News and Announcements

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YOU’RE INVITED!

The Westerly Tournament is being held on September 10 and 11, 2016.

The format is the same as last year with accommodations at Crown Isle and dinner (which is not included in the registration fees) on the Saturday at Crown Isle Pub/Restaurant at a set menu. If your team has special dietary needs, please let the organizers know ASAP so that they can accommodate your needs.

Registration fees are due August 1, 2016.

Please send cheques payable to the Comox Valley Field Hockey League, 2311 Yorkshire Place, Courtenay, B. C. V9N 4A2

Date: Saturday and Sunday, September 10, 11
Location: Vanier Turf Field
Cost: $300
Ages: 19 years and above (Division Three players)
Umpires: Teams are to provide their own
Social on Saturday: Dinner will be an additional cost, aiming for a sit down dinner at the Crown Isle Pub/Restaurant. If your team has special dietary needs, please let us know ASAP so that we could accommodate them.

More Information: Contact Sandy Poirier (sandipoirier@icloud.com)

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With the 2016 Rio Olympics around the corner the world’s eyes are focused in on high performance athletes fine tuning their skills and preparing for the biggest sporting event. Alongside the thousands of athletes and teams preparing are the many, many officials that help ensure the sport is conducted in a fair and safe environment.

Though the Rio Olympics are not in the sights of Canadian field hockey umpire Tyler Klenk, there is still lots of time for the 23-year-old to check a visit to the most prestigious games off his bucket list. Recently Klenk officiated his first international appointment at the Toronto-hosted Junior Men’s Pan American Championships, May 23-28.

“The experience was fantastic,” exclaimed Klenk. “Being that it was my first international appointment, it was a great opportunity to ‘get my feet wet’ so to speak.”

“It was also fantastic that I was able to do my first international competition on home soil. It was great to see Canadian Field Hockey rally behind the whole tournament.”

Junior World Cup qualification was on the line for the eight teams participating and while the Under-21 athletes were busy getting in the right mindset for their young international careers, Klenk was just beginning his show on the world stage.

Having umpired since the age of 14, Klenk has had several years of experience blowing the whistle but it wasn’t until he relocated to British Columbia that he started to take things more seriously. Moving to Vancouver Island to attend the University of Victoria and play for the school’s varsity team placed him in one of the biggest hockey hotbeds in Canada. Along with playing in the Vancouver men’s premier league, Klenk was also a junior national team identified athlete giving him a slight advantage when he does trade in his stick for a whistle.

“Playing at such a high level previous to umpiring gives me the ability see situations from the perspective of the players,” said Klenk, who banked five international games in Toronto. “It also helps me to anticipate the play before it happens. As the speed of the game is also increasing, this anticipation is very important for me to be in better position.”

Klenk’s first appointment was in round-robin play between Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago and from there he finished the tournament umpiring the bronze medal game between Chile and the USA. Klenk’s performance will see his current National rating improve to his international badge. From there the ladder gets steeper with fewer international officials moving on to later qualify for the Promising Umpires List, FIH Grade 1 Umpire, World Development Panel and the World Panel, the latter of which include most of the officials that go to the Olympics.

For now, Klenk can look back on his first international event as a success and the first step on his pathway to being a stand out umpire for Canada.

“The one thing I will take away from the Toronto event is the speed of the international game,” noted Klenk. “Players are becoming more and more skillful and this requires umpires to be on top of their game as well. I really became aware of the importance of using domestic matches to work on all of the areas I need to improve. That way, when I get another international appointment, I will hopefully be on top of my game.”

Prior to this Klenk has banked several major Canadian tournaments including multiple national championships, BC premier men’s games, BC provincial championships, Canadian Interuniversity Sport Championships, Canada West matches as well as the 2015 Canada Cup and 2015 California Cup. Klenk was also named the 2015 Canada West Umpire of the Year following a strong season in the University scene.

Klenk’s umpire development continues both in Vancouver and Victoria and he credits two local officials for helping guide him to where he is now.

“The two most influential people in my umpiring career so far are Chris Wilson and Denise McGeachy,” highlights Klenk of Victoria-based Wilson, a former FIH umpire and current umpire manager, and McGeachy, a Nationally-ranked umpire. “They have both pushed me to improve myself by taking on more and more challenging games. They have helped me develop my skills while helping to identify the areas that I need to improve. I think most importantly; they have not tried to change the kind of umpire I am. Instead, they help make my skill set shine.”

