News for 5 March 2009
Thursday, 05 March 2009 09:13 | 
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All the news for Thursday 5 March 2009
Revenge for Argentina?
2009 Men's Pan American Cup
March 7 to 15, 2009 - Santiago, Chile
The 3rd Men’s Pan American Cup will start on Saturday March 7 in Santiago, Chile, in the superb facilities of the Prince of Wales Country Club where the 2008 Olympic Qualifier was played. At stake is not only the continental crown but also a qualification for the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi for the winner, as well as invitations to one of the three World Cup Qualifiers.
Just like the Women’s Pan American Cup a month ago, the competition has dwindled down to only eight teams after some countries had to withdraw because of the current financial crisis, a trend that might sadly affect our sport in the near future.
Currently 9th in the FIH World Rankings, Argentina is the highest ranked team in the competition, but are still shaken from their traumatic non-qualification for the Beijing Olympic Games after losing to Canada in the Pan American Games (penalty-stroke shoot-out) and to New Zealand in the Olympic Qualifier (overtime Golden Goal). They nevertheless had the luxury to immediately start rebuilding by participating in the 2008 Champions Trophy in Rotterdam, where they finished third after beating Australia and The Netherlands, no small feat in front of the Dutch home crowd.
Argentina has a balanced team. Half the squad won the 2005 Junior World Cup together and they benefit from the extensive international experience of Mario Almada (241 International Caps), Matias Vila (197 Caps) and Matias Paredes. The Argentinean game is always spectacular and a crowd pleaser; it will be interesting to see if they have mentally managed to push aside their recent international misfortunes when facing the tough challenges in the final stages of this competition.
Not far from Argentina in the World Rankings, Canada was the only representative of the Americas in Beijing, where they had a mediocre showing and finished 10th. They have kept the core of their Olympic Team, led by a trio of seasoned warriors in Rob Short (277 Caps), Ken Pereira (271 Caps) and Paul Wettlaufer (215 Caps). They have nevertheless lost their mercurial goalkeeper Mike Mahood, who efficiently backstopped the Canadian team for more than a decade, and the lack of international experience in goal could be a drawback for Canada in this competition.
Under their new coaching staff led by Alan Brahmst, Canada tried to optimize their preparation by sharing a training camp with a top German club team, a good way to expose their five rookies to the pace of international competition.
Behind these two teams, which have shared the continental honours in the past, Chile and Trinidad & Tobago are very close to each other.
Chile came out on top over Trinidad & Tobago after a spectacular Bronze Medal game at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio (5-3). The Chilean Hockey Federation is running very strong national team programs and the squad for this competition is well balanced, with all players having international experience. They are led by Esteban Krainz (105 Caps) and Cristóbal Rodríguez (104 Caps), and have the reassuring presence of Mathias Anwandter in goal.
Chile will also benefit from the support of the home crowd, although it didn’t seem to serve them well last year at the Olympic Qualifier, when they dropped critical games against Austria and Russia.
Trinidad & Tobago were impressive at the last Pan American Games, nearly eliminating Canada in the semi-final (3-4 after overtime, after leading 2-0 within 10 minutes of play!). Their team is stacked with young and talented players and can count on the physical presence of Wayne Legerton up front, not to mention the talented leadership of Kwan Browne, certainly one of the most skilled players in the game.
Respectively ranked 30th and 33rd in the world, the USA and Mexico arrive in this competition with fairly experienced squads and will try to regain a spot in the continental top four.
The remaining two teams are young (average age 20 for Brazil, and five international rookies for Uruguay) and will come to learn and gain valuable experience, but the effort of their National Associations to keep developing the game should be mentioned and encouraged.
The competition will be played in two pools (Argentina, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and USA in pool A; Brazil, Canada, Chile and Mexico in pool B), followed by cross-over and classification matches, and will end on Sunday March 15.
For more information, results, reports and pictures, check the Pan American Hockey Federation web site.
PAHF media release
Charlotte Craddock named in England Women's squad for Ireland Test Matches
Eighteen athletes have been selected for the England women’s squad to play Ireland in Dublin over Easter weekend. The squad, for which athletes from newly-crowned Slazenger EHL Premier Division champions Bowdon Hightown were not considered due to their participation in the EuroHockey Cup Winners Cup, will play two fixtures at University College Dublin.
