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All the news for Friday 13 November 2015

Sascoc board to discuss Olympic hockey petition

Wesley Botton


FILE PICTURE: Gideon Sam (SASCOC President). (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images)

Sascoc issued a statement last month reiterating its policy and stating that neither team would compete in Rio.

A petition handed to the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) will be passed on to the organisation’s board for consideration, as members of the SA hockey community lobby to have the national teams sent to next year’s Rio Olympics.

The online petition, signed by more than 13 000 people, called for Sascoc to overturn its decision not to allow athletes and teams in most sport codes to be selected for the Games based on continental criteria.

“The board will have to exercise their minds and look at which way they want to go in terms of whether they stick to the decision or change it,” Reddy said on Thursday.

“If they change it, they will need to consider the repercussions in terms of other sports that have already been turned down, like women’s rugby.”

Both the SA men’s and women’s hockey teams, ranked 15th and 11th in the world respectively, won the recent African Championships in Randburg and secured qualification for the multi-sport showpiece.

Sascoc, however, had signed a policy agreement with the SA Hockey Association (Saha) earlier this year confirming both squads would need to qualify through the World League tournaments in order to be selected. Neither side achieved the international criteria.

Sascoc issued a statement last month reiterating its policy and stating that neither team would compete in Rio.

“We would love the (Sascoc) board to see our point of view,” said Anita Machos, a school teacher and coach who was one of two people representing the hockey community at a low-key petition handover at Sascoc’s office in Joburg.

“We want them to give our players an opportunity to compete on the best platform the world has to offer

“They might not get further than the preliminary rounds, but give them the opportunity to try, and come back and inspire the next generation.”

According to Reddy, Sascoc had not yet received invitations for the hockey teams to compete in Rio, but they expected them from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) within the next few days.

The national body would be given two weeks to respond by accepting or declining the invites.

If Sascoc does not overturn its strict policy, which focusses on potential medallists, it will be the first time in 20 years that neither SA hockey team will compete at the quadrennial Games.

The Citizen

SASCOC cuts hockey off at the knees

Rio 2016 Saga Part One

By John Dube
 


The Olympic Creed and Motto

SASCOC has forgotten the Olympic creed and motto, "the most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well." It’s impossible for every team or athlete at the Olympic Games to be a medal contender. If SASCOC is solely focussed on medals, then fund the medal contenders more and give the non-medal contenders the opportunity to participate based on their own funding (granted they have qualified in terms of the IOC). SA hockey has a passionate and loyal fan base and will no doubt rally behind the teams to fund the road to Rio. SA Hockey teams embody the Olympic Creed and Motto and won't just fight well, they will fight to the death. 
 
What do the Olympics mean for South Africa?
 
When we talk about SA hockey teams going to the Olympics, I don’t think about the 16 players in the current national teams that will miss out. It’s not about the individual players even though they sacrifice almost everything to get to an international level of play on a part-time basis for no financial reward. I think about a generation of South African’s especially the 130,000 current school players, the many others who also played the game at school before them and the thousands that will come after them. I think about these young people who have the right to dream about representing their country in a sport they love.
 
So few actually make that final national team but it’s not about being one of an elite few. It’s about striving to do your best and having heroes to emulate in a country which sorely needs more excellent role-models. It’s about staying away from the negative things in life and being active playing a team sport which teaches your core values that serve you through-out the rest of your life in every aspect. It’s about living in a country where everything is possible and access to sport is for everyone right from grassroots to international competition. For school children in SA it’s not about winning a medal or coming 1st or 6th or 12th. But it is about going to the Olympics to do your best representing your country!
 
The Olympics is the ultimate instrument through which the Olympics sports can inspire a nation. Why would SASCOC take that one opportunity away from hockey which is the biggest school team sport in SA represented at the Olympics? Did I mention hockey is gender equal too?
 
World ranking analysis and impact
 
As at November 2015, SA men are ranked 15th in the world with 934 points. SA women are ranked 11th on 1166 points. Winning the African Continental Cup in October 2015 was worth a whopping 525 points for the men and 563 points for the women. Even though SASCOC disregards SA hockey’s continental qualification, it is vital that SA hockey win’s the continental championship to get these world ranking points. Winning Africa is equivalent to finishing seventh out of twelve in the Olympics to put it into perspective.
 
