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News for 04 March 2020

All the news for Wednesday 4 March 2020


Australia the hosts as Argentina continue Oceania tour in FIH Hockey Pro League



Fresh from their FIH Hockey Pro League double-headers against New Zealand in Christchurch, Argentina’s men and women continue their tour of Oceania this weekend when they head to Perth to face the national teams of Australia.

It promises to be a very special weekend of elite international hockey, one made even more significant by the planned celebration of the role Indigenous Australian players have made to the sport. The dedicated Indigenous themed weekend will encompass a host of cultural elements and events, highlighted by the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras wearing a specially designed Indigenous playing kit. More information on this story can be found by clicking here.

More information about the double-headers between Australia and Argentina can be found below, with the complete match schedule available by clicking here.

Australia v Argentina (Women & Men)
Where:
Perth Hockey Stadium, Perth (AUS)
Dates:
Friday 6 & Saturday 7 March 2020

Women’s matches  
Times: 
6 Mar – 1800 | 7 Mar – 1600 (local time - UTC/GMT +8)
Match pages: 
Match 1 | Match 2

Summary:
Australia will start this match knowing they have a fantastic opportunity to make serious progress up the FIH Hockey Pro League standings. Currently sitting in fourth position with nine points from four matches, two victories over Argentina – who claimed two points from a possible six in their recent double-header against New Zealand – will see the Hockeyroos move on to 15 points, level with the Netherlands at the top of the league table having played a game more than the Dutch. However, all the evidence suggests that choosing a winner in this weekend's fixtures is not an easy task.

The two teams are just one position apart in the FIH World Rankings, with Australia currently sitting second and Argentina third. Of the 14 matches they have played since 2013, they have six wins apiece with two drawn matches. Argentina twice got the better of Australia in the 2019 Pro League season, winning 1-0 in Sydney thanks to a solitary strike from Delfina Merino before claiming two points from a possible three in Buenos Aires by winning a shoot-out after regular time finished with the scores locked at 1-1. 

Their most recent meeting came in the semi-finals of the 2019 FIH Pro League Grand Final event in Amstelveen (NED), a match that also ended in a shoot-out. However, this time it was Australia who emerged triumphant, with 2019 FIH Goalkeeper of the Year Rachael Lynch saving three Argentina efforts in the one-on-ones as the Hockeyroos sealed a place in the title match against eventual champions the Netherlands.

Two Argentinean victories over Australia would see them move to the top of the table having played three games more than current leaders the Netherlands. However, they will need to do it without the likes of attacking stars Carla Rebecchi and Delfina Merino as well as goalkeeper Belen Succi, who have all been rested for this tour of Oceania.

The essentials…
Current FIH World Ranking
: Australia: 2 | Argentina: 3
Current FIH Hockey Pro League position: Australia: 4 | Argentina: 3
Final standings - FIH Hockey Pro League 2019: Australia: 2 | Argentina: 4

Head-to-heads in all competitions (since 2013 – 14 matches)
Wins: Australia: 6 | Argentina: 6 | Draws: 2
Goals scored: Australia: 12 | Argentina: 16

Team pages (squads & statistics): Australia | Argentina

Men’s matches
Times: 6 Mar – 2030 | 7 Mar – 1830 (local time - UTC/GMT +8)
Match pages: 
Match 1 | Match 2

Summary: 
Reigning FIH Hockey Pro League champions Australia come into their double-header against Argentina, the Olympic gold medallists from Rio 2016, as marginal favourites. The Kookaburras sit third in the FIH Hockey Pro League table on ten points earned thanks to two wins, three draws and a shoot-out bonus point, having suffered one outright defeat – at the hands of reigning World champions Belgium – in the six matches they have played to date, two places above Argentina in fifth position. Two wins for Australia would be enough for them to move to the top of the standings, while two Argentina victories would put them level on points with current league leaders Belgium. 

The higher-ranked Australians have the clear advantage in terms of recent head-to-heads, having won eight of their 11 meetings since 2013 and triumphing in both matches in the 2019 edition of this competition. A Jeremy Hayward double helped the Kookaburras to a 3-2 victory in the home fixture at Sydney’s Olympic Park in March, while Blake Govers and Corey Weyer scored the goals in May’s away game as Australia won 2-1 in Buenos Aires.

