The Kyocera Stadium is bubbling with people and that means impressive visitor numbers. Every day around 15,000 people spend time at the Hockey Park, which takes the number of visitors to 250,000 over the tournament as a whole. There are 24 teams from 15 different countries – 432 players in total from six continents. But what other figures can be dug up? Here are some key facts about the players, photographers, ball boys and girls and the hotels. Did you know, for example, that two nets have already been replaced and that one of the players’ hotels has served up 75 kilos more pasta than normal?
Lots of calculations are being made on and around the pitch. For example, every shot at goal is tracked for speed and you can follow exactly how hard a ball was hit within a couple of seconds via the HockeyTracker app. That’s how we know German player Christopher Wesley has had the hardest hit so far – 140 kph. Germany also hold the women’s record - Tina Bachmann with 113 kph. This is the first time radar technology has been used to measure the speed of shots at goal in a hockey tournament. Given the speed, it is hardly surprising that two goal nets have already been replaced. One was a gonner in the very first match when the German team hit the ball straight through it.
A 4.5 kilometre sprint
The teams don’t publish information about their players – what they have recorded with heart and perspiration monitors, for example. But they do have their own analysts who collate that information. However, we have managed to collect some not quite so secret information about the action on and off the pitch. For example, every player gets one litre of water for the match. The teams also go through 627 kilos of ice cubes in a day. The ice is mainly for the ice baths but also for the first aid staff and the jury. We also know that the players cover a lot of kilometres during a match. Midfielders and strikers run about nine kilometres over the 70 minutes, of which 4.5 kilometres is at a sprint. Defenders run six to seven kilometres and even the keepers cover two. So if a midfielder or striker takes part in a full seven games they will have covered 63 kilometres by the end of the tournament – of which 31.5 kilometres at a sprint.
34 umpires and 768 security guards
A lot of other people are on duty on and around the pitches. There are, for example, 34 umpires and 61 other officials. Every day 550 volunteers are at work in the grounds, as are 768 security officials. Media accreditation has been given to 2,800 journalists and there are 80 photographers taking pictures.
Great photos: 1%
In addition to the 80 international photographers, the Rabobank Hockey World Cup 6 official media team has six photographers recording the tournament. Two are on duty every match.
Each photographer shoots between 500 and1,000 pictures per match
- 10% of the pictures are usable, around 1% can be considered great shots.
- They provide 30 pictures from each match to various different media channels.
- The photographers carry some 15 kilos of equipment with them.
20 balls a match
Eight ball girls and boys are stationed on the sidelines every match. In total, 20 balls are used per match and the balls are used for more than one game. By the way, the nearby petrol station is responsible for washing the ball girls and boys kit – a 25-kilo pile of dirty clothes every day. Ball girls and boys are no longer deployed at the centre line during warming up because of the physical danger.
The event itself
The Hague’s hotels are busier than usual thanks to the players, officials and fans. Over the first two weeks of June, the hotel occupancy rate was 80%, which is more than in an average early summer. Two teams, for example, are staying at the Crowne Plaza hotel, and are provided with three, sometimes four, meals a day. The hotels take special diets into account and healthy eating is central. Pasta is a key component of every meal, including breakfast. In total, the hotel is providing an extra 75 kilos of pasta. It has also served some 150 kilos of fruit more than normal.
