News 21 October 2014
All the news for Tuesday 21 October 2014
USA edge Black Sticks Women 2-1 in Palmerston North
Liz Thompson in action during today's game at Twin Turfs in Palmerston North. photosport.co.nz
It is all tied up half way through the Black Sticks Women’s series against the USA, following a 2-1 win to the visitors at the Twin Turfs in Palmerston North tonight.
Three games into the six test series, there has been a draw, a 2-1 win to the Black Sticks and tonight the tables turned with the USA claiming the win. The Americans gained an early lead, doubled their score in the second quarter with Anita Punt the only goal scorer for the Kiwis.
“I think by half time we had 14 scoring opportunities and we hadn’t scored any of them, I don’t think we had one really good easy shot at goal. There just isn’t enough venom from our forwards if I could put it that way,” said Black Sticks Women’s coach Mark Hager.
In perfect sunny conditions in front of a vocal crowd of 1,200, the Black Sticks attacked continuously but struggled to convert with the staunch USA defence robbing them each time.
“We always knew it was going to be a tough series, we have had nine changes since our Commonwealth Games team, whereas the USA have had only three from the World Cup, so although I’m disheartened with our attacking circle area I’m very pleased with our defence. We are trying a different structure at the moment but we aren’t always playing that new structure well under pressure.
“We need to be better next time, the players are learning valuable lessons that you have to play well in every game not just when you feel like switching it on,” said Hager.
After only a minute, American Paige Selenski gave the visitors an early 1-0 lead, and Kathleen Sharkey doubled their lead when Melissa Gonzalez intercepted the ball, passing it to Sharkey who smacked it high, the ball ricocheting off the left hand upright to the back of the net.
Anita Punt scored a penalty corner conversion in the second half to get the Kiwis on the board, and despite the Kiwis scrambling for an equaliser it was not to be.
Ironically, Black Stick Michaela Curtis turned 21 today, played her 21st birthday and with it being the 21 October it all seemed too much of a coincidence for the Palmerston North local!
The team now play at 6.30pm this Thursday before heading to Carterton for their two final games of the series (2pm, 25 & 26 Oct). Tickets are cheaper online at www.dashtickets.co.nz with family, student and child discounts available. Gate sales also available.
All games are live streamed here on the Hockey NZ website - http://bit.ly/1qLD3LR
RESULT
Full time: 2-1 (USA win)
Half time: 2-0
NZ goal scorers: Anita Punt
USA goal scorer: Paige Selenski, Kathleen Sharkey
Hockey New Zealand Media release
United States upset Black Sticks to level series
GEORGE HEAGNEY
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: The Black Sticks' Anita Punt scored with less than four minutes to go but the United States held on to win 2-1 in Palmerston North tonight. Photosport
The United States came back to win their first game of their series against the women's Black Sticks in a frustrating game for the New Zealand side at Palmerston North tonight.
After a loss and a draw at Stratford at the weekend, the Americans won 2-1 to level the six-game series after three games, and it was one the Black Sticks will be kicking themselves for losing.
The Black Sticks had a lot more chances to score, but couldn't finish and the United States took advantage of their rare opportunities.
The United States shocked the hosts by scoring after just 18 seconds with a deflected shot by Paige Selenski finding its way into the goal, leading to a few harsh words from the Black Sticks coaching staff at quarter time.
Kathleen Sharkey gave them a two-goal advantage in the second quarter, slamming one home low past Amelia Gibson.
Black Sticks striker Sophie Cocks made lots of runs through the United States defence, but didn't have any support, while Olivia Merry was busy up front but also couldn't find someone free.
Cocks twice crossed the ball across the front of an open goal, but no-one was coming through.
Coach Mark Hager found it hard to watch as shots were put just past the post and two penalty corners were defended by the United States.
It was not until Anita Punt scored with less than four minutes to go that the Black Sticks' showed any urgency and managed to string together enough passes to get into the circle.
Punt's goal came from a penalty corner where she didn't get her first shot off, but recovered and reverse-sticked it in from the edge of the circle.