Although it seems that the Australians have the edge, the visiting Argentineans know that they have a squad containing all of the attributes needed to hurt the home favourites. Los Leones have scored 18 times in their six Pro League matches this campaign, with ten goals coming from two players who are bang in form. Penalty corner expert Jose Tolini currently sits level at the top of the scorer’s chart with Spain’s Pau Quemada on six goals, while Maico Casella – who scored a breathtaking backhand strike to give his team victory against New Zealand in Christchurch on Sunday (1 March) – having netted four times from open play.

The essentials…
Current FIH World Ranking: Australia: 2 | Argentina: 5
Current League position: Australia: 3 | Argentina: 5
Final standings - FIH Hockey Pro League 2019: Australia: 1 | Argentina: 5

Head-to-heads in all competitions (since 2013 – 11 matches)
Wins: Australia: 8 | Argentina: 3 | Draws: 0
Goals scored: Australia: 29 | Argentina: 16

Team pages (squads & statistics): Australia | Argentina

To find out how you can watch the action, please visit our broadcast page by clicking here. In territories where broadcast rights agreements are not in place, fans can watch live match action from the FIH Hockey Pro League via the FIH.live global broadcast platform. To visit FIH.live, click here.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on the FIH Hockey Pro League via the event website and through FIH social media channels - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Want to win tickets to an FIH Hockey Pro League match? Here’s what you have to do! Take a quick snap or record a video to capture your “best FIH Hockey Pro League moment” and post it on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook, using the hashtag #MyProLeagueMoment. For more info, click here.

* available 48 hours before each match

#FIHProLeague


Official FIH Pro League Site



A unique moment for Australian hockey



Hockey Australia CEO Matt Favier discusses the background, inspiration and excitement around this weekend’s Indigenous themed matches.

The Hockeyroos and Kookaburras will take on Argentina on 6/7 March at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University in the FIH Pro League. The double headers will be the first time Australian hockey has celebrated and formally acknowledged the contribution Indigenous players have made to the sport.

Thanks for your time Matt. Why is this Indigenous weekend so important and unique for Hockey Australia?

MF: “We are taking an opportunity for hockey in Australia to celebrate Indigenous players who have played for Australia over time. It’s not something that we have truly had an opportunity to do, so it’s our chance to say thank you and to acknowledge, and also more broadly to recognise the role that Indigenous people play to Australian culture and our community, in particular in sport.

It’s a combination of those things that we are mindful of and wanting to be engaged with and to celebrate.”

Hockey Australia as never done anything like this before – where did the initial thought stem from?

MF: “It was an initiative through our Head of High Performance, Toni Cumpston and the High Performance Team. Surprisingly we haven’t done something like this as a sport before despite our history and Indigenous players like Nova, Des Abbott, Joel Carroll, Baeden Choppy and Lorelle Morrissey having represented Australia in the past. We have some players of Indigenous heritage playing now, so it’s an appropriate time to do it. We are a little bit late to do it but nevertheless, we are really thrilled that we are able to do it.”

What does it mean to have someone like Nova Peris paint the artwork and come up wit the designs on the front of the Indigenous playing shirts?

MF: “It is extraordinary to have somebody like Nova, who is Australia’s first Indigenous gold medallist and dual Olympian, to be able to firstly be excited about supporting this initiative and be engaged with it is terrific for our sport.

It is a wonderful thing to have engaged with her and for her to be able to give back to a sport that has given her so much. We are really thrilled that we’ve been able to engage a person of her calibre to be able to put her designs on the uniforms that the players will be wearing.”

What Indigenous programs are Hockey Australia involved in currently?

MF: “The Fortescue Metal Group (FMG) Indigenous Pilbara Hockey Program is our flagship program, the one we are most heavily and historically engaged with.

We are also supporting a program that is being led out of Cairns called, ‘the Aspire to be Deadly Program’. That program is being led by a highly motivated woman named Julie McNeil from the Cairns Hockey Association. We have only become aware of that program in the last 12 months and we think it is a terrific model and one that we are possibly looking at extending in terms of other activities that we can lead on.

