News for 01 May 2020
All the news for Friday 1 May 2020
Hockey Australia preparing for resumption of hockey
Hockey Australia (HA), together in consultation with its Member Associations (MA’s), have commenced planning for a 2020 hockey season to take place.
As Australia continues to make inroads in flattening the curve of COVID-19, there is genuine optimism and excitement about the prospect of hockey being played this year.
Hockey Australia CEO Matt Favier reiterated the primary focus for HA and every MA continues to be on getting local competitions started up again, and he is buoyed by the recent commentary by government authorities.
“While we understand this is a really difficult time, that there is still a level of uncertainty and it is premature to set any specific dates on when hockey will recommence, we are excited by the progress that is being made and the direction Australia as a nation is heading in with regards to this pandemic,” said Favier.
“Hockey Australia and the MA’s have started planning for when the green light is given for community sport to resume, which has been announced as one of the Federal Government’s priorities, and we are hopeful that it is a case of when and not if.”
“The MA’s have shown outstanding leadership and cohesion during this extremely challenging time, and the decisions being made through this process have been with the betterment of hockey and all of its stakeholders at the core.”
“The wider hockey community has also been extremely supportive and unified in navigating through this period, highlighting the collective strength of our sport. We will continue to aim to provide them with as much information as possible as things change.”
“As we look to the months ahead with the hope that hockey will be back sooner rather than later, it remains critical that everyone continues their diligence in following the strict government and medical directives.”
While each Member Association is guided by their individual state/territory jurisdictions, which means the timing of a resumption could vary in different parts of the country, Hockey Australia continues to be in regular contact with Sport Australia who are in the process of developing ‘return to play’ guidelines for the time when hockey and sport will be in a position to safely return.
In the meantime, Member Associations will continue to communicate and inform their respective associations and clubs of updates and developments.
Importantly, various restrictions remain in place until further notice, and HA will continue to monitor, and act accordingly, in response to statements and policies enacted by both Federal and State/Territory Health authorities. HA encourages all members of its community to download the Government’s COVIDSafe app as well as continue best hygiene practices and social distancing.
Hockey Australia media release
Russell and Tarrant move from Rotterdam to Hamburg’s Polo club
The Hamburg Polo Club has swooped to land two big names to link up with them once club hockey returns to action with New Zealanders Kane Russell and Blair Tarrant agreeing terms.
Both move from HC Rotterdam. The 28-year-old Russell brings a real corner threat having netted 70 times in 170 appearances for the Blacksticks while Tarrant, 29, is his international captain with 212 caps to his name.
Polo’s Matthias Witthaus is delighted to see players of their quality join the club: “We are of course very happy that we were able to convince two top international players to come to the Polo Club.
“Their strong mentality will not only help our team, but also the whole club to develop further. Kane and Blair are two really nice people who will give our defense, along with Mathias Müller, the necessary stability.
“Kane’s corner strength will also open up completely new possibilities for us. Overall, Kane and Blair are two super important reinforcements that I’m really looking forward to!”
Russell added: “For me, the personal conversations with Witti and the people in charge of the Polo Club were the decisive factor. I felt pretty quickly that I would fit in very well. I am convinced that I am in very good hands here and that we can take the next step forward in the coming seasons. I am looking forward to Hamburg and the team and hope that hockey can start again soon. ”
Tarrant added, meanwhile, that: “I’ve played for Rotterdam for the past four years and now it was just time to do something new and exciting. The Hamburger Polo Club journey is impressive and I would like to use my experience to help the team continue to make positive headlines.
“I am particularly looking forward to working with the coach and the team. It will certainly be a very exciting and good time.”
Euro Hockey League media release
Boyertown's Ali Campbell glad to be back with field hockey national team
By Brian Rippey
At a time when many of the veteran players decided to retire from the USA Women's Field Hockey National Team, Ali Campbell saw an opportunity to take a second shot.
Campbell, who knows the USA Field Hockey program inside and out, rejoined the national team in January, 2 1/2 years after retiring. Campbell, whose maiden name is McEvoy, said she feels like a bridge between the remaining veteran players and the younger players on the national team.