The United States captain Lauren Crandall was everywhere on defence, popping up in the way of every Black Sticks' raid in to the circle and disrupting their passing.
Brooke Neal was the best of the Black Sticks defenders.
The two sides meet in the fourth test of the series in Palmerston North tomorrow, before the final two games in Wairarapa at the weekend.
AT A GLANCE
USA 2 (Paige Selinski, Kathleen Sharkey) New Zealand 1 (Anita Punt) HT: 2-0.
Stuff
Hockey Champions Trophy online ticket sales begins
Hockey India president Narinder Batra. File photo
Hockey India (HI) on Monday announced the commencement of online ticket sales for the much-awaited Hero Hockey Champions Trophy to be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from December 6-14.
Speaking about the development, HI president Narinder Batra said, “Within a year this is the third international hockey tournament which India is hosting and is a matter of great pride for us.
“With the game again reviving its popularity in the country in recent years, the young and enthusiastic spectators want to witness more of such international matches being played in our home country. Also with an increasing number of state and national level hockey players hailing from Odisha and a huge fan base in the state, we are sure of a packed stadium for every match throughout the tournament.”
The Kalinga Stadium has a seating capacity accommodating 7,000 spectators. The tickets can be booked online, with the official ticketing partner of the event TicketGenie (www.ticketgenie.in).
The price of session tickets starts at Rs. 20, 50, 100 and 200 with each session tickets entitling the spectator to watch two matches.
The tickets will also be available for sale at the box office in the stadium and through various outlets in the city shortly.
To encourage hockey fans to watch all India games, the timings of Indian matches are scheduled at 19:30 hrs in the pool stage.
The nine-day event will see eight top-ranked international teams fighting it out for the title, playing a total of 24 matches. The tournament schedule is set with two pools of eight teams followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, classification and medal matches. Pool A will feature Australia, England, Belgium and Pakistan while India is placed in Pool B alongside the Netherlands, Germany and Argentina.
The opening day of the event will feature all eight teams including India who will open its campaign against Germany, followed by Argentina (December 7) and the Netherlands (December 9).
The Hindu
Sarah’s flying
By Graham Wilson
Surbiton and Holcombe are at full revs for the standout clash in the women’s Investec League on Saturday.
Sarah Haycroft scored both goals as champions Surbiton earned a 2-1 win over big rivals Canterbury while, in the battle of the two promoted teams, Holcombe trounced Buckingham 6-0 with international Lucy Wood hitting a hat-trick.
A win for Surbiton at the Kent club will take them seven points clear at the top.
Matt Daly made it a double for Surbiton’s men as he scored four goals to edge out Canterbury 5-4 in the NOW: Pensions League.
Daily Express
Schaerweijde and Amsterdam strike late
The Dutch Hoofdklasse enjoyed plenty of late comebacks as Amsterdam stunned HGC while Kampong’s late struggle against Schaerweijde saw OZ move into a share of top spot after seven league games.
Kampong dropped two points on home soil against Schaerweijde who came from 2-0 down with just five minutes left to earn a big point.
Loick Luypaert and Philip Meulenbroek’s goal in the 63rd minute should have been enough to see them home but Casper Horn and Philip Engelkens’s dramatic backhand in the final minute made it 2-2.
Oranje Zwart moved into a share of top spot with Kampong thanks to their 5-1 win over Tilburg. Bob de Voogd scored twice while Thomas Briels and Jelle Galema helped make it 4-0 before Russell Ford got one back only for Rob Reckers to close out the win.
Justin Reid-Ross’s stunning 14 minute hat trick saw Amsterdam steal a 3-1 win over HGC to record just their second win of the season in dramatic fashion.
His side trailed 2-0 with 56 minutes on the clock before Reid-Ross got his first and he equalised in the 63rd minute and netted the winner in the final minute.
Bloemendaal produced an excellent final ten minutes to finally see off Hurley 5-1. Rogier Rombouts and Diede van Puffelen exchanged goals to see the game level at 1-1 with eight minutes to go but Tom Boon’s pair of goals along with one each from Simon Gougnard and Roel Bovendeert gave the scoreline a deceptive look.
