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Notes from Capitans Meeting

January 22, 2012 by

As discussed at the Captains meeting at the 2012 Nationals:

Selectors Needed

Underwater Hockey Australia is calling for nominations for the following positions for the Australian team try-outs:U19 Boys Selectors

  • U19 Girls Selectors
  • U23 Boys Selectors
  • U23 Girls Selectors
  • Open Mens Selectors
  • Open Womens Selectors
  • Womens Masters Selectors
  • Mens Masters Selectors

Coaching Vacancies

The also have the following coaching vacancies:

  • Womens Coach
  • U23 Boys Coach
  • U23 Girls Coach
  • Womens Masters Coach
  • Mens Masters Coach

Interested parties should contact Rees Quilford director@underwaterhockeyaustralia.org.au.

Tryouts for Australian Team

Players interested in trying out for Australian teams should wear a black “A” on their arm below their number.

The Australian team try-outs will be held on Thursday afternoon.

Filed Under: Committee

Committee Update from the Acting Executive Director

November 11, 2011 by
The 2011 AGM saw the conclusion of Jane Gilligan’s two-year term as Executive Director. Unfortunately for the organistion she decided not to re-nominate. Jane brought a calm, no nonsense enthusiasm to the role that reinvigorated the organisation and its committee. Jane’s term also delivered great success for our representative teams. Gold and silver for the Men and Women at the recent CMAS world championships in Portugal and a fourth placing for the U19 boys in the Age Group tournament in Holland unequivocally demonstrated that Australia remains a force in international Underwater Hockey. Jane’s work over the past two years will hold Australian Underwater Hockey in good stead for the coming years. On the upside, Jane is not leaving the UWHA committee completely, she has assumed the role of Records Officer. Unfortunately, no nominations were received for the Executive Director position so the position remains vacant and applications are welcome.After numerous terms in the Chief Referee role, Simon Talbot also steps aside. Thanks to the countless hours he has put in over the past ten plus years the quality of refereeing in Australia and internationally has improved out of sight. Simon has played a pivotal role in the evolution of the rules of the game, has trained hundreds of referees and overseen numerous national and international tournaments as Chief Referee. Simon’s contribution has directly and significantly contributed to improvement of the international game, a massively amazing achievement. Lena Plambeck steps into the revised role as Director of Refereeing.After a number of years, Joe Tindal is also stepping down from the Records Officer position. Thanks to Joe’s diligent work Australia has a far improved record of the history of Underwater Hockey in Australia and our participation at an international level.The other committee positions up for election at the AGM included the Director of Coaching role and the newly established Secretary role. I was re-elected into the former and UHA welcomes Eden Brown as our new Secretary.

Craig Proctor has also stood down from the Communications Officer role. During his time on the UHA Committee, Craig has been instrumental of establishing an extensive online presence for the organisation. His humour and level-headedness will be sorely missed. Jodie Miners steps into the role to build on the foundations laid by Craig.

On the Australian team front there was also some substantial changes. Most notably, Tommy Solopotias did not seek re-appointment as Australian Women’s team coach. In his ten plus years in the role Tommy has overseen one of the most dominant eras in the sport. His dedication and innovative approach delivered World Championships in 2000, ‘02, ’06 and ’08 and silver in 2011. During his time as coach Tommy has played a major role in the development of a generation of women underwater hockey players. His coaching record is the envy of all and testimony to the enormous contribution he has made to underwater hockey in Australia. As no nominations were received the Australian Women’s team position applications are welcome.
In the other coaching positions, Arnold Piccoli was reappointed as Men’s team coach and will be pursuing back-to-back World Championships in 2013. Nick Martyn and Kirsteen Reid were also re-appointed in the U19 divisions. As our international results indicate all of our coaching staff in 2011 (Tommy, Arnie, Nick and Jason Miezis) did an amazing job and represented Australia with aplomb.