Coming last (12th) in the Olympics is worth 300 world ranking points. Since both teams competed in London 2012 Olympics and the men came 11th and women 10th our current ranking is based on even more points than this. Not going to the Olympics will see both teams drop one world ranking spot instantly at least and will have further consequences. Conversely competing at the Olympics could see the SA men jump to as high as 9th place and at minimum jump two spots back into 13th place. SA women could break into the top ten in the world easily with a solid showing at Rio 2016.
 
By not sending the teams to Rio 2016, SA’s future path to tournaments and achievements is badly impaired. Already the SA women with their slightly better ranking than the SA men are reaping the benefits. They did not have to participate in the World League Round 2 event and were included directly into the World League R3 / Semi finals event. With tours outside of SA costing over R1million each, SA hockey can literally not afford to drop any lower in the world rankings as this would mean even more overseas tours to climb back up. Dropping outside the top 20 could see SA teams having to go to World League Round 1 event, then a Round 2 event and then a Round 3 / Semi-finals event and onwards. So just to get to Round 3 / Semi-finals (as per SASCOC’s qualification criteria this year), would cost up to R6million total or R3million for each team. Spending R1million on a Round 1 world league event would be a complete waste of time and money with no real test or improvement opportunity for the SA teams.
 
It must be noted SAHA has always been good about hosting an event as it’s always cheaper to host. Hosting also serves to grow the game locally amongst fans. SAHA worked really hard to wrestle the recent African Cup of Nations away from Egypt who was supposed to host amid security concerns. So on a pure financial basis in the absence of significant commercial sponsorship, dropping world ranking points by not attending the Olympics would in all likely event, cause us to drop even more world ranking points entering the doldrums of world hockey.
 
SASCOC is single-handily destroying our national hockey teams by not sending them to the Olympics. The question must be asked, is this their ultimate goal? SASCOC's only reasoning that the teams are off the mark according to their own arbitrary qualification criteria. With no Olympic participation you will see all senior players retire with their dreams shattered. But more importantly SASCOC are destorying the national teams for the generations to come. The hockey playing youth representing 130,000 South African's and their families and all those supporting SA sport will no doubt become disillusioned with another political decision standing in the way of sport. It will take hockey another four to eight years to recover from this loss of world ranking points and get back to where they stand right now. Already I have seen a passionate 17 year old boy pubilcly give up on his dreams to play SA hockey over SASCOC's decision.

On the bright side, SASCOC can still change their mind. Sending the national teams could catapult SA into a higher echelon of world hockey with more success to follow over the next four years including future Commonwealth Games medals and glory for SASCOC.
 
The biggest Olympic school team sport in SA, identified by the government as a priority code with 130,000 school players involving equal genders and national teams that will do us proud - how can we not send them to Rio 2016?
 
You can see the world rankings calculations below:
Women - http://www.fih.ch/media/9051599/fih-womens-world-rankings-november-2015.pdf
Men - http://www.fih.ch/media/9051600/fih-mens-world-rankings-november-2015.pdf
 
Started by the hockey public, there is a petition to send the teams to the Olympics which has over 10,000 signatures already. Everyone is invited to sign the petition here - www.change.org/p/sascoc-gideon-sam-send-the-sa-hockey-teams-to-rio-2016

Princess Hockey South Africa media release

Germany win first game since Weise departure


Picture: Stanislas Brochier

Germany started the post-Markus Weise era with a comprehensive 6-1 win over Great Britain with Freddi Merz and Michael McCann in the coaching role for this series.

Weise stepped away from the German men’s top job earlier this week to pursue a new job with the German football association after an incredible hockey career.

It includes winning the the Olympics with the German women before moving on to the men’s team with whom he has coached for the past nine years, winning the Beijing and London Games as well as two European titles and many indoor crowns.

On the German players “Honamas” Facebook page, the team said they will miss their big mentor.

“We have lost a great coach. He is an independent thinker whose focus has been on the physics of hockey but also on the psyche of the players, giving them independent thinking and a sense of responsibility.”