We have supported an initiative in the Northern Territory where we have provided some HookIn2Hockey packs to activate a community program in Katherine through Hockey NT, so they are the three key things we have been doing in the past 12 months.”

What activations are going to be taking place across the Pro League matches against Argentina?

MF: “We will have very much an Indigenous theme across the two match days. We will have some cultural activities incorporated in the match day on Saturday 7 March, so that will really add to the celebration of the Indigenous round.

We have invited the Minister for Indigenous Affairs, the Honourable Ken Wyatt AM MP, to attend. There will also be a Welcome to Country and other Indigenous cultural elements.

But probably the piece that will be particularly exciting will be kids from the Cairns Aspire to be Deadly Indigenous Program having the opportunity to play a small game at half time of both matches on Saturday. This will be part of celebrating current and future Indigenous talent by giving these kids an opportunity to experience something they would never have had the chance to do before.”

Hockey Australia media release



Hockeyroos and Kookaburras Perth clinics



Kids of Western Australia! Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in three special coaching clinics to be conducted by members of the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras.

The first clinic will take place prior to the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras’ FIH Pro League double header against Argentina on Saturday 7 March, and then on both match days against New Zealand on 16/17 May.

All three clinics will be held at the Perth Hockey Centre at Curtin University, with all proceeds going towards supporting the Australian bushfire relief.

To register for any of the three clinics, simply purchase a child ticket to one of the Pro League double headers, plus an additional $20 to attend the hour long clinic on that day.

“These clinics are a fantastic opportunity for kids, whether they play hockey already or are new to the sport, to come and have some fun and learn from the players,” said Hockeyroo Kate Jenner.

“We all started our hockey journey somewhere, and if we can help inspire and motivate kids to pick up a hockey stick and get out and have a run around that’s great.”

“We are in a privileged position to be role models, and I know both the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras enjoy the chance to be able to share their knowledge and try to inspire the next generation.”

A host of Kookaburras and Hockeyroos players are expected to take part in the clinics, and if the success of the clinics that were held on the match days of the Pro League matches in Sydney earlier this year are anything to go by, you won’t want to miss out. Spaces are limited so book now.

To secure your place, visit Ticketek.

If you have already purchased tickets to a Pro League match for any of the three days and wish to registers for the clinic, please contact Hockey Australia directly by email.

Hockeyroos and Kookaburras Coaching Clinics
LOCATION: Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University
DATES: Saturday 7 March (2:30pm), Saturday 16 May (2:30pm), Sunday 17 May (1:30pm)

Click here to purchase a ticket to the Pro League and register for a clinic.

Hockey Australia media release



WA’s new international standard hockey pitch ready for play

Australia’s top hockey teams have received a boost in their preparations for the Olympics, thanks to the State Government contributing to the cost of a new pitch at Perth Hockey Stadium at Curtin University.

Hockey WA recently replaced Playing Field 1 at the Perth Hockey Stadium, ensuring that the turf is available for the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras’ Olympic preparations.

Works included replacement of the playing surface as well as a significant upgrade to the sub surface. The playing surface will be the same type and specification as the 2020 Tokyo Olympics turf.

The State Government contributes $75,000 a year to the playing surface replacement program at Perth Hockey Stadium as part of the agreement to accommodate the Hockey Australia High Performance Program at the stadium.

The Perth Hockey Stadium accommodates community hockey as well as State, national and international competitions.

The new pitch is part of the State Government’s ongoing support for hockey in WA.

Since 2014-15, Hockey WA has received $1 million from the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries for capital upgrades and minor works, including a new roof and a lighting upgrade to Pitch 1.

As stated by Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray:

“The pitch at the Perth Hockey Stadium is now identical to what will be used at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“This will attract top level national and international level hockey competition to Perth with all the associated tourism spin-offs.

“The Perth Hockey Stadium can now boast pitches suitable for grassroots hockey right up to the elite Olympic level for our aspiring athletes of the future.”

