News for 21 October 2015
All the news for Wednesday 21 October 2015
Black Sticks men and women chalk up big wins
Murray Hills
Black Sticks men's hockey player Nick Haig scores in his team's 37-0 romp over Samoa on the first day of the Oceania Cup tournament in Stratford on Wednesday. ANDY JACKSON / FAIRFAX NZ
The Black Sticks women's and men's hockey teams both chalked up cricket scores on the opening day of the Oceania Cup tournament in Stratford on Wednesday.
The New Zealand women knocked up a record 31-0 win over Samoa and then men slammed home 37 goals to breeze past their Samoan counterparts. Earlier in the day, the Australia men shipped Fiji 17-0.
The women's score eclipsed their previous best, a 26-0 win over Samoa when the Oceania Cup tournament was last held in Stratford.
New Zealand had the record when Kirsten Pearce banged the ball into the goal with 10 minutes to play and added four more in the final period before the hooter mercifully sounded for the Samoans.
Pearce dominated the scoring for New Zealand with six goals, with captain Anita Punt and Charlotte Harrison both bagging five. Elizabeth Thompson scored four and Pippa Hayward three, while Olivia Merry, Petrea Webster and Sophie Cocks all scored twice.
New Zealand's other scorers were Brooke Neal and Elizabeth Gunson.
"It was good for Samoa to get out there and it was cool to play them, but we've got bigger things to come," said Punt afterwards referring to the two games against Australia at the weekend.
"Saturday will be a wake up call for us. We'll have to be on the ball straight away otherwise we'll find ourselves two or three goals down. We'll review the footage from today. We tried to play to our structures and worked on things we had been doing at training. Everything is aimed at Australia."
The Black Sticks men had a field day against Samoa. They led 9-0 after the first quarter, added seven in the second quarter to lead 16-0 at halftime. The third quarter produced 11 goals, with another 10 coming in the final 15 minutes.
Stephen Jenness and Nicholas Wilson both helped themselves to seven goals, with James Coughlan finding the back of the goal on five occasions. Others to get on the scoresheet more than twice were Hugo Inglis (four), captain Simon Child (three), Kane Russell (three), Leo Mitai-Wells (two) and Steven Edwards (two). Nicholas Haig, Ryan Archibald, Nicholas Woods and George Muir all scored one goal.
The Australian men's side had few problems against Fiji, dominating play from the opening whistle.
Glenn Turner bagged four goals in the win, with Blake Govers and Trent Mitton both scoring hat-tricks. Jamie Dwyer and Chris Ciriello scored two each, with the other goals being scored by Matthew Dawson, Joshua Beltz and Flynn Ogilvie.
The feature game on Thursday will be the men's clash between the Blacks Sticks and Australia - a dress rehearsal for the winner-takes-all match on Sunday. A win on the weekend for the Black Sticks will guarantee the side a trip to Rio for the 2016 Olympics.
AT A GLANCE
Thursday's draw
1.30pm, Australia women v Samoa
3.30pm, Fiji men v Samoa
5.30pm, Black Sticks men v Australia
Stuff
Kookaburras seal opener
Joshua Beltz tops debut match off with a 17-0 win over Fiji
Joshua Beltz scored on his debut
Debutant Joshua Beltz’ first international goal was the highlight of the Kookaburras’ 17-0 win over Fiji in their first pool match of Oceania Cup in Stratford, New Zealand on Wednesday.
Kookaburras coach Paul Gaudoin said, “It was great to start off with a strong win, however, we didn’t play as well as we would have liked. It was pleasing to see Josh play his first match and scoring his first goal with the boys today. We will now look ahead to tomorrow’s match against a strong New Zealand team.”
New South Wales’ Blake Govers opened the floodgates for the Kookaburras, scoring from a penalty stroke four minutes after the starting whistle. Additional strikes from Matthew Dawson, Blake Govers, Trent Mitton and Flynn Ogilvie, coupled with doubles from Chris Ciriello and Glenn Turner, pushed the Kookaburras in front with a comfortable 9-0 lead coming into halftime.
