Its that time of year again. Come join us for our Annual General Meeting and have your voice heard!

Date: Thursday December 8th, 2016
Time 7:30pm
Location: South Delta Rec Centre – Arctic Room

We are always looking for volunteers to help out on our Executive or in other capacities. In particular, we are looking for someone to coordinate our U11-18 girls. If you are interested, please respond to this email

Look forward to seeing you on the 8th.

On Wednesday, the Government of Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committees, hosted more than 250 Canadian athletes and coaches in Ottawa and Gatineau to celebrate their achievements at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (See Falcons Mark Pearson at back).

The day kicked off with sport fairs at the University of Ottawa and the Centre sportif de Gatineau, where Olympians and Paralympians engaged local elementary school students in various sport activities to encourage physical activity and sport participation. The morning also included Facebook Live sessions with athletes and students from across Canada.

The athletes and coaches then attended a luncheon hosted by the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, where they received their Olympic and Paralympic rings, presented by Teck and Hillberg & Berk. Petro Canada representatives also made a special presentation of the James Worrall Flag Bearer Awards to Rosie MacLennan, David Eng and Penny Oleksiak (Aurélie Rivard was unable to attend the event).

Finally, the athletes and coaches were welcomed into the House of Commons to be honoured by all members of Parliament, who represent all Canadians across the country. The House rose in extended applause as each athlete paraded across the floor, an honour reserved for only very special guests.

Photo of the celebration taken by Canada’s 2016 Olympic Field Hockey Team:

Girls field hockey takes momentum to next week’s provincial championships.

South Delta Sun Devils battled some strong teams and wet weather to capture last week’s Fraser Valley “AAA” Field Hockey Championship. The girls will return to Surrey for the provincial tournament, starting Wednesday.
A familiar trophy is back in the hands of the South Delta Sun Devils senior girls field hockey team after a two-year hiatus.

The Sun Devils are once again Fraser Valley AAA champions thanks to an unbeaten run last week at Tamanwais Park. South Delta is now gearing up for the provincial “AAA” championships which start Wednesday in Surrey.

“One of the goals we set at the start of the season was to get the trophy back so it’s great to see the girls do it,” said longtime coach Neil McLennan, who has now guided SDSS teams to 17 Fraser Valley titles.

South Delta avenged last year’s championship game loss with a 2-1 victory over longtime rival Gleneagle.

The Devils broke a 1-1 tie with a second half goal then relied on their young defence to hold the fort – especially with the Coquitlam school pouring it on in the dying minutes of the match.

That’s where experience gained at tournaments last month in Duncan and Victoria have paid dividends. The Sun Devils roster features six players in Grade 10 and another in Grade 9 with only three slated to graduate. Two of those Grade 10s are starting defenders.

“Learning to play under pressure and battling your nerves is a big part of it,” continued McLennan. “These girls play club hockey but, emotionally, it’s just a different level with higher expectations in high school. The girls held up well.”

South Delta opened the championships with a win over Riverside then had its hands full with another Coquitlam school – Charles Best – squandering a two-goal lead then managing to pull out a 3-2 victory.

McLennan’s outlook on the provincials is guarded as usual for good reason. Over the years, he has seen teams loaded with seniors not make the expected run towards a podium finish, while others have come out of nowhere to earn a provincial medal.

That was the case two years ago when a young South Delta team lost 3-0 in the Fraser Valley final to Heritage Woods, only to produce a surprising bronze at the B.C. tourney.

The goal is to get through round-robin play with a top two finish in their group and see what happens in the quarter-finals.

“The way the girls are playing right now, a top eight finish is realistic,” added McLennan. “We had a slow start last year in our first game against McMath and it cost us. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen this time.”

The Sun Devils roster features: Grade 12: Kyra Kuramoto, Jess Goodfellow, Annie Poohachoff. Grade 11: Bailey Mitchell, Abi Smart, Katie McCarvill, Kate Knoedler, Aimee Calder, Bri Lyseng. Grade 10 Charlotte Lee, Mady Ajomandi. Aliyah Smith, Eve Carrothers, Elise Ridley, Annika Vaughan. Grade 9: Kayla Guraliuk.

© 2016 Delta Optimist
- See more at: http://www.delta-optimist.com/sports/devils-capture-fraser-valley-title-1.2451537#sthash.HuiiCEQ9.dpuf

PHOTO: Canada’s women’s field hockey team celebrates after winning a bronze medal at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, the last time Canada’s women played at home. (By Yan Huckendubler)

Field Hockey Canada has been awarded the bid to host the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Women’s World League 2 event, an eight-nation tournament which will take place in West Vancouver from April 1 to 9, 2017.