They add that the hallmarks of this responsibility could be seen in their 6-1 win over GB and will look to carry this on.

Speaking earlier this week about Weise’s departure, DHB-President Wolfgang Hillmann: "After careful consideration, we decided not to stand in Markus Weise’s way for this career opportunity.

“Of course, we regret his departure very much but we are very happy for him that his competence has recommended him so well for such a task with German football. "

Weise, himself, said: "I had thought, and wondered whether I carry on with the DHB after the 2012 Olympics but there was no concrete idea which appealed to me.

“Now, this one came as a relative surprise, a real opportunity. I am bald, mid 50s and had to ask if I'm doing the same job until retirement - and so I had to decide.

“There has also been hurt. Ultimately, these opportunities come but never at a and ideal time. The boys have accepted my decision and can rapidly adapt to the new situation.”

Euro Hockey League media release

DFB to appoint hockey coach Markus Weise for new German academy


Markus Weise has enjoyed great success with Germany's hockey teams.

The German FA (DFB) is set to appoint national hockey team coach Markus Weise to work for its forthcoming academy.

Weise, 52, has won back-to-back gold medals at the last two Olympic games with the German men's team, adding to his 2004 triumph with the women's hockey team.

"An era will come to an end at the hockey association in mid-November when the men's national team coach Markus Weise will leave one of the most successful Olympic associations to move into football," a statement on the website of the German hockey association (DHB) read.

DHB president Wolfgang Hillman added: "He's a coaching personality which can't be replaced by anyone in hockey."

Hillman told SID he was frustrated by the lack of communication between the associations.

"I have to say clearly that in such a personnel matter there has to be a signal from their presidency to ours," Hillman said. "I can't look at it as a partnership when this has not happened."

He added that the switch at this stage is "difficult" since the association has been preparing for the 2016 Olympic Games since May.

In his explanation for why he had made the switch, Weise acknowledged that the circumstances were not ideal but cited his age, adding: "In the end, those opportunities never come at the right time."

Speaking at a news conference in Munich on Tuesday, Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff said that appointing Weise was "a very important personnel matter for our academy project" but added that the paperwork was not done yet.

The DFB academy in Frankfurt was last year described as "the future of the association" by former president Wolfgang Niersbach, who resigned amid the 2006 World Cup scandal earlier this week.

The start of the construction work for the academy is planned for early 2017, and the DFB has targeted a completion date of late 2018.

Weise is the second hockey national team coach to make the switch into football.

In 2006, then Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann coach had tried to sign Bernhard Peters, who was then in charge of the men's hockey team.

Peters, now 55, ultimately left the DHB later that year and joined Hoffenheim, then in the third tier, as a director. In 2014, Peters joined Hamburg as a director of sport.

ESPN FC

Men's Junior Asia Cup begins 14 November


Photo: Asian Hockey Federation

The eighth edition of the Men's Junior Asia Cup begins on Saturday at the Wisma Belia Hockey Stadium in Kuantan, Malaysia.

Taking place between 14-22 November, the hosts enter the tournament as the reigning champions, having won the last Men's Junior Asia Cup three years ago, also  in Malaysia, in the city of Malacca.

The Malaysian juniors will be hoping to defend their title in front of the passionate Malaysian fans but a strong challenge is expected from the traditional hockey powerhouses of India, Pakistan and Korea.

The remaining contenders, Japan, China, Oman and Bangladesh are all good for surprise upsets, so nothing is set in place when the games get under way at the weekend.

The Junior Asia Cup is an important competition for Asian junior teams: not only is the continental title and associated prestige at stake, but the tournament also serves as a qualifier for the Men's Hockey Junior World Cup which will be held in India in December 2016.

There are four Junior World Cup places on offer to Asia, with one place already assigned to India in their role as host country. The three remaining places will be on offer in Kuantan and will be assigned to the three highest ranked teams other than India at the end of the event.

At the last Men's Hockey Junior World Cup, held in Delhi, India, in December 2013, Malaysia were the highest finishing Asian men's team in fourth place. Korea finished eighth, Pakistan ninth and India 10th.

