Australian Team Information for Worlds 2013

Dear players,

Below is the information pack for Australian players nominating for selection in the UWH World Championships in Hungary in 2013.

Selections will take place after Nationals Finals on 28 January 2013 at the Aquatic Centre Hobart.

Players need to have deposited $500 to the account below and returned the relevant forms to be eligible for selections.

Bank account details:

Bank Westpac (Rosny Branch)
A/C Name: Australian Underwater Hockey Commission
BSB 037-014
A/C 241867

Thanks for your help.

If you have any questions please ask (uwhmum@hotmail.com).

Sandra Milner
Australian Team Manager

Physiotherapy at Nationals and Worlds

Hi all, just a quick note FYI.

As you may or not be aware, I will be in Hobart to cover all the teams competing at the nationals.

Thanks to the generosity of Pieter van der Woude, I have been offered accommodation on his boat and as such am able to bring some  physio students with me to help. They are Bachelor & Doctoral  students from Australian Catholic University [Sydney], Fontys [NED] and the George Washington University [USA] who are spending time with me to learn and fulfill  part of their formal requirements for their  professional qualification  as well as a steep learning curve into the world of Underwater Hockey.

Hence their ‘volunteering ‘for the exercise . Their cost are covered by external research sponsorship as well as Pieter’s generosity.

My main  aim for  bringing them with me is to follow up on the work I did  in Hobart this march at the training camp in terms of screening and injury prevention. I followed up  with  some  US students in QLD at the Trans –Tasman comp and hope to continue this at Hobart 2013. I will need your support in helping me  get access to all of the  Australian team members during the comp for screening / follow up and continued implementation/ refinement  of preventative injury strategies. I will  also be issuing all competitors with a USB containing all the  necessary exercise regimes etc.

I am documenting all I do for the purposes of validating proven injury  prevention strategies for this sport. I have done this in the past for Triathlons, Surf Life Saving, Touch Football & Endurance Paddling [ refer attachment example]. I also aim to have  this ready for formal publication in an internationally  peer reviewed  sports medicine journal for  the ultimate benefit of the sport.

When I attended at Coimbra last year 23 of the 24 athletes [2 teams] turned up with some form of injury and I had my work cut out for me getting them game ready.  I had some surprise help for two days from an ex- student who flew herself down from Eindhoven [NED] to assist, keen to work with me again.

As there will be  up to 7 teams scheduled for Hungary I do not want to be faced with a similar situation as the resources would be definitely overstretched. [I have some European students keen to volunteer their time at their expense to help in Hungary. For those of you who were in Coimbra, Jola was first to put her hand up again for 2013]

I will be flying into Hobart  early Tuesday 22nd Jan. I can be operational  from Tuesday PM as soon as able .

While I expect to be working primarily poolside I am staying  only 8 mins from the pool and can work wherever, if not from the boat.

My contact phone is 0412 167 976.

Text me on this number if you need any of your players seen to plus to organise a suitable time to re –screen and  capture any new  Australian  team players who may not have been seen before by my crew.

Our Availability will be anytime and fit in to suit games/training/meetings etc as far as possible. We will also be available  on the 29th as we do not fly out until  Wed 30th AM.

If you have any  questions or queries,  or injury concerns closer to the time, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail (steppo@tpg.com.au) or use the mobile text  if urgent.

Please pass this info on to anyone who needs to know for Hobart & Hungary.

Thanks and looking forward to catching up with you in Hobart.

Nick Stepkovitch,
Sports & Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist

Calling for player expressions of interest for the 2013 Australian Teams

Dear Players,

As many of you will know the 2013 CMAS World Championships will be held in Eger, Hungary. This should be a fabulous competition and I know Columbia, South Africa, Great Britain, New Zealand, Argentina and Canada have already put in nominations. I have attached the information pack for you.

On behalf of UHA I need to know who is planning to nominate for selection. I know it is impossible to say for certain what you will be doing almost one year away but we need to have a reasonable idea of what teams we can commit to as we have to pay the deposit for accommodation by 30th Nov.

The aim is to field teams in the following divisions:

  • U19 Women
  • U19 Men
  • U23 Men
  • Elite Women
  • Elite Men
  • Women’s Masters
  • Men’s Masters

The plan is for the Elite and Masters teams to leave Australia on 14th August, to start training on 16th August. The U19 and U23 teams will leave Australia on 17th August to start training on 19th August.

The accommodation I have tentatively booked is the Bulls Blood package which means we have transfers from Budapest to Eger and back, accommodation is five minutes walk from the pool, three meals per day, 3 1/2- 4 star and I have specified I want air conditioning.

Below I have done some rough costings. Please be aware they are dependent on currency fluctuations , possible changes in flight costs and do not include training camps

Please email me as soon as you can if you are going to try out or not (I am as keen to know from as many players as possible – both yes and no) on uwhmum@hotmail.com. I definitely need to know by 1st November.

Thanks,
Sandra Milner
Australian Team Manager

Approximate costs

  • U19 = $5800
  • U23 = $5400
  • Elites/Masters = $5530

Please email me for a full breakdown of costs.