Mirage News



Zim to host southern African hockey qualifier

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA

Zimbabwe will host the men and women’s southern African qualifier for the 2021 Hockey Africa Cup of Nations at St Johns’ College in Harare from August 21 to 30.

The men and women’s teams will face southern African countries in a competition in which the top two nations in each category will proceed to next year’s Cup of Nations finals.

Hockey Association of Zimbabwe (Haz) president Grant Campbell said it was an honour for the country to host such an event.

“We are hosting the central and southern African qualifier for Africa Cup of Nations from August 21-30 at St Johns’ College in Harare this is a great honour and will go a long way for Zimbabwean hockey as this is for our national men and women’s teams. This is a great opportunity to showcase Zimbabwe and our expertise in hosting a tournament as we have highly qualified judges,” Campbell said.

“Our hosting of the qualifiers and having other nations coming to Zimbabwe will help in terms of tourism, so we want to utilise the opportunity and we hope to bid for the World Cup. We are therefore, reaching out to the government to support these teams to have proper funding to train for the tournament.”

He said he is hoping the two teams will do well in the qualifiers to book their tickets to the main tournament that will be held next year.

“This is one of the biggest qualifiers we are hosting. It might need us to pull the strings and give our best shots to outclass our opponents. We have the best teams and we expect that they will use the skills they were equipped with during training. All in all, we hope that both teams will qualify then we will see what happens from there,” he said.

Haz is looking to develop the game further so that they can increase the selection pool.

“We are still doing development in various areas and we also have a large portfolio with regards to junior schools across the board as well,” he added.

NewsDay



Paris 2024 Olympic hockey qualifier matches set for home and away


GB celebrate during the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers PIC: WORLDSPORTPICS/WILL PALMER

The Olympic qualifiers for Paris 2024 look set to be played on a home and away format.

Seven play-offs over two legs were played for Tokyo 2020 places, with the top-ranked teams having home advantage.

But the FIH want to make it more even for the next Olympics, by giving the lower-ranked teams some advantage.

Insidethegames reported that ties would also take place in March, rather than October-November, giving time for nations to sell tickets.

The home and away format means that some nations may not see commercial value in the pop-up pitches which was for Ireland women’s matches.

It is obvious that Big Stadium Hockey has a place in the sport and so it will be interesting to see if nations will still look into options of bringing other matches to the venue around the qualifiers.

The two-legged, one-off matches for the 2020 Olympics proved popular. There were notable crowds in Vancouver for the Canada v Ireland men’s qualifier, while Hockey Ireland employed the pop-up pitch for their women’s matches against Canada.

Subscribe to our print or digital edition for the bigger picture in 2020. Discounts with our partners and major savings on our digital product for global readers. Find out which subscription suits you best. Sign up now!

It’s a huge year for the sport – and our mission is for all juniors, grass roots, masters and general hockey lovers to read the game.

The Hockey Paper



Sam Ward: Partially blinded hockey player plots Olympic return

By Nick Hope


An injured Sam Ward

"I have four metal plates and 31 screws holding my face together. I'm now near blind in one eye and I know that vision will never come back."

On 3 November 2019, Sam Ward had scored twice and was hovering in hope of a hat-trick against Malaysia in Great Britain's Olympic hockey qualifier when a team-mate took a shot and the ball - travelling at around 50mph - hit him directly in his left eye.

The impact shattered the forward's eye socket, caused seven facial fractures and tore his retina, leaving him effectively blind in one eye.

For months afterwards, just hearing the sound of a hockey ball being struck would trigger "painful" flashbacks for Ward, who has scored 72 international goals in 126 caps for Great Britain and England.

And the Rio Olympian still experiences "night terrors" in his sleep in which people try to attack his 'good' eye.

The 29-year-old thought his career was over, but last month he made an incredible return to the sport and capped his domestic comeback with a dramatic late equaliser for his team Old Georgians.

"I wouldn't wish what I've been through on anyone, but to score after everything was probably the greatest moment of my life," he told BBC Sport.

Ward now hopes to convince Tokyo 2020 selectors that he can still compete at an Olympic level despite his "devastating" visual impairment.