Junior Asia Cup 2015
Pool A: India, Malaysia, Japan, China
Pool B: Korea, Pakistan, Oman, Bangladesh

FIH site

Mirnawan: No easy matches in Kuantan

By Jugjet Singh

MALAYSIAN Juniors team manager Mirnawan Nawawi believes there will be no easy matches in the Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan starting on Saturday.

And the three-time Olympian has even dubbed Group A as the 'group of death'.

"Malaysia are in 'group of death' as India, China and Japan will be fielding players who have the basics and skills to cause an upset if given the slightest advantage.

"But on the same note, our players are primed to face the challenges thrown at them and qualify for next year's Junior World Cup," said Mirnawan.

India as Junior World Cup hosts, have qualified, but will be the team to beat in Kuantan. Three other slots are available in the Junior Asia Cup, and Malaysia must reach the semi-finals to grab one.

The hosts are defending champions, and went on to finish fourth in the last Junior World Cup which was also held in New Delhi in 2013.

"As the champions, we need to keep our dignity intact and that means beating China in the first match on Saturday.

"We had very little knowledge about China and also Japan, but after watching them training in Kuantan, we have an idea on how to overcome both these teams. China and Japan players are no pushovers, but can be beaten," said Mirnawan.

As for India, Malaysia lost 1-2 to them in the Sultan of Johor Cup and they went on to finish as silever medallists while Malaysia claimed the bronze.

"We know India, and they too know us, as we played a grueling match against them in the SOJC. India will be our toughest opponents in Kuantan," said Mirnawan.

Malaysia need to finish among the top-two in Group A to have an easier quarter-finals passage against either Bangladesh or Oman. The other Group B teams are South Korea and Pakistan.

All eight teams qualify for the last eight, and one win here will book a berth to New Delhi next year.

For the record, Malaysia are not only the Junior Asia Cup defending champions, but also the highest ranked Asian team as they finished fourth in the Junior World Cup, while South Korea eighth, Pakistan ninth and India 10th.

GROUP A: India, Malaysia, Japan, China.
GROUP B: Korea, Pakistan, Oman, Bangladesh.

FIXTURES: Nov 14: Group A: Malaysia v China (6pm, Pitch I), India v Japan (8.15pm, Pitch I).

Group B: Pakistan v Bangladesh (4pm, Pitch I), South Korea v Oman (4.30pm, Pitch II).

Nov 15: Group A: China v Japan (6pm, Pitch I), Malaysia v India (8.15pm, Pitch I).

Group B: Pakistan v South Korea (4pm, Pitch I), Oman v Bangladesh (4.30pm, Pitch II).

Nov 16: REST DAY

Nov 17: Group A: India v China (6pm, Pitch I), Japan v Malaysia (8.15pm, Pitch I).

Group B: Oman v Pakistan (4pm, Pitch I), South Korea v Bangladesh (4.30pm, Pitch II).

Nov 18: REST DAY

Nov 19: Quarter-finals.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey

Injuries put a question mark to Junior Asia Cup hockey team selection

By S. Ramaguru

KUALA LUMPUR: Injuries continue to bug the National Juniors hockey team in their preparations for the Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan on Saturday.

Mohd Amirol Aideed suffered a hamstring injury in training and is racing against time to get fit for the tournament.

He is the sixth player to have suffered a hamstring injury.

Two of them – Mohd Sufi Ismat and Rafizul Ezry – were injured before the Sultan of Johor Cup last month and were forced out of the tournament. They have since recovered and are in the team for Kuantan.

Meor Mohd Azuan, Mohd Aminuddin Zain and Nor Azrul Rahman also suffered similar injuries in the Johor tournament. But Meor’s injury proved superficial while the other two have been ruled out of the Junior Asia Cup.

The National Juniors had named 19 players on Nov 5 and were supposed to drop one player on Monday.

The axe will now fall on one player before the team managers’ meeting on Friday, with Amirol the likely casualty.

National Juniors coach A. Arulselvaraj said that they would rather wait and see how the players fared before making a final decision.

“It has to be a last-minute decision. We’ve brought all 19 players to Kuantan and will monitor Amirol’s condition closely.

“A lot will depend on his respond to the treatment,” said Arulselvaraj.

The Juniors have also decided not to play any matches in Kuantan prior to the start of the tournament.

