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U18 Boys and Girls European Championships Reports

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS   POOL A DAY 1

FRANCE  3   IRELAND  1

Ireland Under 18 girls team began their Pool A campaign at the European Championships in Krefeld with an opening game against France which ended in a 3-1 defeat. Philippine Delemazure gave France a 1-0 in the first quarter from open play. It remained 1-0 at the end of quarter two going into the half time break.

A scoreless third quarter was followed by a dramatic fourth quarter.  France increased their lead from a penalty corner. Paola Le Nindre converting it to put France 2-0 ahead. France added a third in the final minute from Emilie Santé to make it 3-0.  Ireland responded with a consolation goal in the final minute through Milla Fulton to leave the final score 3-1 to France.

Elsewhere in Pool A Belgium beat Scotland 3-1 which makes them level in third with Ireland at the bottom of Pool A. Pool B commenced on Sunday when the Netherlands beat England 1-0 and Spain beat Austria 10-0.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18  GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL  A  DAY 2  

BELGIUM 5 IRELAND 1 

This game began well as Ireland took the lead through Rebecca Carthy in the 5th minute. Mien Palfliet had the Belgians level within two minutes to make it 1-1. Hélene Devla put the Belgians 2-1 ahead from open play in the 24th minute and that was the half-time score.

Louise Van Hecke converted a penalty corner  and made it  3-1 to Belgium on 40 minutes. Lisl Denef also converted a penalty corner on 44 minutes to make it 4-1 to Belgium and Louise Dewaet added a fifth in the 52nd minute to make it 5-1.

Elsewhere in Pool A  Germany defeated Scotland 4-0. In Pool B  England defeated Austria 9-0 and Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A DAY 3  

IRELAND 2 SCOTLAND 1 

Ireland got their first pool A win of the tournament against Scotland. Mikayla Power converted a 28th minute penalty corner to put Ireland 1-0 ahead. Amelia Jerman increased their lead from another penalty corner in the 29th minute to put Ireland 2-0 ahead.

Scotland got what proved to be a consolation goal in the third quarter when Lexie MacMillan scored from open play on 33 minutes and it finished 2-1 to Ireland.

Elsewhere in Pool A Germany beat France 5-0.

The first Round 4 games didn’t involve Ireland as Pool A contained five teams and one team was idle on each game day. Scotland and France drew 1-1 and Belgium and Germany played out a scoreless draw.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIPS  POOL A DAY 4 

IRELAND 1 GERMANY 2 

Ireland took on hosts Germany in their final pool game in Krefeld at the Euro Under 18 Championships. Germany took the lead through Lynn Krings in the 28th minute when she converted a penalty corner.  The score remained 1-0 to Germany until the 59th minute when Ireland equalised through a penalty corner converted by Mikayla Power. Literally seconds later Germany secured victory when Katharina Becker scored from open play and it ended 2-1.

 

7TH-8TH PLACE PLAY OFF 

IRELAND 0 SCOTLAND 2

Perhaps this 5th game was a game too far for the Ireland Under 18 girls as they lost 0-2 to Scotland against an opponent they had beaten 3-2 earlier in the week.

Lucy MacMillan scored from open play to give Scotland the lead in the 19th minute. It was 1-0 at the break to the Scots.

Scotland sealed victory in the 40th minute when Cara Falconer scored from open play to leave the final score 2-0 to Scotland. Ireland end the tournament in 8th place.

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 BOYS  CHAMPIONSHIPS   POOL A  DAY 1

AUSTRIA  3  IRELAND  1

Ireland Under 18 Boys team got off their Pool A campaign at the European Championships to a disappoint start losing 1-3 to Austria in their debut game.  Ireland began well and took the lead in the 22nd minute when James Evans gave them the lead from open play.

Ireland’s lead only lasted seven minutes as Austria equalised through a penalty corner converted by Erik Shiesser,  their captain, in the 29th minute. It remained 1-1 at the half-time break.

Austria finished stronger in quarter four taking the lead through Theodor Morowec who converted a penalty corner in the 54th minute to put Austria 2-1 ahead. They sealed the win with a Benedikt Meisel goal from open play on 58 minutes to leave the final score 3-1 to Austria.