In the second half, 11 minutes apart, Goulburn’s Glenn Turner and Rockhampton's Jamie Dwyer slotted four field goals past their opposition’s goalkeeper Beniamino Lutua. Two strikes followed from Trent Mitton and another from Blake Govers, sealing him a hat-trick for the match.
It was at the 57th minute mark that Joshua Beltz topped his debut match off with his first international goal off the back of a penalty stroke, sealing the Kookaburras a 17-0 win on the final siren.
It was a key milestone match for 20 year-old Tasmanian Joshua Beltz, who made his debut in the Kookaburras’ kit alongside fellow Tasmanian idols Eddie Ockenden and Tim Deavin. Joshua was presented his official Kookaburras jersey prior to the match by assistant coach/former Kookaburra David Guest.
“It was a really exciting moment. Obviously I grew up watching these guys play, so it was good to finally get out there after training with them for ten months and have a good game. It took a little while to get my first touch, however, once it happened I just tried to enjoy it from then on,” Beltz said.
The Kookaburras will now go head-to-head with Trans-Tasman rivals the New Zealand Black Sticks tomorrow at 15:30pm AEDT.
To watch the Kookaburras' pool matches live online, click here.
KOOKABURRAS: 17 (9)
Blake Govers 4, 15, 56 (PS) (PC) (FG)
Matthew Dawson 8 (PC)
Chris Ciriello 10, 27 (FG) (PC)
Trent Mitton 11, 37, 53 (PC) (PC) (PC)
Glenn Turner 18, 21, 33, 35 (PC) (FG) (FG) (FG)
Flynn Ogilvie 30 (PC)
Jamie Dwyer 33, 44 (FG) (FG)
Joshua Beltz 57 (PS)
FIJI: 0 (0)
Kookaburras Squad
Athlete (Hometown, State) caps/goals
Started
Joshua Beltz (Hobart, TAS) 1/1
Matthew Dawson (Central Coast, NSW) 21/2
Jamie Dwyer (Rockhampton, QLD) 342/224
Matt Gohdes (Rockhampton, QLD) 132/39
Blake Govers (Wollongong, NSW) 14/14
Fergus Kavanagh (Geraldton, WA) 207/14
Mark Knowles (Rockhampton, QLD) 266/22
Tyler Lovell (Perth, WA) 51/0
Eddie Ockenden (Hobart, TAS) 253/62
Flynn Ogilvie (Wollongong, NSW) 8/2
Glenn Turner (Goulburn, NSW) 115/83
Used Substitute
Joel Carroll (Darwin, NT) 99/2
Tristan Clemons (Bunbury, WA) 22/0
Chris Ciriello (Melbourne, VIC) 171/112
Tom Craig (Lane Cove, NSW) 10/1
Tim Deavin (Launceston, TAS) 114/5
Trent Mitton (Perth, WA) 69/23
Aran Zalewski (Margaret River, WA) 67/6
Kookaburras’ Oceania Cup Fixtures
22 October: Kookaburras v New Zealand (15:30 AEDT)
24 October: Kookaburras v Samoa (08:00 AEDT)
25 October: Medal Matches – Gold Medal (14:00 AEDT) / Bronze Medal (09:30 AEDT)
Hockey Australia media release
Stakes high as Oceania Cup begins
By David Leggat
Simon Child of the Black Sticks. Photo / Greg Bowker
The New Zealand men's hockey side set off today on the most important tournament since the London Olympics as the Oceania Cup starts in Stratford, Taranaki.
At stake is the small matter of New Zealand's qualification for next year's Rio Olympics. In front of them are world No1 Australia, who have already qualified and not likely to go soft on their neighbours.
New Zealand, ranked seventh, start against Samoa today, face the Aussies in the round robin game tomorrow, play Fiji on Saturday before, barring a monumental upset, meeting the Australians a second time for the title.
The women's Black Sticks, who have already qualified for Rio, meet Samoa today and Australia in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, when the Cup will be contested.