The Malaysians were scheduled to play a friendly with Japan on Thursday, but decided against it following the spate of injuries.

“We can’t afford to lose any more players to injuries at this stage. They’ve trained hard and are raring to go. We will fine tune our moves in training,” said Arulselvaraj.

Malaysia will open their Group A campaign against China. The other two teams in the group are India and Japan.

Group B has Pakistan, Oman, South Korea and Bangladesh.

The Junior Asia Cup is a qualifier for the Junior World Cup, with the four semi-finalists here earning automatic berths to New Delhi, India, next year.

The Star of Malaysia

Pakistan hope to improve in Junior Asia Cup hockey

by S. Ramaguru

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakistan, who have made only minimal changes to their team, will be hoping for an improved showing when they enter the fray in the Junior Asia Cup which starts on Saturday in Kuantan.

Pakistan finished a dismal last in last month’s Sultan of Johor Cup last month and failed to win a single match but coach Tahir Zaman, who made only three changes to the line-up, is optimistic that his Under-21 team will do well in Kuantan, especially after playing several test matches back home.

“The matches in Johor Baru were the first for many in my young squad ... the six games (in the Sultan of Johor Cup) helped the players to know where they stand. We went back home and had another four matches with our senior side ... these matches have been very useful,” said Tahir.

“We’ve got the structure, now it’s all about putting them into practice and perform.”

Pakistan arrived in Kuantan on Tuesday and had a game with China on Wednesday.

Although they lost 2-1, Tahir was happy that they had a chance to acclimatise to the conditions in Kuantan.

Pakistan are here with two targets.

“The first is to qualify for the Junior World Cup (in New Delhi, India, next year). Once we’ve achieved that, we’ll look at regaining the Junior Asia Cup,” said Tahir, who also believes that new skipper Ahmad Shakeel Butt can use his experience to guide the younger players.

“Ahmad was not available for the Johor tournament. His return is a major boost as he is a very experienced player. Like Mohamed Dilber, he is a member of the senior team.

“The changes to the team have been minimal. This will allow us to have greater experience in the side and they will be in a better position to understand our style of play.”

Besides Ahmad, the other two new players in the team are Mohamed Adnan and Mohamed Adnan Anwar. The three players from the Sultan of Johor Cup dropped are Shah Faisal Shah, Mohammad Naveed and Sikandar Mustafa.

Pakistan are in Group B with South Korea, Oman and Bangladesh. Group A comprises Malaysia, India, Japan and China.

Pakistan will start their campaign against Bangladesh.

“The group phase is not that important, but we’d like to finish in the top two so that we can have an easier quarter-final,” said Tahir.

“Under this format, all the teams will make the quarter-finals. So, that one quarter-final match is the cruncher. A win will take us through to the Junior World Cup. It’s the same with all teams.”

The four semi-finalists in the Junior Asia Cup will earn an automatic ticket to next year’s Junior World Cup.

The Star of Malaysia

The fittest men on the planet?

Hockey players are some of the fittest athletes on the planet. Here's why...


Raipur will welcome some of the fittest athletes in the world Photo: Kieran Govers

For years there's been much debate about which which sport produces the fittest athletes? Which training regime is the toughest? Whose legs are the most muscled, abs the most ripped and arms the most toned?

Well it seems we have found our answer, thanks to FIH Innovation Partner Loughborough University – one of the top sports universities in the world. And the good news is - you can see them live in action at the Hero Hockey World League Final in Raipur!

The sports scientists at Loughborough studied hours of action from the 2014 World Cup and looked at two main qualities: namely the distances run during a match and the intensity maintained while running. They then compared these to other invasive team sports, in this case rugby 7s and football (soccer).

The results will not surprise anyone who has watched or played a hockey match. On average, field players in hockey cover more metres and work at a higher intensity than both footballers or rugby players.

In an average pattern of play, all three sports involve sprinting, jogging, walking and even periods where they stand still. The data from video action reveals that where a rugby 7s player will cover an average of 94 metres in a minute, a footballer covers an average of 125 metres in the same time frame, while a hockey player outruns them all with a huge 140 metres per minute.