Elsewhere in pool A, Belgium beat Scotland 8-1 leaving Ireland in 3rd position in the pool after game 1 on goal difference. Pool B commenced their games on Monday with a 2-2 draw between Spain and England and a 7-0 win for Netherlands over Poland .

 

DAY  2   EUROPEAN UNDER 18 BOYS  CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A    

BELGIUM 8 IRELAND 0

Charlie Langedries opened Belgium’s account in the 10th minute from a penalty corner 1-0 Belgium.

Jean Cloetens field goal made it 2-0 in the 11th minute. Lucas Balthazar added another to make it 3-0 from a penalty corner in the 15th minute. Larry Fauchey made it 4-0 in the final minute of the first half. Lucas Balthazar grabbed his second of the game to make it 5-0 from a penalty corner. Guerlain Hawaux  got a field goal to make it 6-0 in the 40th minute. Two further goals from Charlie Langedries in the 43rd and 57th minutes respectively completed his hat-trick and an 8-0 thrashing for the Belgians

Elsewhere in Pool A,  Germany defeated Scotland 2-0 and in Pool B there were a 3-0 win for Spain over the Netherlands and  England thrashed Poland 8-0.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18 BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A  DAY 3   

IRELAND 3  SCOTLAND 2

Murray Griffiths scored a field goal to give Scotland a 1-0 lead on 10 minutes.  Johnny Bradley increased their lead converting a penalty corner on 21 minutes to make it 2-0 to Scotland. Ireland got back on terms when James Evans scored a field goal in the 24th minute.

It was 2-1 to Scotland at half time. It was lead they held on to until late in the fourth quarter when Ireland got an equaliser from a 55th minute penalty stroke scored by Matthew McKee. James Evans scored from open play a minute later to give the Boys in Green their first pool win 3-2 over Scotland .

Elsewhere in Pool A  Germany thrashed Austria 12-0.

The first Round 4 games didn’t involve Ireland as Pool A contained five teams and one team was idle on each game day. Scotland beat Austria 2-1 and Belgium beat Germany 3-2.

 

EUROPEAN UNDER 18  BOYS CHAMPIONSHIPS POOL A DAY 4

IRELAND  0 GERMANY 6

Ireland completed their Pool A programme with a game against hosts Germany in Krefeld. German captain Jonas Cofalla led by example scoring a penalty corner in the 15th minute to give his country a 1-0 lead. He added a second from a subsequent penalty corner two minutes later to leave the hosts 2-0 ahead.  Morten Berendts converted a third penalty corner in the 33rd minute to give Germany a 3-0 lead. Ben Hasbach added a fourth from open play in the 38th minute. Lukas Kossel added a fifth in the 54th minute and Justus Warweg made the score 6-0 in the 58th minute. Final score Ireland 0 Germany 6  leaving Ireland in 5th place in Pool A .

By finishing in 5th place in Pool A Ireland go into a Saturday play off against Poland who finished in 4th place in Pool B. The winners of this will go into a 7th-8th place play off on Sunday against Austria.

IRELAND : Sam Chapman, Aaron Baxter, Mark Cuddy, Ben Pasley (captain), Matthew MocKee, Ben Pollock, Robert Olden, Joshua Gill, Matthew Stevenson, Alex Lynch, Matthew Spence, Ben Walker, James Evans, Tommy Dobson, Tommy Maxwell, Max Caulwell, Samuel Dale SUB GK :  David Persse

 

POOL B SUMMARY 

The final round of Pool B matches saw Spain beat Poland 5-0 and the Netherlands narrowly beat England by 4-3. This left the final standings as follows

1st  Spain 2nd Netherlands 3rd England 4th Poland

 

PLAY OFFS  7TH -9TH  PLAY OFF SATURDAY  JULY 15TH 2023

IRELAND 6 POLAND 1

Ireland beat Poland 6-1 to qualify for the 7th-8th place play off. Robert Olden converted a penalty corner on 22 minutes to give Ireland a lead.  Matthew McKee made it 2-0 from a field goal on 28 minutes. Matthew McKee converted a penalty stroke on 32 minutes to make it 3-0. A second Robert Olden penalty corner on 43 minutes made it 4-0. Emil Witczak got Poland on the score sheet from open play on 47 minutes to make it 4-1. Matthew McKee with a second converted Penalty stroke made it 5-1 on 52 minutes and Samuel Dale converted a penalty corner in the 59th minute to round out the scoring.

