh University
Stephanie Geary – Clydesdale Western
Anna Hoolaghan – Clydesdale Western
Neave Halliday – Hillhead
Charlotte Simmers – GHK
Grace Hamilton – Hillhead
Ellie Mackenzie – Watsonians
Hannah Miller – Fjordhus Reivers
Lucy Anderson – Clydesdale Western
Lucy Bliss – Clydesdale Western
Aisha Saini – Western Wildcats
Emily Simmers – Watsonians
Ava Smith – Western Wildcats
Katie Allison – GHK
Niamh Green – Western Wildcats
Holly Hendry – Kelburne
Zara Mason – Clydesdale Western

COACH: Zoe Sinclair
 
Glasgow Thunder Boys

Callum Douglas – Highland
Nic Hadland – Western Wildcats
Scott Menzies – Western Wildcats
Ben Carroll – Uddingston
Louis Gardiner – Uddingston
Ciaran Wilcox – Kelburne
Ben Galloway – Clydesdale
Charlie Jack – Inverleith
Stephen Mackenzie – Uddingston
Matthew O’Toole – Western Wildcats
Cameron Moran – Western Wildcats
Jude Boslem – Hillhead
Roddy McConnell – Western Wildcats
Euan Cowan – Western Wildcats
Euan Burgess – Watsonians
Jamie Green – Clydesdale
Ethan Robertson – Clydesdale

COACH: Fraser Ward
 
Dundee Devils Girls

Cara McAllister – Clydesdale Western
Maddie Boyes – Watsonians
Georgie Yuille – Grange
Rhiannon Carr – Grove Menzieshill
Isla McRobbie – Grove Menzieshill
Holly Miller – Granite City Wanderers
Michaela McCarthy – Dundee Wanderers
Kady Hulme – Fjordhus Reivers
Katie Swanson – Watsonians
Annie Neill – Perthshire
Amy Salmon – Inverleith
Joanna Johnston – Grove Menzieshill
Sophie Hill – Gordonians
Sophie Hinds – Inverleith
Jessica Barr – Granite City Wanderers
Jennifer Tait – Granite City Wanderers
Ellie Stott – Grove Menzieshill
Lucy Smith – Grove Menzieshill
Jessica Thain – Edinburgh Hockey Club
Sophie Younger – Fjordhus Reivers

COACH: Bill Robson

Dundee Devils Boys

Cameron Bosi – ESM
Murray Caughney – Grange
Alex Wilson – Inverleith
Iain McFadden – Highland
Cameron Bell – Dundee Wanderers
Gregor Morrison – Aberdeen Grammar FP
Alastair Douglas – Clydesdale
Samuel Knight – Grove Menzieshill
Fraser Allan – Harris
Findlay Donnelly – Perthshire
Louis Roddy – Gordonians
Fin Renton – Aberdeen Grammar FP
Cameron Ogilvie – Aberdeen Grammar FP
Struan Walker – Clydesdale
Joel Davenport – Grange
Livio Belotti – Inverleith
Andrew Clark – Perthshire

COACH: Paul Golden/Ally Dodge

Schedule
Date     Venue     Match     Teams     PB time
Friday 22/11/19     GHK, Glasgow     Girls Academy series
Glasgow Thunder v Edinburgh Lightning     1930
Friday 22/11/19     Clydesdale, Glasgow     Boys Academy series
Glasgow Thunder v Edinburgh Lightning     1930
               
Saturday 23/11/19     Uddingston*     Girls Academy series    
Edinburgh Lightning v Dundee Devils     1230
Saturday 23/11/19     Uddingston*     Boys Academy series    
Edinburgh Lightning v Dundee Devils     1430
               
Sunday 24/11/19     Dalnacraig, Dundee     Girls Academy series
Dundee Devils v Glasgow Thunder     1200
Sunday 24/11/19     Dalnacraig, Dundee     Boys Academy series
Dundee Devils v Glasgow Thunder     1400

*Uddingston was chosen as the best international standard venue for Edinburgh “home” matches, due to lack of availability of water based facilities in Edinburgh on the chosen weekend.

Scottish Hockey Union media release

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