Remember, this includes all actions - jogging back after a sprint, or running flat out to chase down opponents and set up attacks.

Perhaps a more pertinent figure when relating to the overall fitness of a player can be seen by the amount of the game that is played at a high intensity.

Where a football player spends just nine percent of the game working at an intensity that sees the heart-rate reaching 85-90 percent of its maximum, a hockey player can sustain that work rate for 30-40 percent of the game. A rugby player works at a high intensity for 20 percent of the game.

During those periods of high intensity activity, a hockey player will be running at speeds of above 19kmh.

On average, a hockey player will run eight to nine kilometres during a match. When compared to footballers, who regularly reach more than 10 kilometres in a game, it is worth remembering that hockey is a 60 minute game where football is 90 minutes. This means hockey players reach almost the same distance with a third less time to achieve it.

And it is not just the experts from Loughborough who have reached these conclusions.

An eminent professor, Jeff Potteiger, a Dean within the Movement Science department at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, told the Washington Post: “First, we have to define what ‘fittest’ means… I think you have to use cardiovascular fitness, anaerobic power, muscular strength, muscle endurance and body composition…”

The professor then rattled off several sports: “Soccer players, they have quickness, agility, speed but I would be concerned about their power; boxers are fit, but if you put them in another sport, I don’t know how well they would do… Now I forgot hockey players, they’re flexible, powerful, great body composition, good cardiovascular fitness. Yeah, I’d probably put them near the top.”

While science is great at providing the empirical evidence we need to prove that hockey players are right up there as some of the fittest people on the planet, well, we only have to use our own powers of observation to see that hockey players look just great.

See some of the fittest athletes in the world live in action at the Hero Hockey World League between November 27 and December 6 in Raipur, India. To buy tickets, click here.

FIH site

Men’s National Team and Development Squad named for 2016

Thirty-nine athletes make up the two senior squads

Shaheed Devji

Field Hockey Canada and the Canadian Men’s National Field Hockey Program have named the Senior Men’s National Team and Development Squad rosters for the 2016 competition year.

In total, thirty-nine athletes from across the country and with a wide range of experience have been named to the two squads.

The National Team roster comprises of twenty-five players from which the majority of competition teams in the year ahead will be selected. All sixteen men who represented Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where Canada won silver, are on the National Team.

Veterans Scott Tupper (Vancouver, BC), Mark Pearson (Tsawwassen, BC), Philip Wright (Vancouver, BC), Dave Jameson (Vancouver, BC), Richard Hildreth (Vancouver, BC), and Iain Smythe (Vancouver, BC) lead the way in terms of experience, with a combined 1,013 senior international matches played between them.

Rising stars Adam Froese (Abbotsford, BC), Gabriel Ho-Garcia (Burnaby, BC), Devohn Noronha-Teixeira (Mississauga, ON), and Paul Wharton (Vancouver, BC) give the team an infusion of youth, while keepers David Carter (Vancouver, BC) and Antoni Kindler (Vancouver, BC) bring a wealth of experience between the pipes.

The Senior Development Squad is made up of a mix of veteran and young athletes, with junior standouts Amrit Sidhu and Balraj Panesar cracking the squad.

Canada’s men have qualified for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next August. The majority - if not all - the athletes who will make up Canada’s field hockey team at the competition will be chosen from the athletes named to the rosters below.

In the nine months leading up to Rio, the Canadians have a full schedule of competition in preparation for the Games. First up, the men will compete at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey World League Final from November 27-December 6 in Rajpur, India.

2015-16 Canadian Men’s Senior National Team 

 2015-16 Canadian Men’s Senior Development Squad 

Field Hockey Canada media release

Kenya drops in hockey rankings

By BRIAN YONGA


From left: National Hockey team players Terry Juma, Audrey Amooh, Pauline Amutebi and Anita Agunda during a past match. PHOTO | FILE |   NATION MEDIA GROUP

Kenya has dropped in the latest International Hockey Federation (FIH) rankings released Thursday. The women’s team dropped three places to position 40 while the men’s team is also placed 40th, down one spot from their previous position.

The rankings were released after last month’s Africa Cup of Nations where both Kenyan teams finished in third place and missed out on next year’s Olympic Games set for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The women’s team had risen to its best ever position (37) after winning the World League One series event held in September 2014 in Nairobi.

