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All the news for 1 September 2011

SA hockey men and women in search of Africa Cup

JONATHAN COOK in Bulawayo


(From left) Marsha Marescia, Giles Bonnet, Sanani Mangisa, Shelley Russell. Photo: JACQUES CATO

The South African men’s hockey team embark on their campaign to win the Africa continent’s Olympic Games Qualifier tournament when they meet Uganda at 1 pm Friday in Bulawayo.

KZN Coastal Raiders midfielder Wade Paton assumes the captain’s armband in place of the injured Austin Smith of Western Province, who is out of the tournament with a broken hand

Smith’s WP team-mate Craig Haley (hand) and Raiders striker Marvin Harper (work) were also unable to make the trip.

Goalkeeper Jacques le Roux (WP), Southern Gauteng centre back Ricky West and his provincial team-mate and midfielder Clinton Panther will all be looking for the first taste of international hockey at senior level.

Uganda are an unknown quantity but world number 12 SA should have too much for them.

SA are in Pool A with Kenya and Uganda, and meet the Kenyans at midday on Monday, while the South Africans’ arch-continental rivals, Egypt, top Pool B ahead of Ghana, Zimbabwe and Morocco.

The men’s semi-finals are next Friday, where SA should meet Ghana at 3 pm, and the final is next Sunday at 5.30 pm where SA are slated to have another tussle with Egypt in their quest to retain the Africa Cup they won against the Egyptians in Ghana two years ago.

The Investec South Africa women’s team will also be looking to retain the Africa Cup and in so doing win this Olympic Games qualifier tournament at the same time.

SA will be missing influential head coach Giles Bonnet due to unavoidable commitments with his Dutch club but the Amsterdam-based former SA men's captain and coach has a very good support team, and assistant coach Fabian Gregory steps into the breach.

SA are also missing world record goalscorer Pietie Coetzee (university studies) as well as the experienced Kathleen Taylor, Lisa Deetlefs, Lenise Marais and Mariette Rix for assorted work or study reasons, while the return of former national vice-captain Kate Woods has been put on hold until she has reached full fitness.

On the injury list are Hettie Oosthuizen, Kelly Madsen, Celia Evans, Marcelle Keet, Jen Wilson and Dirkie Chamberlain, so captain Marsha Marescia, who will play in her 250th Test match when SA open their Africa Cup 2011 tournament against Kenya at 4 pm on Saturday, has something of a new-look team with “freshers” to the squad in 17-year-old Sentraal schoolgirl Tanya Britz, her Free State team-mate Nicole Kemp as well as the Southern Gauteng pair, Bernadette Coston and Catherine McNulty.

SA meet Ghana in their second match at 2 pm Monday before tackling Zimbabwe at 4 pm next Thursday. The women’s final is at 3 pm next Sunday, where the Investec South Africa team are likely to face Ghana again.

TEAMS

SA Men: Brendon Botes (Eastern Province); Jacques le Roux, Andrew Cronje, Ian Haley, Lloyd Norris-Jones (all Western Province); Justin Reid-Ross, Rhett Halkett, Jonty Robinson (all Northern Gauteng Blues); Wade Paton (capt), Taine Paton, Tim Drummond Lloyd Madsen. Gareth Carr (all KZN Coastal Raiders); Lance Louw, Ricky West, Clinton Panther, Miguel da Graca (all Southern Gauteng), Julian Hykes (Amathole/Border).  Support staff: Gregg Clark (head coach), Kurt Cerfontyne, Martin van Staden, Mo Malebye, Austin Smith, Kate Temple-Jones.

SA Women: Cindy Botha (KZN Coastal Raiders); Tarryn Bright, Illse Davids, Hanli Hattingh, Jade Mayne, Shelley Russell (all WP), Tanya Britz, Nicole de Vries, Nicole Kemp, Lesle-Ann George (all Free State), Marsha Marescia (capt), Catherine McNulty, Bernadette Coston (all Southern Gauteng), Sulette Damons (North West), Liesel Dorothy (EP), Kim Hubach, Sanani Mangisa, Nicolene Terblanche (all Northern Gauteng Blues). Support staff: Fabian Gregory (head coach), Adrian Carolan, Les Galloway, Wayne Hendricks, Rob van Ginkel, Henet Branders.

SA Hockey Association media release

Is it good for a podium finish?

S. Thyagarajan

A new page unfolds in the annals of Asian hockey on September 3. The first men's Champions Trophy at Ordos signals the birth of an era dedicated to enhance the quality and content of the sport in the continent.

On the launch pad for over five years, the concept of facilitating a top-notch event on the lines of the FIH Champions Trophy became a reality last year when South Korea hosted the women's version featuring four teams.

But it was the men's tournament that drew more debate. India was one of the early contenders to host. The developments here in the last few years came in the way.