Included in the squad is 18-year-old Charlotte Craddock who will make her senior England debut in Dublin. Craddock broke onto the international scene in late 2007 during Great Britain’s preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and has 21 Great Britain caps, six of which came at the Olympic Games.
With England preparing for the Samsung Champions Trophy in Sydney in July, Assistant Coach Karen Brown explained the selection: “The squad is a good mix of experienced Olympians together with young athletes starting their senior international careers. We see this trip as a good opportunity for players to stake a claim to participate in the Champions Trophy and European Championships later on this year”.
The squad is as follows:
Name Club
Ashleigh Ball Slough
Charlotte Craddock Cannock
Alex Danson Klein Zwitserland
Gemma Darrington Leicester
Becky Duggan (GK) Trojans
Susie Gilbert University of Birmingham
Beckie Herbert Kampong
Katie Long Leicester
Sarah Page University of Birmingham
Anne Panter Leicester
Helen Richardson Den Bosch
Chloe Rogers Leicester
Natalie Seymour Canterbury
Beth Storry (GK) SCHC
Chloe Strong Pinoke
Laura Unsworth Loughborough Students Ladies
Kate Walsh SCHC
Kerry Williams Leicester
Match Schedule:
The match schedule is still to be finalised. Fixtures will take place between Thursday 9 and Sunday 12 April and will be played at University College Dublin.
England Hockey Media release
WP president congratulates new SA men’s captain Austin Smith
by Jon Cook
WITH the retirement of Central Hockey Club, Western Province and SA captain Bruce Jacobs, “who served SA men’s hockey with distinction for several years”, said Dennis Perkins, the WP president welcomed and congratulated his replacement.
“We are very proud that another ‘local’ has been appointed as the new national captain – WP, Reading and Pinelands Hockey Club’s Austin Smith – and we as a province would like to say ‘Well done Austin – we are all proud of you and wish you well’.”
Perkins also congratulated Smith and provincial team-mate Adam Wilson of Western Province Hockey Club for their selection to the South Africa team for the series against Russia and Germany to be held in Bloemfontein next week.
“The following players have also been selected but have only recently moved to Cape Town. They will be playing in the WP league this year and also will be available for WP selection,” Perkins said.
They are Rassie Pieterse (2008 - UJ & Southern Gauteng) and Lungile Tsolekile (2008 - Tukkies & Northerns).
“Welcome home, Lungs, and our congratulations and best wishes to you all – do WP and SA proud!”
The Western Province Hockey Union have also announced the WP and Peninsula teams to participate in the U21 IPT to be held at Hartleyvale in Cape Town from 26 April to 2 May.
“Special thanks to the selectors – Chris Smith (convenor), Geoff Matthews, Neville Rothman, Jamie Kroukamp and Moejahied Lagadien – for the time, effort and obvious considerable thought put into the selection of these teams, Perkins said.
“To all the players – congratulations and our very best wishes for the tournament, and our thanks to all trialists, successful or not!” Perkins said. “My last request is that the hockey fraternity of the Western Province turn out in numbers to support our teams!”
Meanwhile, Perkins said Peninsula’s Nadia Cronje is unable to make the time available for the U21 women’s IPT due to academic commitments, and the selected first reserve, Tamlyn Crowley, will replace her.
TEAMS
WP U21: Jacques le Roux (Maties), Alex Rossi (Maties), Tyler Evans (Maties), Ashlin Freddy (Maties), Lazario Brown (Central), Stuart Ledeboer (Maties), Karl Badenhorst (UCT), Antony Vervoort (UCT), Warren Grobler (Maties), Shaun McIntyre (Maties), Matthew Hampson (Maties), Jason Mulder (Central), Mike Krige (UCT), Mike Heyink (UCT), Craig Mullon (Maties), Simon van Helsdingen (UCT), Waldi Roux (Maties), Zachery Titus (Durbanville). Coach: Geoff Matthews. Manager: Clint Maart.
Peninsula U21: Alex Moody (UCT), Ryan Rappaport (?), Steven Lovesay (UCT), Stuart Spooner (Maties), Jacques Jordaan (Maties), Brendan Solik (UCT), Rafique Abdullah (Unicorns), Martin Eichorn (UCT), Matthew Chennels (UCT), Jonathan Reid-Ross (Maties), Jacques Doubell (Durbanville), Raoul le Roux (Bellville), Brad Venter (UCT), Raaghieb Fredericks (Central), Andre de Klerk (Maties), Max Bissolatti (Bellville). Coach: Neville Rothman. Manager: Rodney Hendricks.
