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1. Message from the President – Reg Plummer

Field Hockey Canada received final notice from Sport Canada on July 12th of their funding for fiscal year 2005-2006 and results from the Sport Funding and Accountability Framework III (SFAF III) assessment. “The SFAF III assessment incorporated a comprehensive and broad-based examination of NSO programs, capacity and performance across the full spectrum of NSO activities from sport initiation to excellence.” Following the assessment, the government applies the assessment results to a funding framework consistent with the priorities of the Canadian Sport Policy. In addition to core support identified via the SFAF III, Sport Canada also provides funding support for Excellence to those sports identified by the COC/Sport Canada, Sport Review Panel.


The funding recommendations for FHC amount to a reduction in funding of $136,000 for 2005-2006 and another cut of approximately the same in 2006-2007. There is no new money for NSO core support thus any increases for other NSOs are at the expense of decreases for other sport associations. Summer team sports are ranking low in this process – the first summer Olympic sport shows up in the Excellence ranking at 16 out of 48 with a points ranking of 32.4 compared with the top ranking sport Speedskating with a points ranking of 91.1. Field Hockey Canada’s ranking is 31 with a points ranking of 16.2 in Excellence.


Field Hockey Canada has met with a member of the Minister’s staff and discussed what we believe as an association is the unfair impact of Sport Canada’s new targeted approach (SFAF III) on team sports and hockey in particular. In the meeting some of the SFAF III inequities were pointed out - the heavy weighting of certain factors, the significant impact of the membership coefficient, the discrimination against team sports re: medal count, and some other unintended impacts that might result from implementing a funding system based on this framework. During this meeting, FHC also addressed hosting the 2008 Women’s Olympic Qualifier and how funding cuts will jeopardize both the successful hosting of the event and the competitiveness of the women’s team trying to win a berth in China.


Field Hockey Canada will be continuing their discussions with the Minister and Sport Canada in an effort to minimize the funding cuts to hockey as well as look at ways to enhance funding toward the 2008 Olympic Qualifier.





2. Get All the News

The FHC email information service was set up to get information directly to athletes, coaches, officials, etc., on a regular basis. We currently have 800 subscribers getting information on tournaments, the national team results, team announcements, etc., sent to them directly…let’s make this 2000! If you are a Club Secretary – why not sign up your club members or encourage them to subscribe at Get All the News




3. CBC at Senior Nationals

On behalf of our athletes and coaches competing on Canada’s national teams and provincial representative teams, FHC would like to thank CBC Sport very much for the excellent segment done on hockey at the 2005 Senior National Championship in Vancouver.


In speaking with several viewers, not all from the hockey community, they indicated the coverage gave them an excellent overview of the sport in Canada and internationally. As well a number of the hockey experts viewing the coverage indicated the shots of the athletes in action highlighted the skill and speed involved in playing the game.




4. Prairies Youth Project (PYP) - 22 - 24 July - Winnipeg

Winnipeg played host to the 5th PYP U15 boys and girls tournament, with the prairie provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan participating. The three provinces are delighted at the progress that the PYP has made in the last couple of years. The level of individual skill and teamwork keeps improving and is a testament to the hard work that the players and coaches put in to make this tournament a success. The matches this year were closely contested and excellent goals scoring from all the teams.


Fifteen year old Nicole Poleschuk from Alberta has been involved since the PYP conception in 2001. "I started playing when I was 10 and this is my last year, it has just been an awesome experience for me and my team. We are stronger, more skillful and versatile players because of the PYP Junior program and I've loved every minute of it".


The PYP is run similarly to a National tournament and helps promote a positive learning and competitive experience for all the players and coaches who wish to go further in their field hockey careers. Many of the former players give back to the program by assisting with coaching, organising or umpiring.


The PYP organising committee would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate all the players, coaches, managers, umpires, volunteers and travelling supporters for all their contributions to making this a successful tournament.


2005 PYP standings
Boys
GOLD - Alberta (won in extra time)
SILVER - Saskatchewan
BRONZE - Manitoba


Girls
GOLD - Manitoba - (won in penalty strokes)
SILVER - Alberta
BRONZE - Saskatchewan





5. Striking a blow for Umpires in Winnipeg

A Provincial Umpiring Clinic was held in conjunction with the Prairie Youth Project U15 tournament in Winnipeg from 22-24 July. Course conductor Tony Stewart was extremely pleased with the enthusiasm shown by the participants, who each committed about 16 hours over the weekend. Several of the successful participants had virtually no umpiring experience, and to be able to reach the required standard in such a short period of time is admirable.


As a result, FHM now has 10 newly qualified Provincial B umpires, including 3 members of the Martinez family. The standard of play was surprisingly high, permitting Kristen Asmundsen and Willy Martinez to achieve their first Provincial A field rating as well.


Congratulations to all.




6. Umpires Seminar - Virginia Beach, VA., 8 - 10 July

The Umpires Seminar was held in conjunction with the Champions Challenge (CC) and was presented by Jane Nockolds (England) and Richard Kentwell (USA)to over 50 participants from the USA, Canada and Guyana. Wendy Stewart from Calgary attended and has provided a brief summary. A full content of the seminar will be available on the FHC website shortly.

Jane and Richard were excellent presenters. They wanted to ensure everyone had the chance to have input, so the atmosphere was positive and lively which allowed the seminar to have open and constructive interaction and feedback for individuals and in groups sessions. The small group sessions worked extremely well and were specific in each task. Time to share our experiences with one another during and after was also an important part of the learning.

Game Management is critical at all standards of play and ensures that we are aiming for the same outcome of consistency and decision making. Video footage was used to assist in certain areas: advantage over possession / dangerous play / stick tackling / breakdown play /penalty corners and circle management and how the umpires dealt with these.

An integral part of the seminar was to observe the umpires at the CC tournament over 6 matches and look at the different styles & approaches,when, why & how to apply to the following topics of discussions that had been presented by us:

Communication skills - verbal/nonverbal and how we use these communication skills effectively - to the players, coaching, technical staff & umpiring colleague, the importance of timing, being proactive and preventative - not reactive.

Knowledge & Understanding - of the whole game/tactical, anticipation/advantage and flow, removing danger from the game, tackling/breakdown play.

Physical fitness - preparation and making it easy on ourselves, why it's tough and why it's worth it, positioning is crucial in all areas of field.

Mental fitness - being prepared and in the game for 70 minutes!, confidence & experience, concentration, imagery and decision making.

Watching the umpires provided some interesting debates and we concurred that all of the above skills are an essential part of umpiring and no one skill is more important than the other. Being able to balance these skills will benefit you - never compromise and aim to umpire to the best of your ability in every game. Communication off the field is also an important part of learning, be open to chatting with coaches and players as well as your colleagues about the game.






7. National Teams

Senior Women’s Program


After a 2 week break following Senior Nationals the senior women have resumed training in Vancouver. Three players were identified from Senior Nationals and invited to join the senior squad at training as they prepare for a test series against the USA.. Those players are Leigh Sandison ( Ontario), Christine DePape ( BC) and Malinda Hapuarchchi (Ontario). The senior squad athletes in the Junior World Cup team have been released from the senior squad to train full time with the Junior World Cup team in preparations for their departure to Chile on September 2nd. Those athletes will also participate in the Canada Summer Games in mid August.


During the break in centralized training national coach Sally Bell attended the Champions Challenge in Virginia Beach to scout Commonwealth Games opponents New Zealand, England and South Africa. She also had a first hand look at the USA whom the national team is due to play a 6 game series against in late August. Coach Bell indicated this was an important opportunity to see the changed way in which the US team are playing under new coach Lee Bodimade.


On returning from Virginia Beach Coach Bell also went to Toronto to work with Ontario based athletes and coaches. Two evening training sessions were held at the University of Toronto where Coach Bell gave instruction to an U/18 group of athletes and an U/21 and senior group. On the third evening high performance coaches attended a workshop where Coach Bell explained the objectives of the national women’s program and how these are being achieved. She also gave a detailed account of how the team was prepared to compete against Australia in June and what technical and tactical areas were prioritized and how they were taught. Ten coaches attended the workshop including several coaches working with provincial teams.


Junior Women’s BDO World Cup schedule has just been released and the team plays Germany in their opening match – more details on the tournament can be found at BDO Junior World Cup

Senior Men’s tour to Germany – to check on team results or read the match reports from Team Manager, Robin Richardson, please visit the FHC web site at Germany Tour





8. Special Notes

Effective August 17th, 2005, FHC’s national office will move from Riverside Drive to 240-1101 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K2C 3W7. It does not appear at this time the phone, fax or email information will change however the office will keep you posted on these details.

A big thanks to both BC Field Hockey and Field Hockey Manitoba for hosting the Women’s Senior Nationals and Men and Women’s Under 18 tournaments respectively. As well, a special THANKS to all the umpires, technical officials and volunteers that make the tournaments such a success. Manitoba U18 photos can be found on their website under the U18 National Championship section or www.eventpics.ca

The Canada Summer Games set to begin on August 13th in Regina. For results, team information, schedule, etc., please visit Regina 2005 Canada Games

Cities competing for Canada's 2014 Commonwealth Games bid will be: Halifax, Ottawa, Hamilton, the York region and Calgary.

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