Rotterdam beat Pinoké 5-1 while Den Bosch saw off Push 2-0.
Euro Hockey League media release
Five sides covered by three points in Germany
EHL champions Harvestehuder THC moved into range of the top of the German league with two wins over the weekend, beating Nuremburg 4-3 on Saturday before running up a 4-0 win over Mannheimer on Sunday.
Benjamin Stanzl’s 63rd minute goal won the first tie, eventually getting over the line having led three times earlier in the game only to be pegged back each time.
On Sunday, it was a much more controlled affair as Michael Korper put Harvestehuder 2-0 up inside 20 minutes. Paul Pongs and Richard Dawson-Smith had the result wrapped up by the 44th minute.
Speaking afterwards, HTHC coach Christoph Bechmann said afterwards: "We controlled the game from the first minute and dominated over the full 70 minutes. Of course, we are absolutely satisfied.”
It brings Harvestehuder up to 19 points from nine games and within three points of leaders Rot-Weiss Köln and UHC Hamburg.
UHC fell 1-0 to Uhlenhorst Mülheim while Rot-Weiss returned from the EHL in strong fashion, beating Nürnberger HTC.
It makes for an exciting campaign with the season approaching the halfway stage with the top five clubs covered by just three points.
Next weekend, Harvestehuder host Rot-Weiss on Sunday in one of the highlights of the season so far.
Euro Hockey League media release
Ducks hit Leuven for six
The Waterloo Ducks put in their most convincing performance of the Belgian Audi Hockey League as they beat previous table-toppers Leuven 6-1 to move into the top half of the table.
Maxime Bertrand and Charles Masson put Shane McLeod’s side 2-0 up before Alexander De Saedeleer converted a penalty corner a three goal half-time lead.
Bertrand added another pair in quick succession before Renaud Pangrazio got one back in the 49th minute for Leuven but Gauthier Boccard closed out the rout.
Daring, in their first game since coach Michel Kinnen parted company with the team, lost for the first time this season at the hands of Dragons 6-3 having been level 3-3 at one stage.
Orée beat Herakles 2-1, Léopold undid Beerschot by the same scoreline, Braxgata saw off Wellington 4-2 while Antwerp picked up a fine 2-0 win over Racing.
Euro Hockey League media release
Tough Police, Spartans are Sana Cup champions
By CAXTON APOLLO
Nakuru Simba Titus Kimutai (right) dribbles past Kenya Police Willis Okeyo on September 21, 2014 during their National Hockey league match at City Park Stadium. Kenya Police won 5-0. Kenya Police and USIU Spartans hockey teams are the 2014 Sana Cup champions. FILE PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Kenya Police and USIU Spartans hockey teams are the 2014 Sana Cup champions.
Police and Spartans won the men and women’s titles respectively after winning the final matches at the Goan Institute in Mombasa on Monday.
Spartans beat Telkom Young Rovers 2-1 on penalties after both teams failed to score during normal time while Kenya Police beat USIU Odoshe 3-0 in a one sided men’s final to reclaim the title.
Two first half strikes from Nelson Ochieng and Kenyan international Brian Saina gave the league champions a well-deserved half-time lead before a third from Oliver Ochejwe in the second half saw the law enforcers romp to victory.
The score could have been worse but USIU goalkeeper Linus Sang pulled a number of saves to prevent his team from further going behind in the final.
STELLAR PERFORMANCE
The win capped of a memorable performance for Police who went through the three-day event unbeaten in the event that attracted a record 23 teams.
It is Police’s third Sana Cup win since the inception of the event five years ago.
Police thrashed Greensharks 6-0 in the semi-final enroute to the final while USIU shocked last year’s winners Nairobi Simba 1-0 in the other last four encounter.
Moses Karanja scored the winner for the university side to dump out the champions who had been expected to advance to the final with many looking forward to a Police and Simba final.
Police coach Kenneth Kaunda lauded his charges for their impressive displays saying the team will build on the win as they resume their league defence next weekend.