In the team management roles, following her fantastic work at the Age Group Championships in Holland Sandra Milner was reappointed into the junior management role while Kirsteen Reid was appointed to the Elite team management role.

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and fantastic organizational skills of our Australian team managers over the past years. Sandra has done an amazing job on a number of trips with the junior teams. While for the Elite divisions Lucero Perdomo Cruz has also done a fantastic job over the past couple of years. She made an enormous contribution to our recent success at the CMAS World Championships in Portugal. Her work is much appreciated by the UHA committee and the players who traveled.

On behalf of the UHA and as a player involved on the trip I would also like to express gratitude to the Australian team Physio, Nick Stepkovitch, who accompanied us on our trip to Portugal. Nick did a power of work on the trip and his knowledge and magic hands played a vital role in the success of both teams.

Next year will be an exciting and challenging year for the UHA: we have two sub committee and coaching vacancies that need filling but the National Championships in Perth are bound to be fantastic.

In terms of our international commitments over the next couple of years: indications are that Worlds will be held in South Africa for all divisions in 2013. This is a major shift from what had been previously stated and as such we are in discussions with our international partners about or plans for 2012. Hopefully there will be more news on that front shortly.

See you in the water.

Rees Quilford
UHA Acting Executive Director & Director of Coaching

Filed Under: Committee, News Tagged With: ,

Positions Vacant

November 1, 2011 by
Underwater Hockey Australia (UHA) seek applicants for the following positions:

Executive Director, Underwater Hockey Australia

The UHA Executive Director (2-year appointment) position is currently vacant. This position oversees the work of the UHA Executive Committee and sets the strategic direction for Australian Underwater Hockey.

Key responsibilities of the role includes:

  • Recruitment of people to the Executive Committee who will bring energy and teamwork and make a contribution to the sport;
  • Oversight of the work of the committee, including making sure there is good communication between members;
  • Planning and budgeting;
  • Oversight of major competitions hosted by and in Australia;
  • Managing relationships with international underwater hockey organisations and representing UHA at international forums;
  • Liaison with the Australian Underwater Federation (including attendance at the AUF AGM).
  • Assisting state representatives, the Executive Committee and other officials with general problem solving and broker agreements if there are differences of opinion.

Interested applicants should lodge a written application containing the following information:

  • CV
  • Relevant qualifications
  • Previous Administrative/Coaching/Playing experience

Applications should be addressed to Rees Quilford, Acting Executive Director, Underwater Hockey Australia (director@underwaterhockeyaustralia.org.au).

Elite Women’s Australian Team Coach

Underwater Hockey Australia (UHA) seeks applicants for the Elite Women’s Australian Team Coach. The position is a 2-year appointment from 2012-13.

For international competitions, all travel expenses, accommodation, registration and team uniform costs for non-playing coaches are fully subsidised. Officials who also play will receive a 50% subsidy for their travel, accommodation, registration and uniform costs.

For more information on the responsibilities of the role please contact Rees Quilford (Director of Coaching – see below for details).

Interested Applicants are required to lodge a written application containing the following information:

  • Previous Coaching/Playing Experience
  • Relevant qualifications
  • Proposed player development plan
  • Preferred selection criteria and timeline
  • Proposed training times

Applications should be addressed to Rees Quilford, Acting Executive Director, Underwater Hockey Australia (director@underwaterhockeyaustralia.org.au).

Filed Under: Committee, News

Juniors Nationals Trial – Proposal

February 20, 2011 by

Proposal For Trialling a Junior Nationals in Australia.

Discussion from UHA AGM held in Melbourne on 5 December 2010.

Discussion paper prepared by Jane Gilligan 30 December 2010.

What do we want to achieve from a junior nationals?