Nothing much has changed. The turbulence in the administration continues. If anything it, has multiplied.

Governance is ham-handed as evidenced by the dithering in dealing with the two senior players and their “indiscipline.”

The two year ban on Sardar Singh and Sandeep Singh for their decision to opt out of the Champions Trophy is symptomatic of the mismanagement prompting frequent crisis situations.

Unpleasant task

How unpleasant the task will be for the new coach Michael Nobbs in his first assignment needs no elaboration. Even assuming that he is aware of the ceaseless turmoil the crisis could have been done away with deft handling.

It is tempting to equate the ban related to IHF inspired World Series of Hockey. Add this to the omission of Adrian D' Souza, and the drama of re-admission into the camp of those who participated in the launch of the WSH.

Distasteful as the whole episode was, its impact on the psyche of the selected players to perform at Ordos cannot be wished away.

Weak outfit

Rajpal Singh's optimism before departure was somewhat surreal. His justification of the ban was of out place. He need not have dwelt on the subject. With several senior players in the list of injured Rajpal leads a very weak outfit against formidable opponents like Korea, Pakistan, Malaysia and China.

The trump card is Rupinder Pal Singh. He fills the bill for Sandeep in hitting penalty corners. There is none to match Sardar's versatility.

Michael Nobbs reckons that Walmiki will be a success story. The weight of his assessment may have adequate back-up. Yet, there is a disturbing feeling that India has failed to field the strongest outfit to give the Aussie coach a tough test to his ingenuity.

A podium finish at Ordos will be a satisfactory result.

The Hindu

Don't change venue of Men's champions trophy: IOA

NEW DELHI: The Indian Olympic Association on Wednesday warned the International Hockey Federation (FIH) against changing the venue of this year's Champions Trophy from the Indian capital to any other country.

IOA acting president Vijay Kumar Malhotra said the FIH allotted the event to India keeping in view the popularity of the game in the country so any talk of hosting it in any other country at the last moment will have adverse effect on Hockey in the country.

"Hockey is India's national game and it enjoys the support of millions of people. Fans are keenly awaiting to see best teams of the World once again playing at the stadium named after 'Wizard' Dhyan Chand," Malhotra said.

He assured FIH chief Leandro Negre that the dispute with regards to the Hockey administration's set up in India will be sorted out amicably.

"In any case FIH is already dealing with Hockey India (HI) and it should continue to do that".

Malhotra said the IOA is aware that Government has tried to set up a "wholly unworkable arrangement by having two federations to look after Hockey."

"This however does not mean that India should be deprived of the Champions trophy. FIH should deal with HI and IOA and not with the Government on this issue."

"We have made our stand very clear to the Sports ministry," he added.

He said the IOA is very keen that Indian hockey regain its glory and sought the FIH's support for it.

"The huge success of World Cup and Hockey competition in the Commonwealth Games is a clear testimony of the Games popularity and it needs further push and encouragement", he said.

"Whatever may be the India's Hockey standing at present but there is no doubt that country remains the hub of the Game as far as the fan following is concerned," Malhotra said.

"You will never get so much emotional response and eye balls for the Game as you get in India. So holding the Champions trophy here will be beneficial for every body involved in the promotion of the game," he added.

The Times of India

PHF is immature: Shahnaz Sheikh

ISLAMABAD: Olympian Shahnaz Sheikh termed the current Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) as immature saying that it lacks timely-decisions and time-management.

Talking to APP on Tuesday, Sheikh said the real test of the national hockey team will be the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Games to be held in December 2011 in Delhi and July 2012 in London respectively.

“The forthcomimg inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in China next month is an easy one and I hope our team wins that.”

“In the past, from 1948 to 2000, we won 42 medals in mega events comprising 20 gold, 14 silvers and 8 bronze. But now as we see in the last ten years from 2000 to 2010, it has been the darkest period of our hockey and in it we won only 6 medals which includes 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze,” he said.

Sheikh said the major reason for the team’s bad performance is due to the non-professional handling of the PHF affairs.

“To set goals for the future we should start hockey at grass-roots level from schools and colleges, which can be a source of providing a pool of players at the national level.”

Sheikh said that PHF has failed to create pool of players from hockey academies otherwise ageing players in the team should have retired a long time ago.

Talking about the team, Sheikh said, “If Pakistan performs well in the China tournamnet, then we have hope for good results in the coming Olympic games.”

“The inconsistency in the team’s performance is a big problem. The decision to exclude the senior players (Sohail Abbas, Rehan Butt and Salman Akbar) at this stage is not appropriate as it should have been taken after the Asian games so that the then young team could have got along well.”

Sheikh said that Pakistan has a unique record of winning approximately all inaugural tournaments like Asian games (1958), World Cup (1971), Champion Trophy (1978), Junior World Cup (1979) and Asia Cup (1985).