'They literally took my face off during surgery'

It was only after he saw his face in a window that Ward realised the extent of his injuries

Although he was floored by the blow, Ward was adamant he should return to the field of play and help GB qualify for the Olympics.

Team officials insisted his game was over and after glancing in the window he understood why.

"I couldn't see out of my left eye, it was swollen, bleeding and then I realised I had no real facial structure down that side of my face," he said.

"The roof of my mouth also felt like it was moving up and down, which was because the bone in my face was fractured, and that's when the pain hit.

"It was like severe, aggressive pins and needles in my face, and absolute agony."

Because of the extent of the injury and facial swelling it was 10 days before extensive corrective surgery could begin.

"They basically took my face off," said Ward with a nervous smile.

"They cut me from ear to ear across the top of my head, peeled back my face and put four plates and 31 screws inside my face, then stapled me back together.

"The pictures look gruesome, but they did an incredible job."

'Surgery was a success - but I couldn't see'

Eleven days later Ward went for a check-up and although the medical team were happy with his recovery, Ward had an issue.

"The surgeon went 'yeah you're done, great' and I was like 'erm, but I still can't see', which they weren't expecting."

A specialist in London later delivered the "devastating" news he had irreparable retina damage.

"That was a tough day," reflects Ward. "I broke down on the phone to my dad and couldn't tell my mum.

"Hockey had been my life and at that point I couldn't see a future for me in the sport."

Over the following weeks some of his physical wounds began to heal, but the psychological scars took longer to fade.

"I've always been a worrier and had problems with anxiety, but to begin with the sound of a hockey ball being hit was horrendous and caused flashbacks," he revealed.

"I actually had a lot of 'night terrors', which are basically really bad nightmares where people tried to shoot at my good eye with darts.

"I've worked a lot with psychologists and understand it's concern about protecting my right eye and part of the grieving process."

'I didn't want to be a car salesman again'

He retains some peripheral vision in his left eye, but sees nothing other than a "large grey blob" centrally.

A hockey comeback carried obvious risks and challenges, but after deciding a return to his previous career as a car salesman did not appeal he reached out to England Hockey.

Following two weeks of intense physical rehabilitation Ward began training, with a new - functional, rather than fashionable - accessory.

"My left eye is what it is, but I play in glasses or a mask now because my right eye is the world and I have to do everything to protect it," stated Ward, who used 'secret' brain-training apps to aid recovery before his first game back on 22 February.

"I've never been more nervous for a game of hockey in my entire life," said the forward. "It was five times worse than my international debut."

With five minutes remaining Old Georgians were trailing high-flying Surbiton 3-2 when they won a penalty corner.

"It was almost written for me and I just knew I'd score," said the Commonwealth bronze medallist.

"There's never been a moment quite like it in my career and even though crowds can be hostile in hockey it felt like everyone was supporting me."

Ward shared an emotional embrace with his father immediately after the game and is "proud" of his return, but has set himself even bigger targets.

'Reaching the Olympics would be a dream'

He hopes to return to the international stage in time for Tokyo 2020.

"I don't think there's anything in the world that would mean more to me, it'd be incredible," says Ward.

"I'm better than I thought I'd be coming back, but it's a long way to go from club hockey to the international game and I have to keep working to be the best version of me now."

BBC Sport



Croon on the comeback trail with Bloemendaal



Jorrit Croon made his welcome return to action last Sunday as he helped HC Bloemendaal to a big 2-1 win over SV Kampong in the Hoofdklasse topper as he hopes to put his injury woes behind him.

He suffered a nasty fall against Amsterdam in November; it followed knee ligament injury and a shoulder issue sustained in the Pro League semi-final last year but the 21-year-old creative midfielder is now hoping to kick on for a busy 2020.

“I really have no worries about whether my body is doing well,” he told hockey.nl after the win over Kampong and he feels his touch will come back in time.

“I have put in a lot of hours without a ball and stick. But having the stick is so different. That was hard. That took getting used to in the beginning. I have a feeling for the ball.

“But if you have run with your back bent for half an hour, coordination is harder.

“Whether it was the bloody weather at Bloemendaal, with a stormand rain. Minus two degrees. I stood on the field with a smile. I hadn’t played in that long. I love hockey.

