Olympic stars of the future will be on display in Launceston next week at the Australian under-18 hockey championships.
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The best junior players in the country will converge on the St Leonards Hockey Centre for the ten-day tournament starting Friday and which will include boys and girls teams from every state and territory.
The tournament which runs from July 8-17, will provide a major economic boost for the Northern region with an estimated 400 athletes and managers coming to town plus associated family members.
“The teams will start arriving next Wednesday and Thursday and have a couple of practice sessions to get a feel for the pitches,” event co-ordinator Markus Maislinger said.
He said he expected the Tasmanian teams to be competitive during the championships and possibly unearth the next Eddie Ockenden or Tim Deavin.
“I think the Tassie boys have got a very good competitive team and a lot of the girls are coming off a silver medal finish last year in the under-16s.
“They’ll have their work cut out for them.
“But what we are trying to convey to people who potentially will come and watch is that out of this group of players effectively you are going to have your next Olympians.
Out of this group of players effectively you are going to have your next Olympians.
- Markus Maislinger
“Because all these girls and boys are in that 18-year age group and will be 22 or 23 when the next Olympic Games come around.
“This is challenge not only for Tassie but also these bigger states who have some girls already in junior Australian squads that are coming to play so there will be plenty of high quality on display.
“Some of the bigger and stronger states like Queensland, Victoria and NSW are fielding two teams each in the boys and girls competitions.”
Tasmania has squads of 18 players in the boys’ and 16 in the girls’ which have been picked from selection trials and have been training for the past six or seven weeks in preparation for the championships.
Queechy-Penguin’s Finn Bailey is the only Launceston player in the state under-18 boys’ team with South Launceston Suns Miranda Grant and Molly Lewis representing in the girls team.
“We also have two girls who have made shadow players or train-ons in Lynsey Blazely and Isobell Cameron and it looks like one of those could get the call-up as goalkeeper because the other goalkeeper has a foot injury at the moment,” Maislinger said.
Entry for spectators will be free with games each day from 9am until 5.30pm and schedules online at www.hockey.org.au