“No team of the world has such an extraordinary record in the history of hockey. And I hope our team wins this inaugural tournament as well,” he said.

“To me it seems that PHF does not understand the importance of this tournament and is considering this event as an experimental trip. But I think the win and loss of this event will have a great impact on the forthcoming tournaments Champion Trophy and Olympic Games 2012.”

“Pakistan should play like a unit as played in the Asian Games 2010 to win more tournaments,” Sheikh concluded.

Dawn

Luciana Aymar named in Team Sportswomen of the Year shortlist

Your vote could help the brilliant Argentinean win the prestigious award organized by the Women’s Sports Foundation.


Luciana Aymar (Photo: FIH / Grant Treeby)

Argentina superstar Luciana Aymar has been named in the shortlist for the Women’s Sports Foundation Team Sportswoman of the Year Award, and your vote could help her claim the prize.

Here is what the Foundation said about Luciana in their nomination profile of the iconic attacker.

“Luciana Aymar is considered by many to be the greatest female field hockey player of her generation. The midfielder and team captain for Team Argentina, who also is known as 'La Maga’ (The Magician), led her team to gold at the 2010 Women's Hockey World Cup and was named World Cup Player of the Tournament in September. In November, Aymar was awarded the 2010 International Hockey Federation (FIH) World Player of the Year honors for the seventh time. Argentina won the silver medal at the 2011 Women's Hockey Champions Trophy in Amsterdam in July, falling to the Netherlands on penalties. Team Argentina is ranked No. 1 in the current FIH World Ranking.”

Luciana faces stiff competition for the title, with Annika Dries (Water Polo - USA), Meghan Duggan (Ice Hockey – USA), Juliana Felisberta & Larissa Franca (Beach Volleyball – Brazil), Sandra Kiriasis (Bobsled – Germany), Maya Moore (Basketball – USA), Anette Norburg (Curling – Sweden), Shannon Smith (Lacrosse – USA), Stacy Sykora (Volleyball – USA) and Abby Wambach (Football – USA) all being nominated in her category. 

If you would like to register your vote, here is what you need to do.

1. Click on the following link: http://www.facebook.com/WomensSportsFoundation (External site – Facebook)

2. Become a fan of the Women’s Sports Foundation by liking our page.

3. Browse the photo album for Team Sport Athlete finalists.

4. To cast your vote, simply like the photo of an athlete in the album. Fans are permitted only one vote per album.

5.  You are encouraged to browse the photo album for Individual Sport Athlete finalists and vote as well. To do this, please click here .

Every year, the Women’s Sports Foundation recognizes both individual and team sport athletes whose performances over a 12-month period have been exceptional. Past winners of the awards include tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, gymnast Nastia Liukin, and athletics great Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The deadline for voting is 5th September 2011.

FIH site

Attles joins Marketing Team; Nerbonne moves to High Performance

Ashley Meunier

USA Field Hockey is delighted to announce that Simone Attles (Worthington, Ohio) has been hired as Marketing Coordinator, effective immediately. Attles will make the move from Ohio to Colorado in early September and will rejoin the Marketing team after spending the summer as an intern.

Attles will work directly with Simon Hoskins, Director of Marketing and will be responsible for managing sponsors accounts, providing client support to vendors at events, managing the Partner Camp and equipment grant programs and other marketing services. 

“I am delighted to have Simone Attles as the newest full time member of our USA Field Hockey Team,” said Hoskins. “Simone served as an intern with us over the past several months with both junior high performance and marketing doing an outstanding job. She is well deserving of this opportunity to become a full time employee.”

Attles graduated from the University of Louisville in May with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing and a concentration in Sport Administration. Attles was a member of the Louisville Cardinals field hockey team from 2007-2010.

“I am really excited to start my career with an organization that has already been such a big part of my life,” says Attles. “My relationship with the sport of field hockey has been a very passionate and exciting one as an athlete and I look forward to helping USA Field Hockey create those same experiences for others. I am excited to start my journey with a sport and organization I know and love.”

Attles will replace Katelyn Nerbonne, who joined USA Field Hockey as Marketing Coordinator one year ago. Nerbonne will relocate to San Diego, CA where she will serve as the Junior and Senior National Teams Manager.  

"The High Performance division is thrilled to have Katelyn join our Team,” said Kate Reisinger, National Teams Director. “She has worked a number of events with us throughout the year and has proven she will be very capable in her new role."

Christine Battcock, Marketing Manager and Joe Wagstaffe, National Teams Manager, announced they will be leaving USA Field Hockey. Battcock looks forward to a new role as full-time mom to her two twin daughters. Wagstaffe will pursue new career opportunities. Both will be sorely missed.

USA Field Hockey wishes Christine and Joe much success as they embark on new life journeys.

USFHA media release