News and Announcements

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Field Hockey Canada has officially unveiled a new national initiative for hockey players over the age of thirty-five. The newly minted “Canada Masters Hockey” property will see National Masters sides competing in major International events as early as the Fall of 2015.

The Canada Masters Hockey initiative supports Field Hockey Canada’s strategic objective of developing and strengthening field hockey across the country and fostering a robust Canadian hockey family. Engaging Master level athletes, the Canada Masters Hockey program will provide field hockey players of all ages the opportunity to continue participation in the sport at an international level.

“Canada Masters Hockey is a crucial link in engaging our field hockey community across the country,” says Field Hockey Canada President Ian Baggott. “This initiative will encourage this influential segment of our population to continue to support, play and enjoy this wonderful sport.”

The first competition in which the Masters team will represent Canada is planned for September 2015 in Tucumán, Argentina. Teams from around the world will gather to compete in the Pan American Masters event, created with support from the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) and the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

A steering committee of Baggott, longstanding contributor to Field Hockey Canada from Ontario Ed Fernandez, Field Hockey Canada Chief Executive Jeff Sauvé, Vancouver resident and former Olympian John McBryde, and two former Women’s National Team and FHC Hall of Fame inaugural inductees, Nancy Mollenhauer and Sharon Creelman, will oversee the initial development of Canada Masters Hockey.

For athletes who are interested in being involved with future tours and to be added to the distribution list, please email Ian Baggott (ian@baggott.ca).

Source: Field Hockey Canada (Shaheed Devji)

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Summer Drop in is around the corner! The Sailors Field Hockey club will be hosting their annual summer drop-in sessions, open to men and women (age 14+) for pick-up games.

Host: Sailors Field Hockey Club
When: Tuesdays, 7-8:30 p.m.
Dates: July 7 – August 25, 2015
Where; University of Victoria (Field 1) Artificial Water-based Turf
Cost: $5.00 cash per session

For more information please contact Ronnie Lee (leeronnie19@gmail.com)

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The Canadian Women’s Field Hockey Team has named its roster for the upcoming four-game test series against the Irish Women’s National Team, which will be held in Toronto, Ontario from May 23rd-27th, 2015.

Included in that mix are Victoria natives Maddie Secco (Oak Bay High School) and Rosie Beale (Claremont High School), while former University of Victoria Vikes Danielle Hennig and Thea Culley are the team’s Vice Captains and former Canada West Goalkeeper of the Year and former Vike Kaitlyn Williams anchors the squad in the back field.

Twenty athletes will be travelling to the new Pan-Am/Para Pan-Am Fields at the University of Toronto, the site of field hockey for this summer’s Pan American Games.

Among those named to the team are a handful of athletes from Ontario including team captain Kate Gillis (Kingston, ON), sisters Brienne and Tegan Stairs (Kitchener, ON), and midfielder Amanda Woodcroft (Waterloo, ON).

Additionally, three athletes – Alex Thicke (Vancouver, BC), Woodcroft, and Kaelan Watson (Richmond, BC) – represented the University of Toronto Varsity Blues during their Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) careers.

In addition to being an opportunity to test out the Pan American Games venue, the team will be using the Ireland series as preparation to compete in the World League Semifinals – a 2016 Olympic qualifier – in Valencia, Spain from June 10th-21st.

Eighteen athletes will be named to the touring roster that will represent Canada in Spain. The top three of that tournament earn a spot to the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

The Toronto Series with Ireland consists of four matches to be played May 23rd and 24th (3:00pm), and May 26th and 27th (6:00pm). A team of Canadian officials consisting Denise Pelletier, Megan Robertson, Ozias D’Souza, Trevor Martin, and Wendy Stewart will be overseeing the tournament.

Schedules, news, and results can be found here.

Women’s National Team Touring Roster – May 2015 Ireland Series
Name Position Hometown Senior Caps

Abigail Raye Defender Kelowna, BC 124
Alex Thicke Midfielder Vancouver, BC 8
Amanda Woodcroft Midfielder Waterloo, ON 20
Beckett Frisch Goalkeeper Calgary, AB 3
Brienne Stairs Forward Kitchener, ON 69
Danielle Hennig(VC) Defender Kelowna, BC 88
Hannah Haughn Forward North Vancouver, BC 83
Kaelan Watson Forward Richmond, BC 31
Kaitlyn Williams Goalkeeper White Rock, BC 56
Karli Johansen Defender North Vancouver, BC 37
Kate Gillis© Midfielder Kingston, ON 124
Maddie Secco Midfielder Victoria, BC 51
Natalie Sourisseau Midfielder Kelowna, BC 67
Priya Randhawa Forward Surrey, BC 3
Rosie Beale Defender Victoria, BC 7
Sara McManus Defender Tsawwassen, BC 77
Shanlee Johnston Defender Vancouver, BC 20
Stephanie Norlander Forward North Vancouver, BC 17
Tegan Stairs Forward Kitchener, ON 16
Thea Culley (VC) Forward Rossland, BC 127

Vice-Captain
*
Captain

Women’s National Team Touring Staff – May 2015 Ireland Series
Head Coach – Ian Rutledge
Assistant Coach – Stephanie Andrews
Team Manager – Diane Gillis
Video Analyst – Stefanie Sloboda
Athletic Therapist – Michelle Meckling
High Performance Manager – Lisa Northrup

Officials – May 2015 Ireland Series
Technical Director(s) – Ozias D’Souza, Trevor Martin
Umpire(s) – Denise Pelletier, Megan Robertson
Umpire(s) Manager – Wendy Stewart

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At the 49th Annual Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards Victoria’s Gail Williams was the President’s Award winner for Field Hockey.

The winners of the 49th annual Athletes of the Year Award were recognized in a ceremony held March 12, 2015 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, organized by and hosted by Sport BC on behalf of BC’s sports community.

Field Hockey BC is proud to recognize the on-going voluntary commitment of Gail Williams. Over the last 6 years, Gail has been a technical advisor, judge, officer and director for a multitude of local, regional, provincial, and national events across BC. Gail is one of a team of individuals committed to giving their time to create a first-class environment for athletes and their coaches to play and compete. It is fitting that Gail follows other technical officials that have been honoured to receive this award.

Gail is a long-time volunteer of Field Hockey Victoria, also helping serve locally as a technical official for the University of Victoria Canada West games, multiple Field Hockey Canada National Championships and she previously served as the Field Hockey Victoria Turf Coordinator. Gail continues to give back and the Vancouver Island Ladies Field Hockey Association would like to acknowledge and congratulate her as this is most deserving.

For a full list of President’s Award Winners and the Athlete of the Year winners please visit: http://sportbc.com/programs-and-events/presidents-award/

Following the April 13, 2015 VILFHA Annual General Meeting, the executive was confirmed for the upcoming 2015-16 season. Below are the executive members elected:

VILFHA EXECUTIVE CONTACTS

President: Denise McGeachy
Vice President: Sandy Grimwood
Treasurer: Heather Wheatley
Director of Operations: Ronnie Lee
Director of Membership: Theresa Kennedy
Secretary: Caitlin Hansen
Director of Social Events: Kate Knappett
Director of Communications: Ali Lee

The VILFHA Exective would like to extend a special thanks to Cheryl McCreary, former Director of Social Events, and Arlene Baker, former Director of Membership, for their contributions last year and in previous years.

General VILFHA enquiries can always be sent to: VILFHA@gmail.com

Please visit VILFHA.ca for e-mail contacts for the above Executive members.