New Zealand should have locked in their place at Rio months ago. They blew games against lower-ranked Canada - losing a marathon shootout - and then Spain in the world league semifinals in Buenos Aires in June, which put them on the precipice.
They have beaten Australia this year, in Malaysia in April, and coach Colin Batch insists his side aren't daunted by the challenge or ramifications of losing to Australia this week. "We've discussed it as a group. If we prepare and play as well as we can, that's all we can take care of, and hopefully we get the reward from that," Batch said last night.
Batch conceded the first game against Australia might involve boxing clever, not revealing a full hand. There are some Australian players he doesn't know much about, and believes they have included some players with an eye on the future, alongside a hard core of experienced performers.
Should New Zealand miss Rio, there will be a significant cut in funding from High Performance Sport, which has put $2.55 million into the men's game since 2013.
If they lose to Australia, it will be the first time the men's Black Sticks have missed an Olympics since 2000 in Sydney.
They are without Andy Hayward, Shea McAleese and Phil Burrows, which is a hefty chunk of talent and experience.
The New Zealand Herald
Fiji and Samoa hockey teams face uphill battle
Samoa women's hockey captain Peta Mualia Teo. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Olympic spots are up for grabs at the Oceania Cup hockey tournament in Taranaki this week, with the Fiji men's team just happy to be in contention at all.
The Fijians are ranked 64th and take on world number one Australia in this afternoon's opening match, with New Zealand and Samoa also competing for a spot in Rio.
Samoa, Australia and New Zealand are contesting the women's event, with Fiji not sending a women's team for financial reasons.
Fiji men's coach Shaun Corrie used to coach the women's team and says funding is a constant challenge.
"They have had some financial difficulties and we had initially pulled out of the tournament [too] but with the help of New Zealand Hockey and Oceania Hockey we managed to come so thanks to those two for helping us out. Hockey is a small sport in Fiji so getting finances is hard. It's hard for a lot of sports and especially the smaller sports. With whatever small money we can fundraise or that can get donated we make do but it's really tough".
Shaun Corrie says they're looking forward to getting underway against Australia.
"They are the world champs. We played them last time in 2005 [when] we really had just started playing hockey on turf then. We got a 26-0 scoreline - we want to improve on that, we've learnt a lot since then and we intend to improve the scoreline too".
The Samoa men's and women's teams both take on hosts New Zealand first up.
Samoa women's captain and fill-in coach, Peta Mualia Teo, says her team's been preparing for the past six months.
She says Samoa's efforts to install turf pitches back home have stagnated so the next five days is a welcome opportunity.
"So far there's no progress. We're still pushing, we're still trying but we still haven't heard from the government. We've been practising on old tennis courts and also on grass so I'm hoping these girls will pick up. I brought them here so they could experience playing with the big teams so hopefully they will take something out of it and go back and it well help develop their playing as well".
Radio NZ
Ghana women ready for African Hockey Championships
Ghana women are finalising preparations for the Greenfields African Hockey Championships 2015 as they look to become the first Ghanaian hockey team to qualify for the Olympic Games.
The women's senior national hockey team has been training at the Theodosia Okoh National Hockey Stadium in Ghana's capital Accra ahead of the event taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa from 23 October until 1 November.
With the winners of the African Championships qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, there's all to play for in Johannesburg.
The competition will see Ghana women competing against six other African countries including host nation South Africa, as well as Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Hockey in Ghana has been developing incredibly fast in recent years, with recent progress attributed to support from the FIH Targeted Assistance Programme (TAP).
FIH, working with the African Hockey Federation, England Hockey and UK Sport, are now one year into a four year programme with the Ghana Hockey Association.
Some of the key activity already undertaken as part of this initiative has seen a coaching and umpiring team recently travel to Ghana to run training and education programmes.
More recently, in August, Ghana women's national team spent two weeks in England based at both England Hockey’s home, Bisham Abbey, and FIH Innovation Partner Loughborough University.
There they played some test matches, received some expert coaching and observed top quality hockey at the Unibet EuroHockey Championships 2015.