“If you don’t play for four months, it will affect you. The fact that we were now playing against Kampong, who played with the ‘knife on the throat’, was good for me.”

Jip Janssen put Kampong in front in the game before Arthur van Doren’s reverse-stick shot and a typical Roel Bovendeert goal turned things around in the second half.

The two clubs could meet again in the EHL FINAL4 should they win their FINAL8 games on April 9.

Bloemendaal are currently top of the table with a six-point lead over HGC with Den Bosch a point back form them. Rotterdam are in fourth on 27 points with Kampong hoping they can bridge the three-point gap.

Euro Hockey League media release



Manpreet, Rani in race for Hockey India's Player of the Year Award

Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal are nominated for the Player of the Year award, while Sreejesh and Savita Punia are in race for the best Goalkeeper's award.

Uthra Ganesan


Manpreet Singh (left) and Rani Rampal guided their respective national teams Tokyo 2020 Olympics qualification. (File Photo)   -  Biswaranjan Rout

Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, captain Manpreet Singh and Surender Kumar would be vying for boasting rights as the best Indian hockey player for the year 2019 and a purse of Rs. 25 lakh at the third Hockey India awards to be held on Sunday.

The nominations for the annual awards were announced on Tuesday. While the men would be competing for the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year, among the women, Deep Grace Ekka, drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, captain Rani Rampal and goalkeeper Savita Punia have been nominated for the Player of the Year award.

Interestingly, Manpreet and Deep Grace were also named Sportspersons of the Year (team sports) at The Hindu Group's Sportstar Aces award earlier this year. Manpreet was also named FIH Player of the Year (male). The awards, for excellence in 2019 and overall contribution to the game, have a total prize money worth Rs. 1.30 crores and a trophy in each section.

The Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award carries a cash prize of Rs. 30 lakh, while the Jugraj Singh Upcoming Player of the Year (Men) and Asunta Lakra Upcoming Player of the Year (Women) would get cash prizes of Rs. 10 lakh each. Individual awards in each department – best forward, midfielder, defender and goalkeeper – carry a cash prizes of Rs. 5 lakh each. The biggest of them would be the Lifetime Achievement award, to be announced on the day of the event, carrying a prize purse of Rs. 30 lakh and trophy.

The nominees:
 
    Player of the Year (male): Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Surender Kumar
    Player of the Year (female): Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Rani Rampal, Savita Punia
    Upcoming Player of the Year (Under-21 male): Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Mandeep Mor, Vivek Sagar Prasad
    Upcoming Player of the Year (Under-21 female): Lalremsiami, Salima Tete, Sharmila Devi
    Forward of the Year: Lalit Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Navneet Kaur, Rani Rampal
    Midfielder of the Year: Manpreet Singh, Monika, Neha Goyal, Vivek Sagar Prasad
    Defender of the Year: Deep Grace Ekka, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar
    Goalkeeper of the Year: Krishan Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Rajani Etimarpu, Savita Punia
    Jhaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution: TBA
    President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement: TBA
    Lifetime Achievement Award: TBA

Sportstar



Hockey India nominates Manpreet and Rani for Player of the Year award


Rani Rampal and Manpreet Singh

Hockey captains Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal were on Tuesday nominated for Dhruv Batra Player of the Year award in male and female category respectively by Hockey India for its third Annual Awards scheduled on March 8.

A total prize money of Rs 1.30 crore along with trophies will be awarded to hockey stars as the national federation on Tuesday released the list of nominations for the awards, given in recognition of excellence in performance for the year 2019 and overall contribution to the game.

Manpreet, who became the first Indian to win the FIH Best Player of the Year award earlier this month, was nominated for guiding the team to Tokyo Olympic berth. He was named alongside Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Surender Kumar for the award which carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh.

India's women team captain Rani, who became the first-ever hockey player to win the prestigious World Games Athlete of the year award last month, was nominated for along with Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur and Savita.

Teenager Vivek Sagar Prasad, who had won the FIH Men's Rising Star of the Year, was nominated for Jugraj Singh Upcoming Player of the Year 2019 (Men–Under 21) along with Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh and Mandeep Mor. The award carries a proze money of Rs 10 lakh.