 

7TH-8TH PLACE PLAY-OFF  SUNDAY JULY 16TH 2023

IRELAND 2 AUSTRIA 1 

Ireland took the lead through Max Caulwell on 4 minutes from open play. Adrian Fink converted a 13th minute penalty stroke to equalise for Austria. Seventh place was secured for Ireland by a goal from open play scored by captain Ben Pasley leading by example. It ended 2-1 to Ireland.

Despite beating Austria 2-1 in this play off final and technically finishing 7th, Ireland have been relegated out of the top tier of European Under 18 Boys hockey and will compete in Division B next time out despite closing out the tournament with a record of 3 wins from 6. Finishing bottom of Pool A was enough to secure relegation.

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Game 3 IRL V Austria Match Report

IRELAND 1 AUSTRIA 0 

Ireland won the third of their series of matches with Austria 1-0 to seal a 2-1 Series win at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown.

Saturday afternoon’s game was a much tighter affair than Friday’s encounter and it was a closely fought game from start to finish.

Determined not to repeat the hiding they received the evening before, Austria were more resolute in defence and didn’t surrender as many goal scoring opportunities to the Irish. Ireland had a goal ruled out early on in the first half of the game, as did Austria in the second half of the match.

Indeed, set pieces were plentiful with Ireland getting seven and Austria getting four on the day. A few cards were dished out too.

Moritz Frey was the first person to receive a green card on 17 minutes for Austria. He was followed by team mate Oliver Binder and Ireland’s Conor Empey in the 37th minute. Luke Madeley saw a green card a minute later, temporarily reducing Ireland to 9 players. Oliver Kern of Austria got a green card in the 45th minute.

The breakthrough score finally came in the final quarter when Conor Empey’s field goal struck the backboard in the 51st minute. Ireland won 1-0 and go into the European Championships II in eight days time with a winning record. Coach Tumilty was pleased to have won the series  and a top two finish in the European Championships II  competition will give a possible qualification spot for next years Olympics in Paris.

IRELAND:  David Harte (GK), Luke Witherow, Luke Madeley, Shane O’Donoghue, Sean Murray (C), Jeremy Duncan, Michael Robson, Benjamin Walker, Jonathan Lynch, Lee Cole, Conor Empey SUBS USED: Kyle Marshall, Charlie Rowe, John McKee, Peter McKibbin, Ben Johnson, Nicholas Page

AUSTRIA: Mateusz Szymczyk (GK), Oliver Binder, Benjamin Kolbl, Benjamin Stanzl, Franz Lindengrun, Nikolas Wellan, Fabian Unterkircher, Leon Thoern, Moritz Frey, Xaver Hasun (C), Oliver Kern.  SUBS USED: Peter Kaltenboeck, Bastian Valas, Josef Winkler, Fulop Losonci, Mateusz Nyckowiak, Clemens Rusnjak

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Sports Capital Equipment Programme 2023 Announced

The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., and the Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne T.D., yesterday announced that a new round of the Sports Capital and Equipment Programme (SCEP) will open for new applications from 17 July. The SCEP is the Government’s primary vehicle for providing support to sports clubs and communities to develop sports infrastructure around the country.

Applicants for local projects can now apply for up to €200,000, increased from the previous maximum grant of €150,000. The maximum valid grant available for projects deemed to be of regional significance has been increased from €300,000 to €500,000.

In addition, this year’s SCEP “Guide to Making an Application” has a focus on climate action and sustainability for the first time, supporting local clubs to take steps to reduce their energy consumption and applying for more efficient lighting.

In the last round of the SCEG in 2020, Hockey saw a 167% increase (2,192000) in their allocation compared to the previous 2018 round. Despite this increase, this still accounts for only 1.3% of the total allocation given across all sports. We still believe, as a sport, we need to be ambitious and further increase the total funding in order to in order to grow the game and provide our players with better facilities.

We would ask that all clubs, based in ROI, to fill in the following form – this will help Hockey Ireland understand what clubs are applying for, so we can offer support and guidance through the process. https://forms.office.com/e/EcvaNhiA5a

Key dates:
12th July – Launch of guide – please note this has been updated and we would recommend ALL clubs study this in depth. https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/263205/e3ef65bd-9531-4b28-b6c5-2ac0ab5d08a5.pdf#page=null
17th July – Application opens
18th July 13.00 – 14.00 – Hockey Ireland webinar 1
20th July 19.30 – 20.30 – Hockey Ireland webinar 2
8th Sept – Applications close

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IRL V Wales Day 3 Match Report

IRELAND 3 WALES 0

Ireland clinched their series against Wales in style with a decisive 3-0 win in the final game of the  series on Sunday.