“The lads played well, enjoyed themselves and won the title. We hope the win will inspire us in the league and the continental club championship next month,” Kaunda said.
USIU and Telkom both cancelled out each other in their encounter as neither team threatened, taking the game to penalties.
Internationals Pauline Naise and Lorraine Nondi converted for USIU while Telkom scored their goals through Mary Njoki.
USIU Spartans had beaten Telkom’s first team, Orange 2-0 on penalties in the semi-finals after a 0-0 draw.
Daily Nation
New kids on the block: Harendra Singh
Rutvick Mehta
Most of these junior players had never travelled abroad, let alone experience what it feels like to win an international tournament
Stressing on importance of five Cs — cool, calm, composed, confident, communication — coach Harendra Singh has managed to spring forth a new promise for Indian hockey with junior team retaining Sultan of Johor Cup
These are good times for Indian hockey. Barely days after the senior men's team clinched a historic gold in the 2014 Asian Games, the junior boys followed it up by retaining the Sultan of Johor Cup on Sunday.
Not only the results, even their tales of triumph are quite similar. Both teams had a disappointing World Cup (while the junior team finished 10th in the 2013 edition, the senior team ended ninth in June this year), and both managed to turn things around in the months that followed.
But while the senior team continued to work under head coach Terry Walsh and the same set of core players, the junior team had new, young faces. The stars of the previous junior team, the likes of Manpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh, had moved on to the senior level. They also had new coach in Harendra Singh, who replaced the South African Gregg Clark in April this year.
With a fresh set of boys under his helm, Singh's first objective was to make them play as a team, and just getting them to execute his plans. He wanted the players to focus on 'five Cs' before they set out to retain their Sultan of Johor title: being cool, calm, composed, confident, with an effective communication. That the senior men got home the gold from Incheon inspired them to provide double joy to the country.
Everything went to plan.
"I'm very satisfied," Singh told dna from Malaysia on Monday. "The senior team had given a perfect Gandhi Jayanti gift to the nation, and the junior boys have given the perfect Diwali gift."
The fact that most of these boys had never travelled abroad, let alone experience what it feels like to win an international tournament, didn't bother Singh.
"This team showed the fighting spirit right from the beginning of the tournament. We knew what we had to do and how to go about it, and we executed our plans perfectly. The boys stuck to the plan, and that for me was the most satisfying thing. For the first time I saw India beating four to five big hockey teams quite comfortably," he said.
The boys brushed aside New Zealand, Pakistan, Malaysia and Australia en route to the final. That they defeated Great Britain in the final, a team they had lost to in the league stage, spoke volumes about their character and temperament.
"I told the boys that we have come here to play extremely high-quality hockey, and improve it day by day. I never allowed them to look too far. I never allowed them to think about the final.
"One good thing about the team was that they were not bothered about the opponents, they were just doing their own thing. The one aspect they learnt very quickly, and which pleased me the most, was that the result is not in their hands. Playing hockey which delights the Indian fan is," said Singh.
Much like the senior men in recent years, the junior team too is prone to faltering at the big stage. Last December, India had finished a shocking 10th in the Junior World Cup (JWC) after being tipped as one of the favourites to be on the podium. So how did Singh turn things around with these new set of boys?
"That is where the learning aspect comes in," he said. "You have to figure out where you went wrong, and learn from it. I had watched every match in the JWC, and I think that team was much, much better than this team. But there were some elements missing in it as a team. So even I learnt from that, and didn't want to repeat those mistakes. I wanted to move forward."
A new challenge
Even for Singh, who started his coaching career in 1998, taking over the junior team was a new challenge, having previously been coach of the senior national team.
"I knew I was good enough to coach the junior boys. I had always said that no one should take out the flair of Indian hockey.
"To coach a junior team, you have to go in their mind, you have to become like a junior player. Sometimes when they're not doing good, you need to look in their eye and tell them you're not good. You have to understand the team's capacity while teaching them, and the team that sticks to the plan will always give you the results," he said.