The nominations for Asunta Lakra Upcoming Player of the Year 2019 (Women–Under 21) included forward Lalremsiami, who had won the 2019 FIH Women's Rising Star of the Year, Salima Tete and Sharmila Devi.

Rani was also named in the list of nomination for Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year, which has a purse of Rs 5 lakh, along with Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh and Navneet Kaur.

For Rs 5 lakh Ajit Pal Singh Award (Midfielder of the Year), Manpreet and Vivek Sagar was nominated along with Monika and Neha Goyal.

Deep Grace, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender and Varun Kumar were nominated for Pargat Singh Award (Defender of the Year), which also carries a prize purse of Rs 5 lakh.

India custodian PR Sreejesh along with Krishan B Pathak, Rajani Etimarpu and Savita were nominated for Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year.

The nomination for Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award (Rs 30 lakh), President's Award for Outstanding Achievement (Rs 5 lakh) and Jaman Lal Sharma Award for Invaluable Contribution (Rs 5 lakh) will be announced during the function.

The Tribune



Long-serving members of the international hockey community



International Women's Day gives the global hockey community the perfect opportunity to showcase and celebrate some of the great work being carried out by women across the world. Many of the women celebrated during our week-long recognition of achievements have become leaders within our sport and are the driving forces behind change, progress and development.

Whether it is having the vision to provide leadership experience opportunities through  coaching hockey or whether it is developing the skills to lead a national team, these are all instances where the hockey community is demonstrating yet again, its huge and uncompromising approach to equality in all aspects of life.

Day Two - African Hockey Federation

As we continue our week long celebration to mark International Women’s Day, we meet three women who have been the backbone of African and international hockey for more than four decades.

When it comes to familiar faces within the African hockey community, or on the wider international hockey scene, there are no better known characters than Ginny Ross, Marelize de Klerk and Sheila Brown.

All three women have known hockey at every level of the game and in roles that cover just about every aspect of the game. Their pathways have crossed many times, as officials and administrators within the game, and right now Sheila and Ginny are working closely to ensure continuity at the continental federation as Sheila has just taken over the reins from Ginny as Vice President of the African Hockey Federation.

Ginny’s pathway into hockey began as a school girl in Zimbabwe. She was selected for the Zimbabwe national team and continued to play elite level hockey until the birth of her children.

Over the past 30 years the energetic Zimbabwean has developed a portfolio of hockey roles that would fill a text book. An FIH international umpire, FIH Level 3 Coach, administrator – including at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games – and various positions on both the Zimbabwe Hockey Association (HAZ) Board, the Africa Hockey Federation and the FIH.

In recent years, Ginny’s involvement in hockey has been almost fully focused on development and education. Currently, she is a member of the FIH development committee, an executive member of the HAZ with responsibility for coaching and development and an executive member of COSAHA. She is also a FIH Educator.

Talking about her enthusiasm and drive to develop playing and coaching talent, Ginny says: “I am passionate about hockey and I work hard for the sport throughout Africa.  I am always there to encourage and help others within the game wherever I can.”

For South Africa’s Marelize de Klerk, it was the fact that hockey was such a gender balanced sport that drew her in as a youngster. “I just loved the interaction between the guys and the girls and the fact we could all socialise together after matches.”



Marelize took up umpiring by accident – the appointed umpire failed to arrive for the match. She says “My strategy in that first game was, just stay near the game, blow your whistle, point in any direction, but look them in the eye. A couple of years later I umpired my 150th senior international on the very same field.”

Since then, Marelize has umpired at three Olympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 – where she umpired the final). At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, she was umpire manager, and it will be a high five this year when she reprises that role at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. She also has a place in the history books as the first female umpire to reach the 200 international match mark.

Away from the umpiring side of things, Marelize was a member of the African Hockey Federation Executive Committee from 2010-2017 and is currently on the FIH Competitions Committee.

Marelize’s commitment to the sport is immense. She says: “After the Sydney Olympics, which I loved, but which was such a big moment and experience, I decided to do things differently for Athens. I changed my training programme, started to umpire in the men’s league, I introduced eye gym and mental training into my routine. I just tried to move my approach to the game to a much more professional level.”