The Cook Report
Revenge for Argentina?
2009 Men's Pan American Cup
March 7 to 15, 2009 - Santiago, Chile
The 3rd Men’s Pan American Cup will start on Saturday March 7 in Santiago, Chile, in the superb facilities of the Prince of Wales Country Club where the 2008 Olympic Qualifier was played. At stake is not only the continental crown but also a qualification for the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi for the winner, as well as invitations to one of the three World Cup Qualifiers.
Just like the Women’s Pan American Cup a month ago, the competition has dwindled down to only eight teams after some countries had to withdraw because of the current financial crisis, a trend that might sadly affect our sport in the near future.
Currently 9th in the FIH World Rankings, Argentina is the highest ranked team in the competition, but are still shaken from their traumatic non-qualification for the Beijing Olympic Games after losing to Canada in the Pan American Games (penalty-stroke shoot-out) and to New Zealand in the Olympic Qualifier (overtime Golden Goal). They nevertheless had the luxury to immediately start rebuilding by participating in the 2008 Champions Trophy in Rotterdam, where they finished third after beating Australia and The Netherlands, no small feat in front of the Dutch home crowd.
Argentina has a balanced team. Half the squad won the 2005 Junior World Cup together and they benefit from the extensive international experience of Mario Almada (241 International Caps), Matias Vila (197 Caps) and Matias Paredes. The Argentinean game is always spectacular and a crowd pleaser; it will be interesting to see if they have mentally managed to push aside their recent international misfortunes when facing the tough challenges in the final stages of this competition.
Not far from Argentina in the World Rankings, Canada was the only representative of the Americas in Beijing, where they had a mediocre showing and finished 10th. They have kept the core of their Olympic Team, led by a trio of seasoned warriors in Rob Short (277 Caps), Ken Pereira (271 Caps) and Paul Wettlaufer (215 Caps). They have nevertheless lost their mercurial goalkeeper Mike Mahood, who efficiently backstopped the Canadian team for more than a decade, and the lack of international experience in goal could be a drawback for Canada in this competition.
Under their new coaching staff led by Alan Brahmst, Canada tried to optimize their preparation by sharing a training camp with a top German club team, a good way to expose their five rookies to the pace of international competition.
Behind these two teams, which have shared the continental honours in the past, Chile and Trinidad & Tobago are very close to each other.
Chile came out on top over Trinidad & Tobago after a spectacular Bronze Medal game at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio (5-3). The Chilean Hockey Federation is running very strong national team programs and the squad for this competition is well balanced, with all players having international experience. They are led by Esteban Krainz (105 Caps) and Cristóbal Rodríguez (104 Caps), and have the reassuring presence of Mathias Anwandter in goal.
Chile will also benefit from the support of the home crowd, although it didn’t seem to serve them well last year at the Olympic Qualifier, when they dropped critical games against Austria and Russia.
Trinidad & Tobago were impressive at the last Pan American Games, nearly eliminating Canada in the semi-final (3-4 after overtime, after leading 2-0 within 10 minutes of play!). Their team is stacked with young and talented players and can count on the physical presence of Wayne Legerton up front, not to mention the talented leadership of Kwan Browne, certainly one of the most skilled players in the game.
Respectively ranked 30th and 33rd in the world, the USA and Mexico arrive in this competition with fairly experienced squads and will try to regain a spot in the continental top four.
The remaining two teams are young (average age 20 for Brazil, and five international rookies for Uruguay) and will come to learn and gain valuable experience, but the effort of their National Associations to keep developing the game should be mentioned and encouraged.
The competition will be played in two pools (Argentina, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and USA in pool A; Brazil, Canada, Chile and Mexico in pool B), followed by cross-over and classification matches, and will end on Sunday March 15.
For more information, results, reports and pictures, check the Pan American Hockey Federation web site.
PAHF media release
Charlotte Craddock named in England Women's squad for Ireland Test Matches
Eighteen athletes have been selected for the England women’s squad to play Ireland in Dublin over Easter weekend. The squad, for which athletes from newly-crowned Slazenger EHL Premier Division champions Bowdon Hightown were not considered due to their participation in the EuroHockey Cup Winners Cup, will play two fixtures at University College Dublin.
Included in the squad is 18-year-old Charlotte Craddock who will make her senior England debut in Dublin. Craddock broke onto the international scene in late 2007 during Great Britain’s preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and has 21 Great Britain caps, six of which came at the Olympic Games.