Thus, with only 45 seconds remaining in the final and needing penalty corner to convert for a victory, the young Hamanpreet Singh — who finished as the top-scorer of the tournament with nine goals — did what his coach expected of him: stick to his plan, and focus on the 'five Cs'.
"The way he handled the crunch situation, getting that penalty corner in, was exactly what we had been focussing on. That is where those five Cs came in, and it worked wonderfully," Singh said.
It indeed did. A 6-2 victory over Australia is an unimaginable result for the senior team at the moment. Why is it, then, that despite our junior team beating the modern hockey powerhouses, the senior team can at best try and compete with them? Is the leap from going to the junior to senior team too big?
"It's not about senior or junior. We have to gradually improve," Singh said. "I cannot expect these boys to do well consistently in the future or do well in the senior team just because they have won one tournament. It's a process. Hockey India started planning one year back after the JWC and I think they're in the right direction.
"The winning combination has finally come in both our junior and senior teams, and in the coming years we will see a lot of changes in Indian hockey," Singh added.
Who knows, the good times might just get better.
India's Sultan of Johor campaign
Beat New Zealand 2-1
Lost to Great Britain 0-2
Beat Pakistan 6-0
Beat Mayalsia 4-2
Beat Australia 6-2
Final: Beat Great Britain in 2-1
DNA
Poor outing could be blessing in disguise
By Jugjet Singh
THE Sultan of Johor Cup (SOJC) was not a good outing for Malaysia as far as results are concerned, but it did point out the chinks which need to be ironed out before the Junior Asia Cup in 12 months’ time.
Finishing fifth out of six teams in the SOJC was a bad result considering Malaysia were the silver medallists last season, as the flaws in the team were numerous, but now coach Arul Selvaraj now knows what to do.
“This team have shown progress in the last match of the tournament, and given time, my promise is that they will do much better in the next SOJC which I prefer the organisers hold six to four weeks before the Junior Asia Cup, as we need a final push before going for the gold medal,” said Arul.
But even if it’s not gold, Malaysia only need to reach the semi-finals in the Junior Asia Cup to play in the Junior World Cup in India in 2016, as India have already qualified by virtue of being hosts. Three teams from the Junior Asia Cup qualify for the World Cup.
However, the Malaysian team need to be weaned off being pampered as the other five teams in SOJC had hardly any playing time before heading for the airport and landing in Johor Baru.
“I agree that the system in Malaysia is not perfect as schools, clubs and national training is not synced under one programme.
“Most of my players are products of sports schools (Bukit Jalil and SSTMI) and when I received them I still had a lot of work to do to make them better players. They did not come to me, trained in basics and sound in tactics, and that’s why I said I need time to make them better players.
“It is not like Spain, Australia, Britain, Germany and Netherlands where all the players undergo the same syllabus and sometimes they just meet up at the airport before a major tournament and still perform well, as the system is in place and they know what to do even though some of them are playing together for the first time,” said Arul.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) has agreed to allow Arul to helm the senior team for the World League Round Two in Simgapore on Jan 17-25, after which he will go back to the juniors as MHC is looking for a foreign coach.
MHC senior vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad said:
“We are still in the hunt for a foreign coach, and if we can secure one in the next six months, Arul will solely coach the juniors.”
Arul had the same idea, as he feels his forte is with the juniors, but he might have to give up his club coaching job with UniKL.
“The development in successful hockey playing nations in the world is being done in clubs, which is a minority in Malaysia. If we can get at least 10 strong clubs to impart the basics, we will have a bigger pool of quality players,” said Arul.
New Straits Times
MHC to Arul: Just stick to the juniors
by Aftar Singh
Arulselvaraj (left) explaining something to Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) senior vice-presidents Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad (right) and Dr S. Shamala in a meeting before the Incheon Asian Games in September. – Bernama
JOHOR BARU: It’s a fact that coach S. Arulselvaraj has taken on more than he can chew.
He is the National Juniors coach. He is also the interim national senior coach.
And now he is also coaching Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) for the Malaysian Hockey League (MHL), which begins on Oct 29.
So, it comes as no surprise that he has been given an ultimatum: continue training the National Juniors or be solely in charge of the national senior team.
Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) senior vice-president Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad has also advised Arulselvaraj to give up his coaching position in UniKL to concentrate on the National Juniors.
“But Arulselvaraj will still be in charge of the national senior team for the World League second round tournament in Singapore (from Jan 17-25 next year) until we find a foreign coach,” said Nur Azmi.
“If we can’t get a foreign coach by the middle of next year, then we will hire a local.
“It’s difficult for any coach to handle both the junior and senior teams. We prefer Arulselvaraj to coach the National Juniors.”
Arulselvaraj also prefers to be in charge of the juniors because “the future of the Malaysian hockey is important”.
“I want to serve the country and I’d prefer to focus on the juniors.
“I’ve agreed to handle the senior team for the next three months in preparation for the World League round two,” said Arulselvaraj, who led the National Juniors to a disappointing fifth placing in the Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament, which ended at the Taman Daya Stadium on Sunday.
The Star of Malaysia
Pakistan juniors end campaign in last position
KARACHI: Pakistan’s junior hockey team gave substance to Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) chief selector Islahuddin Siddique’s words about their expected performance, finishing last in the six-nation Sultan of Johor Cup Tournament in Johor Baru in Malaysia. At the time of the young team’s departure, the legendary forward had analysed that it would take around four years for the newly-selected squad to deliver noticeable results. The prediction bore fruit as the greenshirts failed to win any of their matches and drew two at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) sanctioned event. After a string of poor performances, Pakistan rounded off their poor campaign with a 3-1 loss on Sunday against hosts Malaysia in the fifth-place playoff.
Earlier, the colts had opened their account with a 5-0 defeat at the hands of debutants Britain, followed by a 1-1 draw with Australia, a 6-0 thrashing by archrivals India, a discouraging 3-2 loss against New Zealand and a 2-2 tie in their final league match with Malaysia. In the end, Pakistan wrapped up their campaign with just two points and a total of six goals. The result was poorer than anticipated, considering the team had the service of Pakistan’s top-two junior players, forward Nohaiz Zahid Malik was leading the squad along with deputy Muhammad Atiq. Additionally, the squad included Mubashir Ali, Muhammad Azfar Yaqoob and Muhammad Bilal Mehmood who took part in the Youth Olympics at Nanjing, China.
No concrete plans for 2016: Hassan: According to head coach Manzoorul Hassan, the national team comprised inexperienced Under-19 players, while all the other countries were playing with skilled Under-21 players. He added that the team management had not set any targets for the 2016 World Cup as of now since the squad lacked relevant exposure. “The Sultan of Johor Cup was the first tournament before the mega event in India and they began training only nine days prior to their departure to Malaysia,” said Hassan. “If they had played a few friendlies against the Pakistan senior team, or had played any league or national matches as a team, the results would have been much better.”
The Daily Times
When Hockey is More than a Game
October is breast cancer awareness month and one Team USA mother is using sport to spread the word
More than 1.7 million people worldwide are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and although advances in medicines and treatment are being made all the time, these don’t prevent the half a million deaths from breast cancer that occur each year.
In the USA, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. More than one in four cancers in women are breast cancer and there are increasing numbers of men also being diagnosed with the disease.
One person spearheading the fight against breast cancer is Tina Reinprecht. Perhaps better known as a former player and coach, as well as the matriarch of a hockey playing family – daughters Katie and Julia are current members of the USA hockey team – Tina is the founder and driving force behind Play4thecure, a fund raising movement that is spreading across the States.
Tina takes up the story: “As a coach, when I walk off the field or court, out of the corner of my eye, I always notice the moms and dads and sometimes the grand moms and granddads who pick up their children...”
“And it is my memory of one of those moments that has lingered. One of my players’ moms was wearing a hat, even though it wasn’t cold that day. Two months later, another mom turned up wearing a hat. They were both wearing headwear to cover their thinning hair, a result of chemotherapy treatment. Seeing those women, my mind was made up to create something that could show my support and appreciation for those mothers in the club fighting breast cancer.”