MOVING BACKWARDS

The team beat Ghana to qualify for the second round of the World League series, which were held in February in Uruguay.

The women’s team has a total of 166 points while the men have amassed a total of 205 points.

Women’s team coach Jos Openda regretted that the ranking indicated the country was going backwards after making great strides last year.

“We were on a roll last year when we won the World League One but we performed poorly this yera. We need to go back to the drawing board and start again so that we can work on improving because the country has a lot of talented players,” Openda said.

Daily Nation

Dragons stunned by Kina's La Gantoise


Picture: Grant Treeby 

Dragons suffered their first loss of the season in surprising fashion on Wednesday afternoon, falling to second bottom side La Gantoise 3-2 in Ghent, allowing Racing Club de Bruxelles to narrow the gap significantly.

Pascal Kina’s side (pictured above) played the tie perfectly against the reigning champions, going ahead from a corner via Max Peeters. Manu Stockbroekx equalised but Maurice Dubois put La Gantoise back in front with a spectacular volley.

Thomas Verheyen levelled the game for a second time before Argentine Lautaro Diaz won the game for the Ghent side.

It allowed Racing to close in with another victory, beating Pingouin 4-3 with Anthony Versluys continuing his excellent form with the winning goal nine minutes from the end.

Tom Boon earlier scored a hat trick in reply to two goals from Nicolas Vandiest and one from former Berliner player Benedikt Swiatek.

Royal Leopold strengthened their place in the top four with a 3-2 win over Waterloo Ducks with Agustin Mazzilli scoring the crucial goal in Leo’s sixth win of the campaign.

Daring applied yet more pain on KHC Leuven with another 3-2 victory. Sergi Enrique and Victor Wegnez built a 2-0 lead before Geoffroy Cosyns eventually grabbed the winner after Leuven had fought their way back into the game.

Braxgata beat Herakles 4-3 and Antwerp won 5-4 against Beerschot in the other games of the day.

Next Sunday is the final game of the first half of the season before the winter break with Dragons hosting Daring and Leopold face Leuven in the big games.

Euro Hockey League media release

Boys and Adult Men Divisions at Richmond NIT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - USA Field Hockey has opened up a boys division and adult men's division at the 2016 National Indoor Tournament (NIT) to be held February 26-28 in Richmond, Va. The registration is open to U-15 boys, U-21 boys and adult men of all skill levels.

Each age division is looking to secure four teams per division that consist of 10-12 players (maximum of 12).

Registrations must be made as a team. The cost for U-15 boys teams is $750 per team and for U-21 boys and adult men divisions it is $1,100 per team. The deadline to register teams is by Tuesday, December 15, 2015.

Don't have a team but interested in participating at the NIT? Individuals who need to find a team should email Warren Prestwich at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., who will assist in finding a team that is looking for additional players.

If you are interested in entering a team into the 2016 National Indoor Tournament boys and adult men divisions, please register your team by clicking here and send your complete roster to Warren Prestwich.

All participants are to provide their own transportation and accommodation while attending the 2016 National Indoor Tournament in Richmond, Va.

USFHA media release

Weekend College Games

College field hockey has now entered NCAA tournament play. USA Field Hockey highlights each Division Tournament this weekend.

DIVISION I: FIRST & SECOND ROUNDS



No. 1 Syracuse
Overall NCAA DI seeded No. 1 Syracuse (17-1) made it to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship game this past Sunday and suffered their only loss this season to No. 2 North Carolina. The Orange will play Massachusetts (12-8) in the NCAA First Round on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EST. The other First Round game played at Syracuse will be between Princeton (10-6) and Maryland (19-3) at 2 p.m. EST.

No. 2 North Carolina
Coming off a thrilling overtime victory over No. 1 Syracuse for the program’s 19th ACC Title, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels will host Boston University (15-6) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EST. The other First Round game played at UNC will be between Wake Forest (13-5) and Michigan (17-4) at 2 p.m. EST.