Download the CMAS Hungary Information Pack (PDF 1.6MB)

 

Australian U19 Women’s Team 2012

Underwater Hockey Australia congratulates the following players on their selection to the Australian U19 Women’s team:

  • Molly Martin (NSW)
  • Tori Wickham (TAS)
  • Briody  Hilder (TAS)
  • Tate Strudwick (WA)
  • Alyshea Sneglar (WA)
  • Claudia Payne (TAS)
  • Caitlyn Smart (TAS)
  • Mim  Cockerill (TAS)
  • Olivia Sanderson (TAS)
  • Phoebe  Dalby (TAS)
  • Megan Pardoe (WA)
  • Sunny Pasco Thompson (WA)
  • Coach: Kirsteen Reid (VIC)

The Australian U19 Women’s  team will compete in the Southern Hemisphere / Trans Tasman Championships to be held at the Miami Aquatic Centre from 9-13 July 2012.

Australian U19 Men’s Team 2012

Underwater Hockey Australia congratulates the following players on their selection to the Australian U19 Men’s team:

  • Tom Milner (TAS)
  • Dan Gould (TAS)
  • Alistair Climie (TAS)
  • Richard Cleary (TAS)
  • Job Carr-Turbitt (TAS)
  • Declan Hilder (TAS)
  • Ben Stepkovich (NSW)
  • Jared Magill (WA)
  • Josh Mackenzie (WA)
  • Hayden Wenman (WA)
  • Coach: Steve Cleary (TAS)

The Australian U19 Men’s  team will compete in the Southern Hemisphere / Trans Tasman Championships to be held at the Miami Aquatic Centre from 9-13 July 2012.

2011 World Age Group Games, Dordrecht Netherlands

Details

The UWH World Age Group Games were held in Dordrecht Netherlands 9th – 16th July 2011

[Read more…]

Juniors Nationals Trial – Proposal

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.

2010 Juniors Trans Tasman & Southern Hemisphere Championships, Hobart, TAS

Details

Juniors Underwater Hockey  Trans Tasman & Southern Hemisphere Championships

Held at the Hobart Aquatic Centre,  6 – 10 July 2010

Results

Results of the Southern Hemisphere Championships Finals, Sat 10 July:

Girls

New Zealand (A)  5   def   Australia 1

Boys

New Zealand (A)  4  def   Australia 3

Congratulations to the New Zealand teams, and commiserations to the Australian teams, and well done to all teams on a great competition!

See Full Results.

Photo Album

Do you have any other pics from this competition to share with us? We are particularly looking for names and photos of each of the teams that played in this competition. Please email communicationsofficer@underwaterhockeyaustralia.org.au with any photos including the date and competition that was played and the names of the people in the photo. 

2010 Australian Team Squads

Women – Elite

Tommy Solopotias (Coach)
Lena Plambeck (NSW)
Belinda Watts (VIC)
Camille White (VIC)
Marie Tousignant (WA)
Jane Gilligan (NSW)
Andrea Van Eyssen (TAS)
Julia Foulkes (NSW)
Hannah Robert-Tissot  (TAS)
Kirsteen Reid (VIC)
Lisa Smith (SA)
Alice van der Woude (TAS)

Men – Elite

Arnold Piccoli (Coach)
Blake Sutcliffe (WA)Captain
David Sutcliffe (WA)
Jacko Smit (NSW)
Jason Lord (WA)
John Sutcliffe (WA)
Lucke Rector (QLD)
Gavan Wise (WA)
Nicholas Yong (TAS)
Tim Senior (QLD)
Todd Canavan (QLD)

Masters – Men

Chris Cleaver (Coach)
Marck Wilcox (WA)
Chris Cleaver (TAS)
Mark Lewis (TAS)
Andrew Winch (TAS)
Rodney Paule (NSW)
Andrew Herbert  (TAS)
John Bridley (ACT)
James Harris (ACT)
Vaughan Solomon (ACT)

Junior – Women

Kirsteen Reid (Coach)
Aleshya Snelgar  (WA)
Bryney Conlan , (VIC)
Cassi de Lacy-Vawdon , (VIC)
Christine Wickham , (TAS)
Eliza Game , (TAS)
Kate Howard , (TAS)
Katelyn Tenbensel , (TAS)
Molly Martin , (NSW)
Olivia Johnson , (TAS)
Phoebe Dalby , (TAS)
Rebekah Milburn , (WA)
Victoria Wickham , (TAS)

Junior – Men

David Sutcliffe (Elwood) (Coach)
Akito Dalby , (TAS)
Callum Wishart  (VIC)
Duncan MacKay (TAS)
Harry van der Woude  (TAS)
James Milner  (TAS)
Jacob Cooper (TAS)
Jacob Marsh-Robinson (TAS)
Jono Findlay , (TAS)
Matt McCartney  (TAS)
Matt Paine (TAS)
Mitch Piccoli (WA)
Russell George (VIC)
Nicholas Foon (VIC)
John Mason (TAS)