And so Play4thecure was born. At first it took the form of an annual tournament between local hockey clubs who joined the movement, then it expanded by linking with the official Breast Cancer Awareness month: now, within the hockey community, October is now Play4thecure month.
Play4thecure raises money by teaming with schools, colleges, universities, clubs and recreation programmes to raise funds in their community. The most popular fundraisers are t-shirt sales, bake sales, online donations and pitch side collections. During Play4thecure games both teams will often wear pink to raise awareness.
In the years since its formation, Play4thecure has contributed $1.2 million to breast cancer awareness and cancer research. This year Play4thecure has been named an official charity of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association.
Tina’s vision and ambition for Play4thecure is to expand into sports clubs and teams “from Maine to California” and across the whole spectrum of sports. “Already we have interest from teams in soccer, softball, lacrosse,” says the determined hockey coach.
And she has the whole-hearted support from her biggest fans. “When my mom hosted the first Play4thecure game in 2004, I had no idea this campaign would become an event of this magnitude,” said Katie. “Throughout my career I've had many teammates whose parents have been affected by this disease and I was always amazed by the strength of their families. My mom wanted to support these families in any way she could, using sport to help battle this disease.”
“I'm so proud to say that my mother was behind this incredible campaign and even more pleased with the number of high school, college, and clubs teams that have decided to host their own Play4thecure game.” adds Katie, who along with sisters Julia and Sarah has regularly participated in Play4thecure events.
FIH site
Fortescue strengthens link
Gold partner Fortescue signs on for two more years with the Kookaburras
In a major boost for Australia’s most consistently successful national sports team, hockey’s World Champion Kookaburras will continue to be supported by Fortescue Metals Group after the Western Australia-based company extended its relationship with the men’s national team for another two years.
The agreement, which will run until 2016, will see Fortescue, the world’s fourth largest producer of iron ore, continue to be the team’s major sponsor. It extends the company’s relationship to run alongside its partnership with Hockey Australia on the National Indigenous Program.
As part of the arrangement, Kookaburras athletes and coaching staff will work with Fortescue on its leadership, mentoring and personal development programs. They will support the programs with workshop facilitation, presentations to middle management and engagement with new graduates. The team will also run a series of Mini Miners hockey clinics for the children of Fortescue employees.
The news was announced to Fortescue staff at the company’s Perth headquarters on Tuesday.
Hockey Australia Chief Executive Cam Vale said, “The continuation of what has been an excellent relationship with Fortescue is a real boost to the team and to Australian hockey as a whole. For the Kookaburras, it means continued support in the build-up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
“In a challenging commercial environment it is hugely significant that a major Australian company continues to throw its support behind hockey. What distinguishes our partnership is that it is more than just a sponsorship. The work Fortescue also does with our National Indigenous Program in the Pilbara is making a positive difference to the lives of young people in the community there.”
Fortescue Chief Executive Officer Nev Power said Fortescue and the Kookaburras shared many values such as determination, enthusiasm, empowerment and integrity.
“Fortescue is extremely proud to be associated with the Kookaburras, a team that is dedicated to a high performance culture, both on and off the field, and with a reputation for being the world’s best. The Kookaburras are a team that embodies the very same values that drive Fortescue’s unique culture,” Mr Power said.
“We are equally proud to continue supporting the National Indigenous Hockey Program that is working to improve school attendance and the educational outcomes for children living in the remote indigenous community of Roebourne. Through this program school students are learning invaluable health and life skills through their contact with high-performance athletes.”
When Fortescue first came on board with the Kookaburras in May 2012 it signified the team’s first ever corporate sponsorship. Since then, the Kookaburras have won World Cup and Commonwealth Games gold medals, Olympic bronze and returned to the top of the world rankings.
Fortescue’s logo appears on the team’s match apparel and media and travel attire.
The Kookaburras are back in action on Australian turf next month as they take on Asian Games champions and Commonwealth Games silver medallists India in four Tests in Perth. The matches, on 4, 5, 8 and 9 November will provide both teams with top quality competition ahead of the Champions Trophy in Bhubaneswar, India, which starts on 6 December.
Hockey Australia media release