Juniors are the future of our sport, and we are looking for better ways to support their development. The schools competition in New Zealand is a successful competition that brings large numbers of juniors together. Our goal is to build a competition using this as a model – it has scope for more players, less experienced players and also younger players. The Junior Nationals would aim to:

  • Provide good competition for younger juniors (U15) who find it difficult to compete physically in an U19 category;
  • Create an appropriate social environment for juniors at tournaments;
  • Develop a tournament that can provide development opportunities for Australian coaches and referees (many of whom want to play at a National titles and cannot commit to other roles);
  • Encourage club based competition with New Zealand juniors;
  • Create a competition that is accessible to beginner teams and can include teams from schools in the future; and
  • Provide high quality junior competition for players seeking selection in Australian Junior teams.

The UHA Committee is also aware of the need to develop up and coming players (U23) who may be on the verge of entering senior teams but are having difficulty getting selected and/or may have little disposable income. It is proposed that U23 players be encouraged to participate in ‘senior’ nationals as a ‘colts’ team in mens/womens categories (unless there are sufficient teams to form an U23 category). A colts team would include 80% of players who are U23. Entry fees will be waived for this category of team. Australian U23 National Teams will be selected at senior Nationals.

Why would we change what we are already doing?

  • Many state UWH federations have attempted to develop junior / schools hockey in their region. One of the challenges that they face is the lack of a competition in Australia for schools and inexperienced teams to compete in.
  • A competition that focuses on juniors can better target their needs, including a low cost competition and a competition that is in school holidays.
  • CMAS is changing the definition of ‘a junior’ to individuals who are juniors (U19). This means that junior teams will now include minors and adults. This can create social tensions at National tournaments, particularly chaperoning and managing alcohol consumption and appropriate behavior for junior teams. The Junior Nationals will not involve a presentation night that serves alcohol.
  • Juniors are the future of our sport. We constantly need to look for better ways to encourage player development, mentoring and opportunities to build numbers;
  • Junior / school teams have been attending New Zealand schools comps and found it rewarding. It would be good to create a junior competition that can attract international ‘non-national’ teams to Australia (this is a long term goal).

The Proposal

The Junior Nationals would be formatted to maximize player numbers.
What would the teams look like?

  • U19 and U15 divisions, mixed gender
  • State teams (i.e. players will play for a team from their state as first preference)
  • Can be local or schools teams
  • Multiple state teams can be entered and compete for finals
  • Large numbers of teams with varying skills and experience would lead to a grading process

What would the teams compete to win?

  • National Champion Team for a division
  • Where there is a grading process, teams in lower categories would compete for Winner, National Grade for a division.

How would it work?

  • The competition would run for around three days with dates to suit school terms and sufficient time to select Australian teams (February?)
  • A grading process would be run on day 1 if necessary
  • The competition would be held in the cheapest location for Australian juniors. This would be Hobart or Melbourne (assuming sufficient organisers are available)
  • The first tournament would be in Hobart in 2012
  • Flight and accommodation equalization would be mandatory
  • The competition will be not for profit
  • Australian junior teams would be selected at the Junior Nationals
  • It would be run at a different time to the NZ Schools Tournament to allow Australian junior players to travel to New Zealand if they chose.

What else would Junior Nationals do?

  • Every four years Australia will organise a Trans Tasman tournament. Junior Nationals may be used to host this tri-game National competition with NZ. The logistics require consideration (as the team will need to be selected prior to the trans tasman).
  • The Junior Nationals is a good opportunity for senior players to coach juniors and provide reffing support, developing non-player skills.
  • The competition may be used to hold a training camp for the Australian elite and masters team. This will mean that a skilled player base is available to provide mentoring to junior players.

Suggested questions for discussion in States:

  1. Do you agree that the proposal for a Junior Nationals is a good idea?
  2. What dates would your state recommend it held?
  3. How many teams to you think you could enter a team in U19 and U15 categories in 2012?
  4. How do you think the grading process should work?
  5. Are you happy with the proposal for travel equalization?
  6. Do you agree it is a good idea to run the trans tasman in conjunction with this tournament?

If you would like to make comments on this proposal, please pass them on to your State’s UHA representative and she/he will coordinate a State response to UHA.

