Tasmania will not be represented by a men's indoor hockey side in 2020 with Hockey Tasmania citing a lack of nominations.
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Set to be played in Woolongong in January as a part of Australia's indoor festival, the event is used as a selection tool for the national side, with potential World Cup berths on the line.
With former Kookaburras representative Tim Deavin one of three Hockey One Tassie Tigers mentioned as a potential member of the state's side, Hockey Tasmania chief executive Damian Smith said numbers weren't as expected.
"We did receive a nomination from one of our Tassie Tigers men, but when followed up we were unable to confirm his commitment. There was also some talk that a couple of other Tassie Tigers men would nominate but unfortunately no other nominations were received," Smith said.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
"Our administration of indoor is not different than how we manage our outdoor representative teams and while it's disappointing we could not generate enough interest across our state to field this team, we hope to find greater numbers in the years ahead."
Potential players for the side began putting in the groundwork to compile player numbers, self-planning accommodation and other needs for the carnival, but Hockey Tasmania only received seven nominations including two imports.
Tasmania returned to the national stage in January to finish fifth at the championships, with a 4-2 loss to Queensland its closest result.
The goalkeeper from January's outfit, Jayden Pearson, is among those affected by the decision and said the end result for the 2020 campaign was disappointing.
"I'm frustrated that Hockey Tasmania aren't prepared to allow players the opportunity to compete at the highest level," he said.
"I've been involved as a player, umpire and coach for both indoor and outdoor and am disappointed that this seems to be the stance especially given that the players have done the ground work to get enough numbers and were prepared to source our own accommodation."
The 2019 side was the first to represent Tasmania at the highest level since 2014 and despite the low finish, had expressed interest in competing again.
"The carnival was a really positive experience for the team especially given the opportunity to work with one of the current national coaches who was keen to be involved again this year," Pearson added.
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