Ireland started off well and forced a penalty corner which was converted on 9 minutes by Luke Madeley. As had been the case on Saturday when the Welsh fell behind, they came more into the game as the half wore on. There were no further goals for either team in the rest of the first quarter or in the second quarter. It remained 1-0 at half time.

The third quarter became a bit of a Ben Walker show as he opened his account on 39 minutes to put Ireland 2-0 ahead. Ben, then got his second goal of the afternoon, sixty seconds later in the 40th minute to leave the score 3-0 to Ireland.

That might have been the end of the scoring, but it was far from the end of the action. In a hectic final quarter Wales had a goal overturned on an Irish appeal. They were also awarded a stroke which was saved by David Harte.

Wales were reduced to 10 during that final quarter for 2 minutes when Jacob Draper was green carded. Double goalscoring hero Ben Walker was green carded in the 59th minute, meaning that Ireland finished the game with 10 players on the field.

Next up for Ireland’s men is a three game series with Austria beginning July 13th at the Sports Ireland Campus in Abbotstown.

 

IRELAND: Jamie Carr. Luke Madeley, John McKee, Kevin O’Dea, Peter McKibbin, Michael Robson, Ben Walker, Jonathan Lynch, Sam Hyland, Ben Johnson  SUBS: David Harte (GK), Charlie Rowe, Shane O’Donoghue, Mark McNellis, Jeremy Duncan, Conor Empey, Nicholas Page

WALES: Toby Reynolds-Cotterill, Daniel Kyriakides, Alf Dinnie, Jacob Draper, Rhys Bradshaw, Jolyon Morgan, Hywel Jones, Jack Pritchard,  Benjamin Francis, Luke Hawker, Gareth Griffiths.  SUBS: Rupert Shipperley , Rhodri Furlong, Owen Sutton, Owain Dolan -Gray, Fred Newbold

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Two new appointments for Hockey Ireland

Hockey Ireland is delighted to have recently appointed 2 new Development Staff in Munster and Connacht.

 

David Granero Fuertes brings a wealth of experience from club development from his role in Valencia Hockey Club as club coordinator. In this role David implemented a successful development programme in local schools while also enhancing the quality of existing players via a players development programme. David brought these skills to Connacht when he moved to Galway and has coached in Galway Hockey Club as well as Salerno School. David will work 3-days a week in the region.

 

Brendan Woods started with Hockey Ireland in recent weeks as Regional Development Officer for Munster on a 3-day a week contract. Brendan has a strong passion for hockey having been a player, coach and captain. Brendan is also from a fitness background, having set up a successful Personal Training Business and is also involved in mainstream tennis coaching, as well as working with disability groups.

 

David and Brendan will be responsible for ensuring continued growth of hockey in their respective regions, via club, school, volunteer, coach and umpire development. Development Officers can offer help with many issues and can help you implement programmes in your club/ area such as:

 

David and Brendan are contactable at the email addresses below:

 

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Hockey Ireland announces new Chief Executive Officer.

Dublin, June 27: The Board of Hockey Ireland is pleased to announce the appointment of Anne McCormack as Hockey Ireland’s new Chief Executive Officer.

McCormack joins from Golf Ireland, where she was Chief Operating Officer and a key member of the team that created Golf Ireland in 2021, transitioning the Golf Union of Ireland and Irish Ladies Golf Union from separate gender-based entities.

She brings a passion for sport, having played golf at an elite level representing Connaught and Ireland at underage levels, and was the driving force behind a number of major Golf initiatives including ‘Get into Golf’, ‘Golf4Girls4Life’ and ‘LevelPar’.

As a powerful advocate of inclusion and equality, she further bolsters Hockey Ireland’s already strong track record of gender representation at Board and Executive level roles.