Filed Under: Committee, Juniors

2012 Trans Tasman Discussion Paper

February 20, 2011 by

International Hockey, Including a new Trans Tasman Agreement

Discussion from UHA AGM held in Melbourne on 5 December 2010
Prepared by Jane Gilligan 30 December 2010

The purpose of this document is to seek feedback from Australian UWH players about a new approach to the Trans Tasman tournament.

Proposal:

  • A more flexible Trans Tasman Agreement will be proposed with New Zealand
  • Australia and New Zealand would take it in turns to organize competitions. Australia will organize competitions in 2012. A competition summary for 2012 is below.
  • The agreement will include a Trans-Tasman in the elite category.

Objectives:

  • Create a flexible tournament agreement with New Zealand
  • Continue with the tradition of the Trans Tasman series competition
  • Continue with a bi-annual international competition
  • Create competitions that are non-profit, run in the best interests of players, well planned and no obligation.

Key drivers for change:

  • There has been much discussion about an altered international schedule from, CMAS but we know that major tournaments will happen every two and four years, and there will still be a requirement for development competitions in the ‘off years’.
  • The current trans tasman agreement is regularly being updating or adapted for each competition (the rules that are currently agreed are creating constraints rather than opportunity)
  • The current bi-annual competition is viewed by the players as a little bit ‘stale’

How to have your say:

  • Talk to the Underwater Hockey Australia Rep for your state  –  Lena Plambeck (NSW), Kirsteen Reid (Vic), Russell Cox (Qld), Craig Proctor (Tas), Joe Tindal (SA), Craig MacKenzie (WA).
  • Discuss with Australian team coaches and players
  • There will be an opportunity for general discussion at Nationals in 2011

International Tournaments and the Trans Tasman, 2012

In 2012 Australia has responsibility for hosting and organising the trans tasman competition between Australia and New Zealand. Australia would like to propose a new Trans Tasman agreement that provides flexibility for the host country to design the tournament each year. This competition summary assumes that this agreement is put in place.

Elite underwater hockey, 2012

Australia Cup / Trans Tasman
A competition will be held on the east coast of Australia. Any country can enter teams, and as many teams as they like. Countries entering multiple teams should select even teams with a focus on development. These teams will play for the Australia Cup. Barbarians teams would be considered on application. Teams will play a maximum of three games a day (with some players also playing a fourth – the trans tasman game).

Australia and New Zealand will select their best teams from the pool of players attending. A trans tasman game will be held once a day over three days during the round robin tournament. A trans tasman series game will be held for:

  • Elite women
  • Elite Open
  • U23 women
  • U23 Open

Junior underwater hockey, 2012

Australian Junior Nationals / Trans Tasman
New Zealand teams would be invited to attend the Australian Junior Nationals, to be held in Tasmania. Teams should be regional, not national strength teams. New Zealand teams will be unable to compete for finals in the Australian Junior Nationals.

Australia and New Zealand will select their best teams from the pool of players attending. A trans tasman game will be held once a day over three days during the round robin tournament. A trans tasman series game will be held for:

  • U19 women
  • U19 Open

Masters underwater hockey, 2012

Asian Cup / Trans Tasman
Australian proposes that New Zealand and Australia send masters teams to the Asian Games in 2012. Australia sent masters teams to Manila in 2010 and found that it:

  • Was a good level of competition to take to the Asian games (elite would not be appropriate)
  • Build good team morale for the masters
  • Was affordable
  • Is an important contribution to underwater hockey in our region.

Teams would enter as per the competition requirements. In addition, Australia will negotiate pool time for the trans tasman competition to be held in conjunction with the Asian Games.
Australia and New Zealand will select their best teams from the pool of players attending. A trans tasman game will be held once a day over three days during the round robin tournament. A trans tasman series game will be held for:

  • Masters women
  • Masters Open
Filed Under: Committee, International, News Tagged With: