The future of Hockey Australia's next Olympic cycle will be on display in Queensland this week as both the men's and women's junior teams compete against New Zealand during the Junior World Cup Qualifier. The JWCQ will take place at the State Hockey Centre in Colmslie from 11-14 December 2008.
While Australia and New Zealand are already confirmed to compete at both the men's and women's 2009 Junior World Cups, the qualifier still looms as an important stepping stone.
Pool allocations for the Junior World Cups will be based on results from this tournament, making victory a priority for both nations. While not all players competing in the qualifier will participate in the 2009 Junior World Cup tournaments due to age restrictions, their performances will still be important given each players desire to impress the national coaches leading into the next Olympic cycle.
Australia's first step towards the London 2012 Olympics will come when the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras host the Women's (Sydney 11-19 July) and Men's (Melbourne 28 November - 6 December) 2009 Champions Trophy tournaments, with many players hoping to make the transition from the junior squad to national squad during these international tournaments.
However, Men's National Junior Coach and former Kookaburra Jason Duff says the focus of the men's team at the qualifier will remain focused on developing a winning structure for the 2009 Junior World Cup. 'While it may be in the back of the players minds to try and impress the newly appointed national coach in Ric Charlesworth, from a coaching point of view the focus will be on squad and team development for the Junior World Cup.' Said Duff. Women's National Junior Coach and former Hockeyroos Katrina Powell says with the London Olympics still so far away, the coming years presents an exciting opportunity to showcase Australia's junior talent pool.
ÔÇ£With the Beijing Olympics completed and the 2012 London Olympics on the horizon, the upcoming period presents itself as an exciting opportunity to focus on our junior athletes. The Junior World Cup and the qualifying events really gives the players something to play for.ÔÇØ said Powell. Hockey Australia would like to take this opportunity to thank the Australian Commonwealth Games Association for their support of Hockey Australia's junior program under the Australian Junior Commonwealth Games Squad Program.
This program aims to ensure Hockey Australia's junior players are exposed to the appropriate level of international competition in preparation for their potential participation in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and beyond. The 9th Men's Junior World Cup will take place from 7-21 June 2009 in Malaysia and Singapore. The 6th Women's Junior World Cup will take place from 3-16 August 2009 in Boston, USA.
Men's and Women's Junior World Cup Qualifier Brisbane 11-14 December 2008
Thursday 11 December 2008
Game 1 Australia Women vs. New Zealand Women 6:00 pm
Game 2 Australia Men vs. New Zealand Men 8:00 pm
Saturday 13 December 2008
Game 3 Australia Men vs. New Zealand Men 2:00 pm
Game 4 Australia Women vs. New Zealand Women 4:00 pm
Sunday 14 December 2008
Game 5 Australia Women vs. New Zealand Women 2:00 pm
Game 6 Australia Men vs. New Zealand Men 4:30 pm
Australia - Men's Junior World Cup Qualifier Squad:
Tim Bates, Michael Bates, Peter Dillon, Jason Donohoe, Justin Ellis, Scott Garner, Kris Glass, Kieran Govers, Malcolm Kemp, Aaron Kleinschmidt, Justin Knapp, Adrian Lockley, Ben McCarthy, Hamish McGregor, Josh Pollard, Scott Richards, Matthew Swann, Josh White.
Australia - Women's Junior World Cup Qualifier Squad:
Stephanie Andrews, Fiona Boyce, Alison Bruce, Jemma Buckley, Kary Chau, Chantelle Ciallella, Kate Denning, Jill Dwyer, Anna Flanagan, Bianca Greenshields, Marnie Hudson, Carla Hunter, Emily Hurtz, Heather Langham, Harriet Moore, Ashleigh Nelson, Airlie Ogilvie, Danielle Schubach.
Source: Hockey Australia