 

Speaking about her new role, McCormack said:

“It’s a privilege to be joining such a vibrant and passionate community, and I look forward to working alongside Hockey’s stakeholders, its talented athletes, dedicated staff, as well as the Provinces and Clubs. Sport is a huge part of my life and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with the Board and continue to drive hockey across the island forward. I firmly believe that through collaboration, innovation and a shared vision, we can take the sport to new heights of success and make a lasting impact for all in the hockey community”.

Commenting on the appointment, Hockey Ireland Chair Trevor Watkins commented:

“Anne was a standout candidate in the interview process and brings very relevant credentials as we look to build on our historic International sporting success, further develop the game of Hockey in Ireland and maintain the current positive momentum we have within the organisation.”

McCormack will take up the role from mid-September and joins at a very busy period for Hockey as the Senior Men host the EuroHockey Championship II in July at the Sport Ireland Campus and both the Senior Women and Senior Men International teams look to Olympic qualification in 2024.

Hockey Ireland Chair further commented:

“Matt McKerrow continues as interim CEO until September, and Hockey Ireland would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Matt for his contribution as we make this transition.”

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EY Ireland and Hockey Ireland Announce Three Year Sponsorship of National Hockey Teams at Underage and Senior Levels

 

 

EY Ireland and Hockey Ireland Announce Three Year Sponsorship of National Hockey Teams at Underage and Senior Levels

Three year partnership builds on existing sponsorship of EY Hockey League

 

Dublin, 7 June 2023: EY Ireland and Hockey Ireland announce today that they have agreed a new three-year partnership that will see EY Ireland become an official sponsor of the Hockey Ireland male and female National Teams at underage level, including U16s, U18s and U21s, and Senior level for the next three years.

This agreement builds on the existing strong partnership between EY and Hockey Ireland, which sees EY Ireland currently sponsor the male and female Division 1 and Division 2 Irish Hockey Leagues. This new deal will make EY the only consolidated sponsor across underage categories and senior teams in the international hockey squads.

Frank O’Keeffe, Managing Partner, EY Ireland commented: “The EY Hockey League continues to be a source of great pride for all of us at EY Ireland and today we are strengthening our partnership with Hockey Ireland as we support the game from grassroots through to international level. In EY we are delighted to have this fantastic opportunity to continue to support the many incredibly talented players and coaches as well as the ever-growing number of wonderful hockey fans throughout this island. Here in EY Ireland, we are also very committed to supporting these elite athletes to reach their full potential on and off the hockey field. EY Ireland is committed to helping to support and enable hockey players to thrive during and after their careers and intends to work closely with Hockey Ireland on identifying the best ways to support these elite athletes. Given our reputation in EY for high-performing teams we think this new sponsorship with Hockey Ireland is a perfect fit.”

Graham Reid, Partner and Head of Markets, EY Ireland commented: “EY Ireland takes great pride in our sponsorship of the EY Hockey League and we are really excited that our partnership will expand in the coming years. By investing in grassroots and national teams, we aim to empower talented players on and off the field, supporting a thriving hockey community across the island, and fostering a sense of pride among our employees.”

Lisa Jacob, High Performance Director, Hockey Ireland commented: “Hockey Ireland has seen the benefit of our strong partnership with EY for a number of years across our All-Ireland domestic league, not least for the 2022/23 season, with new initiatives introduced and competitive levels within the EY Hockey League higher than ever. The extension of the partnership to now include all eight of our international squads, including our Senior Women’s and Senior Men’s teams as they look to qualify for Paris Olympics 2024, will bring significant impact. Having one sponsor that goes right through the system adds huge value, allowing us to have an impact over a number of years in a strategic but also a very tangible way. This commitment gives us capacity we haven’t had before, and brings EY with us on the journey to Paris and beyond.”

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EUROPEAN CLUB HOCKEY ROUND UP DAY 3

EURO HOCKEY CLUB TROPHY II  MEN 2023 SUNDAY MAY 28, 2023

Banbridge – 13  HANK Mladost – 1

Banbridge sealed first place in Pool A and a place in next season’s Club Trophy I for Ireland’s representatives in 2023-24.  Lisnagarvey, with an emphatic 13-1 win over HAHK Mladost who will be in second place in Pool A and qualified for the 3rd place tournament final tomorrow.

Jake Rowe opened the scoring from a penalty corner in the 2nd minute to make it 1-0. Louis Rowe from open play scored to make it 2-0 in the 4th minute.