No. 3 Virginia
The University of Virginia Cavaliers made it to the ACC Semifinals where they lost a hard-fought overtime battle with No. 1 Syracuse. Eager to make their stamp on the NCAA Tournament, UVA will host Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Title winner Delaware, who captured the program’s third straight conference championship, in the NCAA First Round on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EST. The other First Round game will be between Duke (12-6) and Stanford (13-6) at 2 p.m. EST.

No. 4 Connecticut
Entering the NCAA Tournament undefeated, the University of Connecticut (20-0) claimed the Big East Title with a win over Temple. The Huskies will host Louisville in the NCAA First Round on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EST. The other First Round game will be between Albany (19-2) and Boston College (12-8) at 2 p.m. EST.

Winners of the First Round games will advance to the Second Round on Sunday, November 15 at 2 p.m. Winners of the Second Round games will advance to the NCAA DI Semifinals being held at University of Michigan’s Phyllis Ocker Field in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Friday, November 20.

DIVISION II: FIRST ROUND



Just six teams advanced to the NCAA DII Tournament, where First Round play will start on Saturday, November 14.

The First Round of the Atlantic Region will see two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) opponents Millersville (18-2) and West Chester (15-4) match-up at noon EST. Millersville advanced to the conference championship where they fell to East Stroudsburg by a margin of 1-0. West Chester was beaten in the Semifinals also by East Stroudsburg.

Receiving a bye in the First Round East Stroudsburg (17-3) will face the winner of the Atlantic Region game between Millersville (18-2) and West Chester (15-4).

The other First Round of the East Region will see two Northeast-10 (NE-10) Conference opponents Merrimack (14-5) and Adelphi (14-5) face off at 6 p.m. EST. Merrimack is coming off a 1-0 loss to Assumption in the NE-10 Conference Semifinals. Adelphi also fell in the NE-10 Semifinals to eventual winners, Stonehill.

Coming off their second straight Northeast-10 Conference title and receiving a first round bye, Stonehill (14-6) will face the winner of the East region match-up between Merrimack and Adelphi.

Winners of the First Round games will advance to the NCAA DII Semifinals being held at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Steph Pettit Stadium in Bloomsburg, Pa. on Friday, November 20.

DIVISION III: SECOND & THIRD ROUNDS


First Round games took place on Wednesday, November 11 narrowing the field to 16 teams.

The Second Round kicks off on Saturday, November 14 with multi-conference championship fighting to advance in the NCAA Tournament.

Top-ranked and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) champion Bowdoin (18-0) will host the NCAA Second and Third Round games this weekend. The Polar Bears received a First Round bye and will face Little East Conference champions Keene State (17-7) at 11:00 a.m. EST on Saturday. The other contest being played at Bowdoin’s Howard F. Ryan Field will be between Commonwealth Coast Conference champions University of New England (17-6) and Wellesley (16-3) at 2 p.m. EST.

Centennial Conference Champions, Ursinus College (17-3) will also host the Second and Third Rounds of the NCAA DIII Tournament. The Bears received a First Round bye and will match-up against Empire 8 Conference champions Stevens Institute of Technology (13-7) on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. EST. In the other Second Round game lies Capital Athletic Conference Salisbury University (14-3) who will face Rochester (N.Y.) (16-5) at 2 p.m. EST.

William Smith (17-2), Liberty League champions, will host the Second and Third Round matches weekend. The Herons earned a First Round bye and will face first-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference winners Bridgewater (Va.)(12-8) on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. EST. In the other Second Round game, Middlebury (16-2) will play Franklin & Marshall (16-3) at 2 p.m. EST.

New Jersey Athletic Conference champions, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) (18-1) will be the final team to host the Second Third Round games of the NCAA DIII Tournament. The Lions will host Southern Athletic Association champions Rhodes (15-5) on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. EST. The other Second Round game will feature ninth-straight Middle Athletic Conference Commonwealth champions Messiah (15-5) against fourth-straight State University of New York Athletic Conference champions SUNY New Paltz (15-5) at 2 p.m. EST.

Winners of the Second Round games will advance to the Third Round on Sunday, November 15. Winners of the Third Round games will advance to the NCAA DIII Semifinals being held at Washington and Lee University’s Turf Field in Lexington, Va. on Saturday, November 21.

USFHA media release