Ghana women's Team Manager, Rosemary Lamptey, recently told the Ghanaian publication GNA Sports that she is confident the team will beat off competition from their opponents to qualify for the Olympic Games.
She said: “They will qualify for the Rio Olympics - I believe with determination and focus they will make it. They are motivated after the training tour to England. The girls are in good shape after that tour and have psyched themselves up for the South Africa tournament. They are focused and they want to bring something home and definitely we will pull surprises in South Africa."
The Vice President of the Ghana Hockey Association, James Amoo, is also confident ahead of the Championships. Speaking to Ghanaian publication Starr Sports, he said: “We’ve been preparing for the best part of the year (for the African Hockey Championships). We have a relatively young squad but none the less experienced, so we should be able to battle with the best in Africa, both in the male and female categories to qualify."
Visit the Ghana Hockey Assocation Facebook page by clicking here.
FIH site
Title without the prize for SA hockey
Ockert de Villiers 
SA goalkeeper Sanani Mangisa (Photo supplied by Hockey SA)
Johannesburg - South Africa’s men’s and women’s hockey teams are in a precarious position where they could be crowned winners of the Greenfields Africa Hockey Championships that kicks off in Randburg on Friday but as it stands would have no stake in the prize.
The winners of the tournament is supposed to earn Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualifying spots but the criteria as set out by the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) does not allow for continental qualification for the hockey teams.
South African women’s goal keeper Sanani Mangisa said they still hoped winning the title would sway Sascoc to reconsider the qualifying criteria but they first needed to win the title to aid them in their cause.
“We are the highest ranked African team but at the same time certain African teams are coming up and are getting a lot better over the last two to three years,” Mangisa said.
“We are really up against it, and we are just looking to win it, so all the other stuff that comes afterwards we can’t control, but we can only influence it by winning the tournament.
“If we don’t win the tournament, we don’t even get the discussion with Sascoc.”
Nine men’s teams and seven women’s teams from the African continent will battle it out for the Olympic qualifying spot.
The South African men’s strongest challenge should come from Egypt, who were the silver medallists from two years ago while the women’s fiercest challenge should come from the 2013 finalists Ghana.
Mangisa said the team will not only be playing to give their Olympic hopes a shot in the arm but crucial world-ranking points will also be up for collection.
“As the number-one ranked team on the continent we have to win this, there are ranking points at stake which keep us in the top-12 in the world,” she said.
“If we do not pick up those ranking points we start slipping further down and it becomes a huge problem for us if we want to play other international teams.”
Should the South African teams win the tournament but fail to convince Sascoc to include them in the squad it will be the first since the 1992 Games that hockey will not be represented in either the men’s or women’s tournaments.
“Yes, Olympic qualification is part of it but we have to make sure we stamp our authority in Africa as the number-one ranked team,” Mangisa said.
“On November if we win this tournament it is in Sascoc’s hands but if we lose we don’t get the invitation letter.
“We want to be professional about it as a team we want to be in the top 12 in the world.”
Sport24
USWNT Heads to Great Britain for Test Series
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Women's National Team headed to England yesterday for a 10 day tour that will encompass four test series matches against Great Britain's Women's National Team. With Team USA's focus on the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August, test matches against outside competition are what will help fully prepare the team to match-up against world rank opponents.
“The games will provide us with a great opportunity to play against an in-form Great Britain team,” said Craig Parnham, U.S. Women’s National Team Head Coach. "They have had a good year winning the World League 3 in Spain followed by England winning the European Cup in London. We have some new players who have come into the squad and we are looking forward to seeing how they and we are progressing. These will be our first competitive games since winning the Pan American games in July.”
The test series will take place at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Marlow, UK. Parnham will travel with 20 athletes and a roster of 18 will change each match. The U.S. Women's National Team's first test game will be on Friday, October 23 at 10:30 a.m. EST. The remaining games will be played on Sunday, October 25, Tuesday, October 27 and Wednesday, October 28 all at 10:30 a.m. EST. This series will not be broadcasted.
USWNT Roster Traveling to Great Britain:
Maria Elena Bolles (Phoenixville, Pa.), Jackie Briggs (Robesonia, Pa.), Lauren Crandall (Doylestown, Pa.), Rachel Dawson (Berlin, N.J.), Katelyn Falgowski (Landenberg, Pa.), Stefanie Fee (Virginia Beach, Va.), Ali Froede (Burke, Va.), Melissa Gonzalez (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.), Kellie Joyce (Weymouth, Mass.), Michelle Kasold (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Kelsey Kolojejchick (Larksville, Pa.), Ali McEvoy (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Katie O'Donnell (Blue Bell, Pa.), Julia Reinprecht (Perkasie, Pa.), Katie Reinprecht (Perkasie, Pa.), Loren Shealy (Charlotte, N.C.), Caitlin Van Sickle (Wilmington, Del.), Michelle Vittese (Cherry Hill, N.J.), Alesha Widdall (Whitney Point, N.Y.), Jill Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.)
USFHA media release
Sultan of Johor Cup may be expanded to eight teams
S. Ramaguru
JOHOR BARU: The Sultan of Johor Cup may have eight teams next year – two more than usual.
Organising secretary Manjit Majid Abdullah said there had been suggestions to invite Germany and Holland.
The only problem, he added, is that these two teams would not want to play if the tournament is held in October.
“The current six teams are likely to be maintained as they’ve always produced high-class performances,” said Manjit.
Next year’s tournament is likely to be a preparation ground for teams who have qualified for the Junior World Cup, which is scheduled for December in India.
Malaysia, Pakistan and India, who played in this year’s edition, are expected to make the cut for the Junior World Cup. Britain, Australia and Argentina, who also played in Johor Baru, have already qualified for the Finals.
“The field next year will involve teams who have qualified for the Junior World Cup.
“This will give our national team the chance to prepare by playing against the best teams,” said Manjit.
He also revealed that the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium would undergo major renovations in time for next year’s tournament.
“We plan to build a new grandstand and increase the seating capacity to 6,000.
The tournament has grown and we need to keep the facilities up to international standard, like having additional changing rooms,” he said.
The Star of Malaysia
Unfortunate to lose, but learnt a lot: Harendra Singh
NEW DELHI: Indian junior hockey team coach Harendra Singh on Tuesday said their penalty shoot-out loss in the final of the fifth Sultan of Johor Cup to Great Britain was unfortunate but the tournament taught them a lot too.
India returned home late on Monday night after finishing as the runner's-up to Great Britain, losing the summit clash 3-4 in sudden death on Sunday after the regulation period score read 2-2. India captain Harjeet Singh was adjudged Player of the Tournament as India failed to defend the title for the third consecutive year.
"The final was a close affair and I feel bad for the boys who lost after coming so close. It's unfortunate that even after our goalkeeper gave us life three times in the penalty shootout, the boys probably somewhere gave in to the pressure and the title slipped away from our reach," Harendra said.
"However, our biggest learning from the tournament has been about our need to address our attack and midfield on certain areas and I am confident we will return victorious in our forthcoming tournaments."
Harjeet said the loss "really hurts" knowing that they could have returned home with the winner's trophy.
"We really tried hard and we played a good game but penalty shoot-outs are really unpredictable. But this loss really hurts. We return with a fair idea of the areas where we need to work on so that we can return victorious in our next tournaments," said Harjeet.
"It feels good to be awarded the Player of the Tournament but winning was most important. While this award adds to my confidence, a loss in the final still leaves a lot to desire within the team."
Sumit Kumar and Harmanpreet Singh with three goals each were the top-scorers for India in the tournament.
The Times of India
Sultan of Johor Cup: Criticism increases as selection policy comes under question
By Nabil Tahir
KARACHI: The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) took some players to the Sultan of Johor Cup who will not be able to participate in the World Cup next year as they will be over the age limit by then.
According to International Hockey Federation (IHF) rules, players over the age of 19 are not eligible to participate in the junior hockey mega-event.
The PHF selection committee initially chose 56 players, out of which 22 were taken to Malaysia to participate in the six-nation competition. A source close to the selection policy said as many as five of those final 22 will be ineligible for next year’s World Cup.