James Evans made it 3-0 on 13 minutes. Johnny McKee got his first of the game from open play to make it 4-0 on 15 minutes. He got his second to make it 5-0 on 18 minutes and completed his hat-trick the same minute to make it 6-0. Jake Rowe got his second of the match to make it 7-0 with a converted penalty corner in the 20th minute. Alexander Tinney converted another penalty corner a minute after that to make it 8-0. David Finlay got in on the act scoring a goal in the 23rd minute from open play 9-0. Alexander Tinney got his second penalty corner of the match to make it 10-0 in the 24th minute.

David Finlay got his second goal of the game from open play to make it 11-0. Fran Zlatar got a consolation goal for HAHK Mladost to make it 11-1 in the 36th minute. Further goals from Matthew McKee in the 41st minute and a Jake Rowe penalty corner completed the scoring leaving it Banbridge 13 HAHK Mladost 1.

In the other Pool B game Amsicora and Swansea played out a 0-0 draw. The Italians securing third place by virtue of a better goal difference and will play Gaziantep in the 5th place play off.

On Monday Banbridge take on TJ Plzen-Litice of the Czech Republic to decide the overall tournament champions. HAHK Mladost will play against second placed Pool A side Copenhagen to decide 3rd place.

BANBRIDGE: Luke Roleston, Alexander Tinney [capt.], Johnny McKee, Jake Rowe, Peter Brown, Sam Farson, Owen Magee, Matthew McKee, Mark Cowan, Louis Rowe, Charlie Rowe

SUBS USED: Hugh McShane, David Finlay, Tommy Dobson, James Evans, Mark Barlow

 

 

 

EURO HOCKEY CLUB CHALLENGE I  ALANYA, TURKEY 

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE – 1  AKADEMISCHER HTC WIEN  (AUT) –  0

It took until the very last minute of the final pool game of this tournament for Catholic Institute to register their first win of the competition. It was only the second European  goal scored by Catholic Institute in their history.  Given it was from an Anna Horan penalty stroke made it even more historic.

At this level it’s 5 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss by less than 3 goals. A loss by any more than 3 goals is not awarded any points. Catholic Institute had lost on the opening day by 5 -1 and so garnered no points. A narrow 0-1 defeat against Slavia Prague had garnered 1 point so a win today would secure 5 further points and a pool total of 6 points. In a very tight encounter it was scoreless in the first quarter and also for the rest of the first half.

A scoreless third quarter followed, as did the opening 14 minutes of the final quarter. But in the 15th minute of quarter 4, the very last minute of the match Catholic Institute were awarded a penalty stroke. In the absence of captain Roisín Upton who missed the game, Anna Horan took on the responsibility and made no mistake from the spot to give Catholic Institute their first ever European victory. This was enough to give them 3rd place in Pool A and a tie with Argentia from Italy the 4th placed team in Pool B tomorrow.

 

Elsewhere in Pool  A:  Watsonians beat Slavia Prague 5-0 to secure 1st place in the pool. Slavia are 2nd and will take on Gaziantep who secured first place in Pool B with a 4-0 win over Argentia.  Clydesdale of Scotland secured 2nd place in Pool B with a 1-0 over Lithuania’s Ginstreke. Clydesdale take on fellow Scottish side Watsonians in Monday’s final round of games. Gaziantep play Slavia Prague while Ginstreke take on Akademischer Wien in the remaining tie.

 

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Launch of the National Umpire Academy and upcoming EHF/FIH appointments

Congratulations to all the Hockey Ireland / IHUA umpires, outlined in the table below, who have been appointed to EuroHockey and FIH tournaments / fixtures this summer.

It is fantastic to see some of last year’s Umpire Academy participants progressing on their umpiring journey. The 2023 – 2024 Umpire Academy launched at the EY Champions Trophy weekend in Banbridge (read more below). The programme sees 16 of Ireland’s up and coming umpires come on board to be offered mentoring and development opportunities in Ireland, and abroad.