With her fifth Olympic Games on the horizon, there is no doubting the professional approach that Marelize continues to take in her search for excellence.

Known as The Colonel, Sheila Brown is devoted to the sport she first fell in love with as a youngster. With 43 years of active service in one of the toughest environments in the world, the Johannesburg-based police officer used hockey as an escape from the rigours of the job.

While she enjoyed playing, it was organising and administrating where Sheila excelled. She became President of the Southern Gauteng Hockey Association at a very young age and served in that role for more than 20 years.

Her international break came in 1995 when she was asked to judge at an event in the Caribbean. Following that moment, Shelia moved up the ranks to Tournament Director, where she officiated, among many other events, at two Champions Trophies and two World Cups.

Sheila also has an impressive Olympic record. She was judge at the 2004 Athens Olympics, Assistant Tournament Director in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 before becoming Tournament Director at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Aside from her new role as Vice President of the AfHF, Sheila currently serves on the FIH health and Safety Committee as well as becoming Chair of the FIH Officials Committee.

While an absolute stickler for rules and protocol, Sheila is renowned and respected for her fairness and compassion to everyone she works with in the hockey community. With typical humbleness, she says: “It has always been the greatest honour to have been afforded these appointments.”

#IWD2020
#EachForEqual

FIH site



Roger St Rose (TTO) nominated for the 2019 World Fair Play Awards

Donny Gobinsingh


Roger St. Rose (TTO) (Photo: Yan Huckendubler)
     
Roger St Rose has been nominated for the 2019 World Fair Play Awards among thousands of candidates of all Sports, worldwide.

Roger St Rose is one of those special once in a lifetime personality that have always carried himself with the utmost dignity, respect and statesmanship during his tenure as a former national hockey player for Trinidad and Tobago. He also had a stellar career as an International Hockey Umpire. At the time of his retirement we would have been the first Umpire from the Caribbean and specifically from the small twin island of Trinidad and Tobago to umpire at multiple Champions Trophy, World Cups and Olympics.

After he retired from hockey, he took a sabbatical to pursue his career in law. During this time, he was not active in hockey. After successfully completing his law Degree and being called to the Bar in TTO, he made himself available to the service  the sport of hockey but in his home and to the PAHF, He has been on the executive of the TTHB for more than 10m years in various positions, He has also been the Chairperson of the PAHF Umpiring Committee.

Roger has consistently and persistently represented himself as being an honest individual in the execution of his multiple roles and responsibilities, such as, Executive Member of the TTHB and PAHF, FIH Elite Umpires Manager, and recently on the FIH Officials Committee. He demonstrates this fairness as an Umpires Manager by facilitating the growth and development of umpires and umpires Managers in the PAHF sometimes at the expense of his fellow countrymen feeling that he does not have a keen interest in their careers. However, he has the trust and responsibility for the development for all umpires of the PAHF.

Last year he initiated a working committee to explore the development of Umpire mentors. Emanating out of this exercise was the drafting of several documents geared towards clearly defining the pathway to become a PAHF umpire and Umpire Manager. He was also able to host the first Potential Umpire Manager's Course for PAHF personnel in December 2019 in Miami. As an FIH Educator Roger uses his role to teach people not only from TTO and PAHF but all over the world. He also lectures at the University in the West Indies on the Art and Science of Coaching.

Roger always makes himself available to a higher calling and this was seen by his nomination and selection to the FIH Umpiring Committee where he has the additional responsibilities of managing the careers of all Umpires and Umpire Managers in the FIH.

International Fair Play Committee

Since its foundation by UNESCO and a number of international sports governing bodies in Paris in 1963 the goal of the International Fair Play Committee is the worldwide defense and promotion of fair play.

The activity of CIFP is aimed at national and international organizations in the field of sports and education, and professional athletes with a special emphasis on children, adolescents and those in charge of training them, namely coaches and trainers. More in http://www.fairplayinternational.org/home


2019 Congress, Lima - PAHF Order of Merit to Roger St. Rose (TTO)

Pan American Hockey Federation media release

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