Inevitably Klenk’s skill set will continue to develop and shine upon his return to the West coast and although Klenk may be forced to watch the Rio Olympics from his TV this August, it seems likely that one day the country will be able to watch him on the Olympic stage in years to come.

Story by Ali Lee
Photo: Yan Huckendubler (PAHF)

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Mixed Summer Drop-in Hockey begins on July 5.

Hosted by Sailors FHC

WHAT: Mixed 7-aside Games
WHO: Men & Women (Min. age 14)*
WHEN: Tuesdays (July 5 – August 30, 2016
TIME: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
WHERE: UVIC Water-based Turf
COST: $5.00/Session (must pay upon arrival to play)

*Players must be registered and insured actively with Field Hockey BC
Contact: Ronnie Lee (leeronnie19@gmail.com)

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Cowichan Secondary School T-Birds senior girls field hockey team will be hosting a field hockey summer camp.

The Senior Field Hockey team along with their coaches Perri Espeseth & Caitlin Evans are proud to be able to provide a field hockey camp for ages 7-14 year olds. Everyone welcome! No experience necessary.

DETAILS
Girls & Boys (age 7-14); 9am – 2pm

WHERE
The camp will begin each day at Cowichan Sportsplex John Ferreira Turf Field & end at each day at Quamichan Campus

DATES AND TIME
July 4-8, 2016
9am – 2 pm

INCLUDES
• 15 hrs of field hockey specific knowledge, footwork & games
• Led by the Cowichan Senior Field Hockey Team and guest coaches (alumni CSS Field Hockey Players)
CSS T-Birds T-shirt

Players are expected to provide their own stick, shinguards and mouth guard for each session.

COST & REGISTRATION
$150
Cash OR Chq accepted — make all chqs payable to: Cowichan Secondary School

Hand deliver or mail to:
2652 James St. Duncan, BC V9L 2X2

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT
Sandeep Heer
EMAIL: sheer@sd79.bc.ca
PHONE: 250-715-8461

DEADLINE TO REGISTER: June 22, 2016

See attached registration forms.

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VICTORIA, B.C. – The University of Victoria Vikes men’s field hockey team will have a new face in charge next year as head coach Kevin Laidman is stepping down after three seasons at the helm.

“Kevin has been a valued contributor to Vikes Athletics as a coach, a player and an ambassador,” said Clint Hamilton, Director of Vikes Athletics and Recreation. “His leadership has been instrumental in the building of a solid core that includes athletes representing the Vikes at the national level and we appreciate all Kevin has done for our program.”

A former player with the Vikes from 2006-10, Laidman took over from Michael Lee in August, 2013 after serving as Lee’s assistant coach in 2012-13. As a player, he competed at multiple national championships with Team BC and played at the elite level with the Victoria Selects. The 30-year-old earned his first international cap with the men’s senior national team in 2011.

“It has been a pleasure and honour to have both played and coached with the Vikes for the past 10 years,” said Laidman. “Coaching the Vikes has been a very rewarding experience as I had the opportunity to develop the next generation of elite field hockey players.”

Under Laidman’s leadership, a number of promising young athletes were recruited to play for the Vikes, including junior national team standouts Amardeep Sidhu, Josh Brown and Harbir Sidhu. Harbir, who will compete for Canada at the Junior Pan Am Games in May alongside Amardeep, committed to the Vikes after winning silver with Canada at the 2015 Youth Olympics in Beijing.

Laidman and the Vikes put up a number of impressive performances during his time as head coach, most notably a 3-2 victory over UBC in January. The Vikes, who hadn’t beaten the Thunderbirds in 10 years of premiership hockey, got a late goal from rookie forward Christopher Lee—the first of his university career—to complete the upset.

“I have worked to grow our squad over the past three seasons and the trend is continuing,” said Laidman. “Our team is getting more competitive and the future is looking bright. I am sad to leave the program at this time, but I am excited for the future of the team.”

The search for the next head coach of the Vikes Men’s Field Hockey program will begin immediately. Interested candidates should contact James Keogh, Manager of Athletics, at jkeogh@uvic.ca, or 250-721-8411. A full job description can be found below.

Photo Credit: APShutter.com (Armando Tura)
Story by David Conlin, Vikes Communications
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