With England preparing for the Samsung Champions Trophy in Sydney in July, Assistant Coach Karen Brown explained the selection: “The squad is a good mix of experienced Olympians together with young athletes starting their senior international careers. We see this trip as a good opportunity for players to stake a claim to participate in the Champions Trophy and European Championships later on this year”.
The squad is as follows:
Name Club
Ashleigh Ball Slough
Charlotte Craddock Cannock
Alex Danson Klein Zwitserland
Gemma Darrington Leicester
Becky Duggan (GK) Trojans
Susie Gilbert University of Birmingham
Beckie Herbert Kampong
Katie Long Leicester
Sarah Page University of Birmingham
Anne Panter Leicester
Helen Richardson Den Bosch
Chloe Rogers Leicester
Natalie Seymour Canterbury
Beth Storry (GK) SCHC
Chloe Strong Pinoke
Laura Unsworth Loughborough Students Ladies
Kate Walsh SCHC
Kerry Williams Leicester
Match Schedule:
The match schedule is still to be finalised. Fixtures will take place between Thursday 9 and Sunday 12 April and will be played at University College Dublin.
England Hockey Media release
WP president congratulates new SA men’s captain Austin Smith
by Jon Cook
WITH the retirement of Central Hockey Club, Western Province and SA captain Bruce Jacobs, “who served SA men’s hockey with distinction for several years”, said Dennis Perkins, the WP president welcomed and congratulated his replacement.
“We are very proud that another ‘local’ has been appointed as the new national captain – WP, Reading and Pinelands Hockey Club’s Austin Smith – and we as a province would like to say ‘Well done Austin – we are all proud of you and wish you well’.”
Perkins also congratulated Smith and provincial team-mate Adam Wilson of Western Province Hockey Club for their selection to the South Africa team for the series against Russia and Germany to be held in Bloemfontein next week.
“The following players have also been selected but have only recently moved to Cape Town. They will be playing in the WP league this year and also will be available for WP selection,” Perkins said.
They are Rassie Pieterse (2008 - UJ & Southern Gauteng) and Lungile Tsolekile (2008 - Tukkies & Northerns).
“Welcome home, Lungs, and our congratulations and best wishes to you all – do WP and SA proud!”
The Western Province Hockey Union have also announced the WP and Peninsula teams to participate in the U21 IPT to be held at Hartleyvale in Cape Town from 26 April to 2 May.
“Special thanks to the selectors – Chris Smith (convenor), Geoff Matthews, Neville Rothman, Jamie Kroukamp and Moejahied Lagadien – for the time, effort and obvious considerable thought put into the selection of these teams, Perkins said.
“To all the players – congratulations and our very best wishes for the tournament, and our thanks to all trialists, successful or not!” Perkins said. “My last request is that the hockey fraternity of the Western Province turn out in numbers to support our teams!”
Meanwhile, Perkins said Peninsula’s Nadia Cronje is unable to make the time available for the U21 women’s IPT due to academic commitments, and the selected first reserve, Tamlyn Crowley, will replace her.
TEAMS
WP U21: Jacques le Roux (Maties), Alex Rossi (Maties), Tyler Evans (Maties), Ashlin Freddy (Maties), Lazario Brown (Central), Stuart Ledeboer (Maties), Karl Badenhorst (UCT), Antony Vervoort (UCT), Warren Grobler (Maties), Shaun McIntyre (Maties), Matthew Hampson (Maties), Jason Mulder (Central), Mike Krige (UCT), Mike Heyink (UCT), Craig Mullon (Maties), Simon van Helsdingen (UCT), Waldi Roux (Maties), Zachery Titus (Durbanville). Coach: Geoff Matthews. Manager: Clint Maart.
Peninsula U21: Alex Moody (UCT), Ryan Rappaport (?), Steven Lovesay (UCT), Stuart Spooner (Maties), Jacques Jordaan (Maties), Brendan Solik (UCT), Rafique Abdullah (Unicorns), Martin Eichorn (UCT), Matthew Chennels (UCT), Jonathan Reid-Ross (Maties), Jacques Doubell (Durbanville), Raoul le Roux (Bellville), Brad Venter (UCT), Raaghieb Fredericks (Central), Andre de Klerk (Maties), Max Bissolatti (Bellville). Coach: Neville Rothman. Manager: Rodney Hendricks.
The Cook Report