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.

Dear athletes and families,

We are pleased to announce that registration for the 2016 Women’s Train to Train Regional Trials are open until Wednesday, September 14 for female athletes born in 2002, 2003, and 2004!
Please see the attached document for information on all regional trials, how to register, athlete eligibility and more!

Register for trials now!

WHEN ARE TRIALS?
T2T SOUTHEAST: September 18 at Tamawanis (Surrey) @5pm. Deadline for registration: Sept 14 @noon.
$5 per athlete. Please arrive 40 minutes early for check-in and clothing sizing. All athletes will be expected to run the Yo-Yo fitness test and meet the minimum Regional Program standard in order to be eligible for selection.
Please read all Athlete Program Policies regarding attendance, fitness standards, injury/illness protocols, the selection process, and more.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Regional Season: November-April
Regional athletes will train on Friday and/or Sunday evenings to target 40 hours during the program. This will be a mixture of indoor/outdoor hockey, education, fitness and functional movement and strength & conditioning. Athletes will work toward obtaining eligibility to participate in the spring Regional Festival. The FHBC program curriculum is designed and overseen by Susan Ahrens, FHBC Provincial Coach and Performance Manager. The curriculum delivers a holistic skills matrix which includes athlete development of technical, tactical, psychological, physiological and broader team aspects. FHBC Athlete Programs are part of the FHC (Field Hockey Canada) Player Pathway and aim to facilitate optimal training at the athlete’s stage of development.
Players – Training Schedules

The Regional Festival: April 7-9 2017 (Lower Mainland) TBC
Following the training block, eligible players will participate in the Regional Festival. This is the athlete’s opportunity to showcase developed skills acquired in the Regional Program and is a nationally-recognized talent identification point. FHC WNT (Women’s National Team) coaches and CIS University attend this event. It is a fun culmination to the training block and a bridge to post-secondary educational and national team objectives.
*new! In the 2017 Provincial (summer) season, regionally-based Provincial teams (and ‘select teams’ – see The Provincial Season below) will be formed to compete at the National Championship. As a first step toward this, the 2017 Regional Festival will host regional teams. This replaces the former drafting of players into teams. This means that each regional squad will train together until March at which point regional teams will train together for approximately 3 sessions prior to the April Festival.
What are the benefits of this? The coaches will know their players and teams better; training and competing together will enhance teammate bonding; players and teams will be better prepared for the Festival; and standard of play will be raised to give players the best opportunity to showcase their abilities for provincial selection.
Tournaments – Athlete Program Events

Program levy: $640 per athlete.
Payment plan available. Includes all aspects of the spring tournament. Regional Program Cost Overview

The purpose of the Regional Program is to develop a competitive pool of players who are able to play and compete at the Provincial level. Therefore, provincially-selected athletes should be aware of and able to commit to the following dates (which remain TBC until further notice):

T2T U15 Team BC Selection Camp: May 5-6 (Lower Mainland)
Selected athletes from the Regional Festival will be invited to trial for Team BC at the Selection Camp. This is typically held on a Friday evening and all-day Saturday. The trial fee is $20 per athlete. Selections to Team BC will be made by the Wednesday following the trial.

The Provincial Season: May-July
Team BC athletes will target 30 hours of training before they compete at the U15 National Championship in July in BC (on the lower mainland). It is our aim to send four women’s T2T teams to the National Championships: 1 Lower Mainland team, 1 Island team and 2 select teams. That’s right! 2017 will see regional provincial teams representing BC! Again, we’ll provide updates when information becomes available.

The U15 National Championship: July/August 2017, BC
This will likely to be a four-day event and will be hosted in BC in 2017. As information becomes available, it will be posted here: ‘Tournaments – National Events’.

The regional program includes indoor and outdoor hockey, fitness education and testing and technical skills instruction from FHBC coaches. Participation in the Regional Program is mandatory for athletes interested in representing BC and is the first step in the provincial athlete identification process.

Want to see some video footage from the 2014-2015 T2C Regional Tournament at UBC from ViaSport? Check this out!
Also, click HERE to see video footage on the female player pathway development in organized sport!

We hope to see you there!

Melody Haddow

Athlete Program Manager

Field Hockey BC
202-210 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC, V5Y 3W2

604-730-7220

US National Field Hockey Festival
November 24-28, 2016
West Palm Beach, Florida

Shiv’s Coaching Academy will be taking a U19 team to the US National Field Hockey Festival this November. SCA’s goal is to provide an opportunity for the student athletes, to show case their game and skills, to win a scholarship at the USA universities and colleges

Travel Dates are November 21 – 27, 2016
Cost is $2,900 per player

The fees for each player include:-
• Training sessions – 8
• Airfare
• Accommodations in Palm Beach, Florida – includes breakfast
• Commute from airport/hotel and venue in Florida
• Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday
• Drinks/water and snacks between games
• Uniform
• Training jacket

Does not include:-
• Meals
• Shopping/souvenirs

If you daughter is interested in joining SCA’s Festival team. Please contact:
Head Coach, Johnna Manson; johnnamanson@gmail.com
Manager, Elain Goodman; emgoodman@telus.net
Coach Shiv Jagday; coachshiv@aol.com

Hi All,
Falcons once again will be hosting Moreton Hall Secondary School from south of Liverpool England on Thursday July 7th at Winskill pool, 1.30pm first game and 3pm second game.
Come out to cheer on all the girls and meet the English coaches.
Should be lots of fun watching them play. Bring your cameras.
Please contact me at 604-943-1500 if you want to play.
Ages 13-18 girls.
Zandra Harvey