“The selection of players, in which head coach Tahir Zaman played an important role was not made according to any plan,” said the source. “Clear favouritism was shown as most of the players were from Gojra, and some of them are already 20, so they won’t be able to take part in the World Cup.”
The Sultan of Johor Junior Hockey Cup, in which Pakistan finished bottom, was seen as a perfect chance to prepare for the upcoming World Cup. “All the other teams had U18 players who are being prepared for the World Cup,” added the source.
Zaman, on the other hand, said that only two players will be ineligible for the World Cup —goalkeeper Ali Haider and forward Muhammad Adnan Anwar.
“The reason we took those two is so that we can perform well at the upcoming Asia Cup, which also serves as the World Cup qualifier,” explained Zaman. “We would have found it difficult to qualify for that with fresh and junior players, so these two needed some experience under their belt before that.”
Pakistan will have to finish in the top four of the continental event in order to qualify for the World Cup, which is set to be held in New Delhi, India from December 1-11.
“Once the team qualifies for the World Cup, we will have a year to train the juniors and replace the over-age players,” added Zaman.
The Express Tribune
2016 Australian Championships calendar announced
Perth to host joint men's & women's AHL & U13 2016 Australian Championships
Following the recent national tender process, the 2016 calendar features a number of exciting developments, including the consolidation of events so that both genders play their Championships at the same venue, and the attraction of several new partners into hockey.
As announced last Thursday by The Honourable Will Hodgman MP, Premier of Tasmania, a new five-year agreement with the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania will see the boys’ and girls’ Under 18 Australian Championships and the women’s Masters Australian Championships played in Tasmania in 2016.
A new participation-focused event in the state will also be created as a key component of the partnership and the men’s Masters Australian Championships will be held in Hobart in 2017.
Last Friday’s announcement by NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport, Stuart Ayres of a five-year partnership between his Government and Hockey Australia means that the Under 15 Australian Championships and Under 21 Australian Championships will call New South Wales home until 2020.
In 2016, the Under 15 boys and girls Championships will take place in Wollongong with the Under 21 men’s and women’s events set for Sydney. The state will also host the Indoor Australian Championships as confirmed in August.
The men’s and women’s Australian Hockey League (AHL) events will be held together in Perth with the Under 13 Australian Championships continuing its alignment with the AHL, a move that has been incredibly popular since first introduced in 2013.
For the past three years the Under 13 athletes have had the opportunity to play on the same pitches as their senior heroes, learn from the AHL teams at coaching clinics and enjoy social events together.
“Our successful tender process has given us the opportunity to develop longer term strategic alignments with new partners not previously engaged in hockey, which represents significant progress in our approach to building on and improving our events and competitions,” said Cam Vale, Chief Executive of Hockey Australia.
“By bringing our boys’ and girls’, men’s and women’s events together we will showcase the single biggest strength of our sport – its dual-gender appeal. Only the Masters Australian Championships, on account of the size of those events, remains single-gender.”
Addressing the tender process, Vale added, “The volume and calibre of submissions was incredibly high and reinforces our belief that this exciting new model will play a valuable role in delivering significant improvements to the Australian Championships. I’m pleased that we have been able to spread our content across much of the country while consolidating our events.
“While some states and territories have missed out this time around we look forward to working with them in the near future to discuss potential opportunities to partner on other events, including international series’ and tournaments.”
Due to the 2016 Junior World Cups, the Under 21 and Under 18 Australian Championships will switch from their traditional places in the calendar for 2016 only. The Under 21s will take place in April with the Under 18s moving to July.
Following its successful hosting of the 2015 men’s AHL and boys’ Under 13 Championships, Darwin’s Marrara Hockey Centre will be the venue for the Country Australian Championships in 2016.
Completing the calendar, the men’s Masters events will take place in Adelaide in 2016 with the support of Hockey SA and SA Men’s Masters – the first time in 20 years that the men’s Masters will play in South Australia. The women’s Masters events will also head to Tasmania in 2016, with the hockey action running from 7-15 October.
2016 Australian Championships (Outdoors)
Under 13 Boys’ and Girls’ Australian Championships, 29 September – 8 October 2016
Perth Hockey Stadium, Bentley, Perth, WA
Under 15 Boys' and Girls’ Australian Championships, 9-17 April 2016
Illawarra Hockey Centre, Unanderra, Wollongong, NSW
Under 18 Men’s and Women’s Australian Championships, 8-17 July 2016
Northern Hockey Centre, St Leonards, Launceston, TAS
Under 21 Men's and Women’s Australian Championships, 10-17 April 2016
Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, NSW
Men’s and Women’s Australian Hockey League, 29 September – 9 October 2016
Perth Hockey Stadium, Bentley, Perth, WA
Women’s Masters Australian Championships, 7-15 October 2016
Tasmanian Hockey Centre, New Town, Hobart, TAS
Men’s Masters (35+, 40+, 45+) Australian Championships, 24 September – 2 October 2016
State Hockey Centre, Main Road North, Gepps Cross, Adelaide, SA
Men’s Masters (50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+) Australian Championships, 26 September – 8 October 2016
State Hockey Centre, Main Road North, Gepps Cross, Adelaide, SA
2016 Australian Championships (Indoors)
Under 13 Boys' and Girls’ Indoor Australian Championships, 24-26 January 2016
Illawarra Hockey Centre, Unanderra, Wollongong, NSW
Under 15 Boys' and Girls’ Indoor Australian Championships, 19-22 January 2016
Illawarra Hockey Centre, Unanderra, Wollongong, NSW
Under 18 Men's and Women’s Indoor Australian Championships, 14-17 January 2016
Illawarra Hockey Centre, Unanderra, Wollongong, NSW
Under 21 Men's and Women’s Indoor Australian Championships, 9-12 January 2016
Illawarra Hockey Centre, Unanderra, Wollongong, NSW
Open Men's and Women’s Indoor Australian Championships, 4-7 January 2016
Illawarra Hockey Centre, Unanderra, Wollongong, NSW
Hockey Australia media release
Rene Granat receives PAHF Order of Merit
Rene Granat receives PAHF Order of Merit from Coco Budeisky. PAHF
During its Congresses, the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) sometimes recognizes the path and career of its collaborators. In Toronto, during the Pan American Games 2015, Rene Granat, former president of the Venezuelan Hockey Federation and Director of the PAHF from 1995 to 2013, was nominated to receive the "Order of Merit" for his dedication to Pan American Hockey.
PAHF President Coco Budeisky officially delivered the award to Rene Granat on 21 September in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during a friendly dinner to discuss ways to activate the Masters and Grand Masters Hockey in the Americas, and thanked him for his years of work and dedication.
Here is part of Rene Granat’s history in Hockey:
Born in Argentina, he arrived in Venezuela in 1974 and played his first hockey match in 1978 for Caracas Sport Club during a tour to Peru, as a field player. After the tour, he started playing as goalkeeper and kept this position afterwards. In 1982, he was nationalized Venezuelan citizen and played as goalkeeper of the national team for their first participation at the Pan American Games, in Caracas in 1983.
He was Team Manager of the Venezuelan seniors and juniors national teams, for both genders, in Central American, South American and Pan American tournaments from 1985 to 2012.
As president of the Venezuelan Hockey Federation, from 1993 to 2013, he worked to introduce the sport in 11 states, growing the sport from a single team from Caracas to more than 1,000 registered players in the 11 provincial associations legally established.
His career as a continental collaborator includes regional coordination for Central America and the Caribbean for several years, as a member of the PAHF and FIH development committees. Furthermore, he coordinated the organization of many tournaments in Venezuela, such as Central American and Caribbean 1998, Alba Games 2007, and two Indoor Pan Am Cups for men and women (2004 and 2010).
Rene is currently dedicated to Hockey Masters and Grand Masters, and his is vice president for the Americas at the World Grand Masters Association (WGMA).
Pan American Hockey Federation media release