The 2010 Boyertown graduate spent much of her time in between on the USA Women's National Indoor Team, helping the Americans win a gold medal in the 2017 Indoor Pan American Cup.
"I saw there were open tryouts for the national team this time around and I was going back and forth about it," Campbell said. "I knew I missed it and I missed the competitive nature and just being around people who want to be great.
"With this new journey of 2020 I wanted to try out again and rekindle that competitive drive that I still have deep down."
Campbell rejoined the team shortly after it lost a two-game series to India in an Olympic qualifier. Campbell, 28, said she and her teammates are focused on rebuilding the team to make a run at the 2024 Games in Paris.
"I think that everyone uses it as a motivating factor for our next four-year block," Campbell said. "If that's in the cards for me I'm in. I know I want to be a part of that, and if I'm able to still be the best I can be and still be competitive at the time then that's a dream of mine that I would absolutely love to be a part of."
Campbell already has fulfilled many of her dreams after battling back from ACL tears in each knee during her high school career as a field hockey and lacrosse player. She was part of two NCAA championship field hockey teams at the University of Maryland and went to the Final Four in each of her four years with the Terps.
A four-year starter as a defender, Campbell finished her All-American collegiate career with 34 goals and 26 assists.
Campbell has played with USA Field Hockey internationally as a member of Under-16, Under-19 and Under-21 teams. She earned a bronze medal at the Junior Pan American Games in 2011 with the U-21 team.
Campbell first joined the national team in 2013 and played in 31 international games before retiring. Then recently married and looking to start a career, Campbell said she felt 2017 was the right time to explore different paths in her life.
As one of the younger, less experienced players on the team, Campbell was left off the roster for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
"I decided the first time around it was a transition period after Rio," Campbell said. "I just felt like I just wanted to get into coaching. I still had the love for the game and I still wanted to represent the United States. So that's what led me to go into indoor."
Since the indoor training schedule was a little less rigorous, Campbell was able to start a coaching career. She was an assistant coach at Millersville University for the past two seasons but resigned in February.
"I decided for the time being I want to take this on full force," Campbell said. "I just felt like I couldn't give both things 100%. I wanted to do what was best for the girls and for the team."
Campbell lives in Lancaster with husband, Eric, where she is drilling and working out while the national team's activities are suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. Campbell made five more international appearances this year before the suspension in mid-March.
Her 36 caps rank her in the top 10 on a roster that includes a few holdovers from the 2016 Olympic team and a lot of younger players recently out of college.
"I think I fit right in the middle," Campbell said. "There are the more experienced players who have been around and have more caps, and others who are just coming in.
"I feel like I can offer good advice and experience to the younger players, and I feel like I can also relate and communicate with the older players as well about their mindset."
The national team, which formerly trained at Spooky Nook in Lancaster County, is looking for a new training center when team activities resume.
The site of the future center as well as Campbell's future are uncertain.
"I definitely keep things interesting," Campbell said.
Reading Eagle
Don't turn into fatties
By Jugjet Singh
Malaysia’s Faizal Saari (right) celebrates after scoring against Poland in the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on March 23, 2019.
NATIONAL players should show up fit and not fat when it is safe again for them to train as a team after the Movement Control Order (MCO), said the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC).
Currently, all the national players are training at home to maintain fitness.
"Times have changed as in the past, our players were always in training camps under the supervision of coaches.
"But now, they are on their own, and the coaches can only guide and monitor them from afar," said MHC vice-president Datuk Ahmad Najmi Razak yesterday,
"So the challenge is for the players to turn up for the first day of training fit and ready for the next phase of training. We do not want overweight players.
"The players, however, have been doing their part by following our training programme diligently.
"When the MCO is sports-friendly, I believe the players will not disappoint," said Najmi.
Unlike other MHC coaches, national chief coach Roelant Oltmans is monitoring his trainees from the Netherlands.
He will only return to Kuala Lumpur once travel restrictions have been lifted.
"Oltmans will be back when the government allows foreigners to return to Malaysia."
Oltmans had returned to the Netherlands just after the MCO was declared as the Dutchman wanted to be with his family.