The FIH World League serves as a qualification pathway for World Cups and the Olympic Games. The World League event in West Vancouver will feature Canada’s senior women’s field hockey team, currently ranked 18th in the world, as well as opponents from India (12), Belarus (19), Uruguay (22), Chile (23), France (24), Mexico (30) and Trinidad & Tobago (34). The top two finishers in April’s tournament will move on to World League Round 3 later in 2017, where spots for the 2018 World Cup will be handed out.

“The District of West Vancouver, and the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club will work with Field Hockey Canada to deliver the event,” says Field Hockey Canada Chief Executive Office Jeff Sauvé. “Hosting World League provides a competitive advantage for our Women’s National Team, and the honour of competing on a pitch named after a legendary Canadian field hockey alumnus. We have an opportunity to engage local athletes in a community where field hockey is a youth sport of choice.”

“The community of West Vancouver, with its storied hockey history, knowledgeable fans, legion of dedicated volunteers, and physical beauty provides the perfect backdrop for this competition and our Women’s National Program.”

All games will be played at West Vancouver’s Rutledge Field, which is home to the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club and recently played host two international matches between Canada’s Olympic men’s field hockey team and the United States prior to the 2016 Olympic Games.

drone_westvan_rutledge
Aerial view of West Vancouver’s Rutledge Field during a series between Canada’s men’s Olympic field hockey team at the United States in July 2016.

“We are very excited to see our Women’s National Team play on the North Shore where field hockey is embedded in the community”, says Patricia Macleod, President of the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club. “The World League tournament will take place right as we kick off our popular Spring League program. This will create some unique opportunities for our youngest members to be inspired by international role models and to get involved in hosting this prestigious event.”

“It’s exciting to see this high-level competition taking place in West Vancouver,” says West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith. “We’re very proud of West Vancouver’s sports and recreation facilities and this tournament is evidence of how they help to create a strong sporting culture here.”

Rutledge Field is named after former Canadian men’s field hockey team Captain Ross Rutledge, who competed at two Olympics Games for Canada and passed away in 2004 after a battle with cancer. The facility, which consists of a purpose-built, field-hockey specific turf field and is located at Ambleside Park, was dedicated to him in 2011.

Ticket information will be released soon.

Congratulations to Rowan Childs who was named this week to the Jr. National Team competing in the highly anticipated Junior World Cup held in Lucknow, India in December. Recent training camp trials and testing have allowed the junior players hoping for a place on the team to show the coaching staff how much they deserve a spot and playing with the seniors as part of their camp gave them the much needed high level of competition they’ll be expecting to see in India. Rowan has a unique opportunity being the youngest on the squad at only 16 years old. He will be joining another ex falcon Gavin Baines who hails from Ladner and has slightly more international experience. Together with the other 14 players The Canadian team will be competing against the worlds best teams hoping to improve their ranking and if possible finish in the top 4. The Junior World Cup is the crowning tournament at the under 21 level worldwide and competition is fierce. Germany has won the trophy multiple times in recent history and isn’t to quick to give it up to local challengers, India or other hockey hopefuls like Australia, Holland or England. Rowan follows in the footsteps of many great players from Tsawwassen who have reached the pinnacle of the sport of field hockey, and like many of them will stand proud as the Canadian anthem is played while donning the Canadian colours this December. Rowan also will likely have a second chance to play in the next Junior World Cup in 2020 along with Brendan Guraliuk who has been on the cusp of selections since the Nationals in the summer. Both players will only be 20 in 2020 and the extra experience they are getting now will prepare them for training and competition on the lead up to the next Junior World Cup and beyond. Best of luck to Rowan as he sets out on this epic journey. We’ll all be watching! (Streaming services will be announced closer to the tournament).

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has released the schedule for the upcoming Men’s Junior World Cup which will be played in December in Lucknow, India from December 8-18, 2016.
Canada’s Under-21 National Team has been drawn into Pool D and is one of sixteen teams to compete in the tournament. The Canadians are grouped with host India, England, and South Africa.

Canada’s first match will be played against the host Indians on December 8 (7:00pm local time), the opening day of the tournament. After a day off on December 9, Canada will be back in action on December 10 (3:00pm) against South Africa and will then close out the pool stage of the tournament on December 12 (10:00am) against England.

The top two finishers from each pool will move on to the quarterfinals, which will be played on December 14, while the remaining teams will play for the 9th-16th spots. The medal matches are scheduled for December 18.