Name Date Tournament
Fiona Davitt (academy mentor) 25-28-5/23 EuroHockey Club Challenge III, Porto (POR)
Rob Argent (academy mentor) 26-29/5/23 EuroHockey Club Trophy II, Banbridge
Sarah Craig 26-29/5/23

10-15/7/23

 EuroHockey Club Challenge II, Vienna (AUT)

EuroHockey Girls’ Championship II-A, Zagreb (CRO)
Ellie Duffy 28/6-1/7/23 EuroHockey5’s Women’s Championship, Walcz  (POL)
Gary O’Connor 8-16/7/23 EuroHockey Boy’s Championship, Krefeld (GER)
Amy Jones 8-16/7/23 EuroHockey Girl’s Championship, Krefeld (GER)
Russell Donaldson (academy mentor) 23-29/7/23 EuroHockey Men’s Championship II, Dublin
Ali Keogh (academy mentor) 26/5-4/6/23

18-27/8/23

 FIH Pro League, London

EuroHockey Women’s Championship, Moenchengladbach (GER)
Bruce Bale (academy mentor) 7-12/6/23 FIH Pro League, Eindhoven (NED)
Liz Clifford 26-29/5/23 EuroHockey Club Challenge I, Alanya (TUR)
Malcolm Coombes 10-15/7/23 EuroHockey Boy’s Championship II-A, Alanya (TUR)

The Academy launch weekend saw umpires receive coaching and development sessions with Ali Keogh, Bruce Bale, Fiona Davitt, Robert Johnston, Russell Donaldson & Rob Argent.

Speaking about the programme, Hockey Ireland Umpire Development Consultant Tom Goode said  ‘The launch of the National Umpire Academy marks the start of an exciting new venture in Irish umpiring. As part of this programme,  we will be encouraging the provincial umpiring associations to launch their own academies to work with their up and coming umpires. This will also require input from the clubs and the Club Umpire Programme is an integral part of this. Apart from increasing umpire numbers, it is also important that we provide umpires with the means to umpire to the best of their ability and to identify those who display the ability and commitment to umpire at the top provincial and national levels, as well as promoting those who display the ability and commitment to umpire at EHF & FIH level.

Some of our national academy umpires are already umpiring at the top provincial and national level and have also received EHF appointments.  We currently have 5 umpires on EHF umpire development programmes and are displaying a lot of promise. It shows what can be done.

Hopefully this is the start of something big!’

Back Row L to R: Luka Novakovic (Munster), Gary O’Connor (Munster), Aaron Donnell (Ulster), Aaron Saunders (Ulster), Victoria Johnston (Ulster), Sarah Craig (Ulster), Eimear Lenihan (Leinster), Emily Reid (Ulster)

Front Row L to R: Aidan McCullough (Leinster), Oli Brown (Ulster), Ellie Duffy (Connacht), Grace Nugent(Ulster)

Not in photo : Christina Coulter Reilly (Leinster), Amy Jones (Ulster), James Doherty (Ulster) Ross Jones (Ulster)

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Hockey Ireland U16/U18 Boys and Girls Teams Fundraiser

Hockey Ireland U16 and U18 boys and girls squads are holding fundraising raffles. By buying a raffle ticket, not only do you get a chance to win an incredible prize, but you will also be supporting the girls and boys sport as well as future elite Irish athletes.

The Hockey Ireland U16 Girls are talented young women training hard to compete in the 4 Nations Tournament at Easter in Aachen, Germany, and the 8 Nations Tournament in In July in Granada, Spain. They have eleven training weekends between now and July and are working hard to have the best possible start to their international campaign.

The Irish U18 Girls Hockey Team are participating in test matches in Poland & France & the EuroHockey U18 Girls Championship in Germany July 2023. There are huge costs associated with preparing for and attending these events and as they are self-funded the U18 Girls are running a Super Raffle to raise these essential funds.

The Ireland U16 Boys Hockey squad has an annual cost of €65k. The volunteer coaches and manager run a comprehensive year-long international programme that prepares the boys to compete at the top European Championship each year. This consists of weekly strength & conditioning, video analysis, daily athlete wellbeing monitoring through GPS equipment, regional and central training sessions, international test matches across Europe, culminating in the end of season championships, which this year will take place in Spain.

The Hockey Ireland Under 18 Boys Hockey squad is a self-funded team, coached and managed by volunteers, and this July we are working to maintain ‘Division A’ status at the 10 team Europeans to be held in Krefeld, Germany.

 

Find the underage raffles from each team below:

U16 Girls Raffle Tickets here

U18 Girls Raffle Tickets here

U16 Boys Raffle Tickets here

U18 Boys Raffle Tickets here

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