The trainees, both senior and junior, do not face financial issues as they are being paid allowances by the National Sports Council.
"None of the players have asked for special assistance from the MHC. This is because the NSC are still paying them monthly allowances.
"All they need to do is to keep fit at home. And since some players are now fasting, there is a slight change in training, but it's ongoing nevertheless."
The national team management are monitoring the Covid-19 situation worldwide.
They are also waiting for the International Hockey Federation and the Asian Hockey Federation to announce the new dates of the tournaments, which were postponed due to the pandemic.
"Everyone is waiting for the situation to improve. When sports are able to be played again, we want our players to be ready," said Najmi.
The Azlan Shah Cup and the Junior Asia Cup (men and women), along with the Asian Champions Trophy (men and women), are some of the tournaments which Malaysia are eagerly waiting to compete.
When the MCO is lifted, MHC will consult the National Sports Institute to come up with suitable training programme for their trainees.
New Straits Times
Anil: This year’s Junior Hockey League won’t be cancelled
KUALA LUMPUR: The show will go on.
The Malaysian Junior Hockey League (MJHL), which were supposed to held in March, will not be cancelled.
The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee chairman Datuk Seri Dr Anil Jeet Singh said they would not shelve it to next year.
“Our top priority this year is the junior league, which have been held every year since 1995. This meet is important as it’s a platform to identify new talents for the national team, ” said Anil.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that the movement control order will end in May so that they can hold a meeting by next month to discuss the league.
Anil added that players, who were supposed to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations in November, would not have a problem playing in the league as the exams have been postponed to next year.
“The MJHL are likely to be played either in September or October but it all depends on the approval of the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Sports Council.
“We are confident that the situation will improve by September, ” said Anil who added that the league would take less than two months to complete.
The Star of Malaysia
Ulster Hockey to announce promoted and relegated clubs after season cut short
Gareth Hanna
Amy Benson's Ards are second in the women's Premier League with 39 points from 15 games, behind Queen's on 42 points from 14 outings.
Ulster Hockey will announce tomorrow which teams will be promoted and relegated after the season was brought to a premature close.
Irish Hockey had advised that provincial leagues would be decided through a 'percentage equalisation' calculation and the amended Ulster league tables are due to be published tomorrow.
That will decide the layout of the divisions for the 20/21 campaign.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Ulster Hockey has confirmed that no play-offs will take place to decide promotion and relegation, with the top two teams to replace the bottom two sides in the league above, with the exception being between junior and senior leagues.
If teams are tied on percentage equalisation, they will be separated first by head-to-head record, then goal difference.
Ballynahinch, without a point in the men's Premier League, are set to be relegated, behind Bangor on three points from 14 games and Queen's on seven points from 17 outings.
In the women's Premier League, Rainey are bottom on four points from 19 matches, with Mossley on eight points from 17 games.
The province was due to hold a Clubs Forum to discuss a potential restructure of the league pyramid, however that has been postponed with the Premier League to remain the same format for the 20/21 campaign.
The Competitions Committee will, however, review the second tier, Intermediate League, prior to the campaign.
Belfast Telegraph
Dutch youth hockey returns with national teams to train from 1.5m
By The Hockey Paper
HC Rotterdam opened its doors to children on Wednesday
Holland’s men’s and women’s national teams will be allowed to resume training from Friday – albeit with a limited group and with a 1.5 metre safe distance ruling in place – two days after Dutch children were allowed to resume playing sports together.
National coaches Max Caldas and Alyson Annan will take charge of sessions at the Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam, with the clubhouse shut and players arriving changed for the first time since lockdown.
Last week, the Dutch government said children up to aged 18 may return to the hockey fields, to train only.
While children under 13 can engage in close proximity, the 13-18 age bracket must not be within 1.5m, while a raft of other rules have been put in place at clubs, including washing hands before training and only touching the ball with the stick.
Players may only touch their own equipment, no training vests will be allowed and spitting is completely banned.
Each club has assigned a corona representative, who will make sure that parents don’t enter each venue and that they arrive with children no earlier than 10 minutes before the start of training.
Children must leave the sports complex immediately after the training, while some clubs have placed route markers where they allowed to walk.
Help keep independent journalism alive in these uncertain times. Ahead of the new season, please subscribe in print or in digital format.
The Hockey Paper
NFHS, USA Field Hockey Partner to Sustain, Grow Field Hockey Participation
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has partnered with USA Field Hockey in a collaborative effort to sustain and grow the number of high school field hockey participants.
The NFHS and USA Field Hockey aim to accomplish their collective goal through improved promotion and development of field hockey, and by recruiting, supporting and retaining players, coaches and umpires. These methods to grow the sport will coincide with additional education for parents on the added benefits of student engagement and multi-sport participation. There will also be an emphasis on increased diversity and inclusion to make field hockey available and accessible across the country.
“The NFHS is extremely excited about partnering with USA Field Hockey to grow participation in this great game," said Karissa Niehoff, NFHS Executive Director. "During these very challenging times, we hope that schools promote as much good news like this as possible. There’s so much to gain for students and adults alike by engaging in activities such as field hockey. As a former player at the high school and collegiate levels, and as a high school coach, I can say with confidence that field hockey offers participants the opportunity to learn a sport that is uniquely elegant, exciting and team-oriented. The field hockey community at large welcomes everyone and focuses on the positive experience for all young people who participate."
The partnership between the NFHS and USA Field Hockey includes plans to establish an advocacy group that drives opportunities to support, sustain and grow high school field hockey and increase and improve stakeholder engagement. In addition to recruitment, education and professional development for coaches and umpires, the partnership will feature developmental tools and resources for players, parents and administrators in schools and clubs.
The two groups also plan to distribute information that will better assist in the development and strengthening of grass-roots programs, and manage the transition of student-athletes between youth, middle school, high school, collegiate and lifetime engagement in sport. As part of that goal, the partnership will utilize the USA Field Hockey American Development Model (ADM).
Other areas to be addressed as part of the partnership include:
- Establishment of an annual Summit targeted toward high school coaches, umpires, administrators and student leaders.
- Development of a Junior Coaching and Umpiring Certification Program to equip student leaders for personal development and lifetime engagement in sport, providing tools to enable young leaders to contribute positively to grass-roots growth in their communities.
- Awards and recognition for adult and student leaders.
- Continued participation in NFHS Rules/Liaisons meetings.
- Development of school/conference ‘starter’ tool kits, ideally supported by grants for schools in need.
- Aligned communication around partnership and shared programs and events.
“Sport at the high school level is so important to the athletic and personal development of young people,” said Simon Hoskins, USA Field Hockey's Executive Director. “The Olympic sport of field hockey is a key component of many high school programs and we look forward to working in partnership with the NFHS to offer more students the wonderful values that our sport provides including leadership, teamwork, self-confidence, composure, work ethic, respect, healthfulness, humility and more.”
Field hockey experienced a five-year high of 61,036 combined participants in 2018-19, according to the NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey. Of those, 60,824 were girls competing in nearly 1,800 schools.
“Field hockey presents an important opportunity for high schools to attract many girls to sport, leveling the playing field in terms of gender equity during the important fall season,” added Niehoff. “Being part of a team, exercising regularly and practicing important time management skills from the start of school can establish a sense of belonging and good habits that can be sustained throughout the year. Currently, almost half of the states do not offer any team field sports for girls in the fall. States in which both field hockey and soccer are offered during the fall season report increased female athletic participation and are closer to achieving gender equity.”
“High school sports play an important foundational role in the fabric of sport in America,” said Sally Goggin, USA Field Hockey’s National Development Director. “This partnership is important and timely, and we strive to be an example of teamwork and of the Olympic ideals in action. I feel fortunate to have picked up a stick as a freshman in high school, continued to play in college and am passionate about helping others discover and excel in the game as players, coaches, umpires and fans.”
More information on the partnership, as well as how to support, sustain and grow high school field hockey in local communities, will be made available in the coming weeks.
About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,500 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.9 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS website at nfhs.org.
USFHA media release