Wales Veterans Men’s & Ladies Hockey - 3 Nations, Edinburgh, June 2009
Edinburgh (SCO), 20th - 21st June 2009
Welsh Mens Over 45 Dragons Squad at 2009 Divisional Tournament, East Grinstead, May 09
Mixed Welsh Ladies Over 40 & 45 Squad, Coaches & Team Managers at a Warm Up Tournament in Aldershot, April 09
On June 20th and 21st the four squads of Welsh veterans hockey players head north for the Home internationals. The Men’s Over 45s & Over 55s together with the Over 40s and 45s Ladies travel to Edingburgh to take on Scotland and England in an annual tournament at the University of Edingburgh Sports facilities at Peffermill.
To those outside hockey who cannot understand why a bunch of older men & ladies continue to chase a ball, and each other, around a field when we could be reminiscing over a pint and former glories then read on.
International veterans hockey keeps us fit and provides the challenge of competition at a high level. While some of the players were full Senior Internationalists in their youth, veterans hockey also gives the late developers an opportunity to represent their country. No matter how old you are, or no matter how many times you have done it before, pulling on a red shirt with the 3 feathers generates a very special sense of pride. Afterwards the beer and wine tastes good and there are new stories to tell.
Veteran hockey tournaments are hosted in various parts of the world, providing the opportunity to meet up with old acquaintances, renew old rivalries and above all have a lot of fun.
The Welsh Hockey Union and all national administrators must be delighted that so many ‘old men & women’ remain active in hockey. At grass roots level many of these veteran internationalists are the umpires, coaches, sponsors and organisers that keep the clubs in Wales and beyond going.
International hockey does not stop at the Over 55 level, these are but the teenagers of the veteran scene. Wales Dros Chwe Deg (Over 60s Men) recently won a European International tournament in Lille by beating France, Belgium, the Alliance and a guest side from Egypt. A few of the larger nations now field Over 65 and Over 70 teams and the oldest participant in the World Over 60s Championships (Hong Kong, Sept 2008) was an 87 year old Scot called George!! He scored a goal against Japan so there is no need for any of the Welsh lads & lasses to swap our daps for slippers just yet.
Expectations for the tournament are keen as games between Wales and Scotland are usually close. Wales have a small advantage, for instance, in the Men’s Over 55s having beaten the Thistles 2-1 at Chelmsford in May, however the Scots have home advantage for the Internationals. In the 2008 Home Nations at Chelmsford, Wales 55s were second to England.
England always provide stiff opposition, and 2009 will be no different. The Welsh defences will need to be well organised and resolute, the midfield will need to work extremely hard and the forwards will have to make the most of their opportunities and harass the English defence when they have possession. For Wales to achieve results against England it will take teamwork, effort, guile and perhaps a smidgeon of good fortune. Wins are rare against the old enemy, however as the Netherlands showed on the cricket field recently, sport is full of surprises.
The ladies Veterans are now in their third season and growing all the time with the expectation of adding an over 50's team by mid summer. The ladies tests against England and Scotland have been close games in previous years and expectations are running high for this years tournament with quite a large intake of new players all wanting to pull on the red shirt.
The men’s 45s squad representing the Welsh Dragons team performed well in a warm up ‘divisionals’ tournament in East Grinstead in May. England use this to select their squad from players representing all regions within the country and the Dragons performance, being a relatively young squad this year and has an expectation of pushing the opposition into new territories.
Squads:
| Over 40's Ladies | Over 45’s Ladies | Over 45’s Men’s | Over 55’s Men’s |
| Kate Morgan (Captain) Mari Williams Liz Pearce Dawn Gallagher Cheryl Camplin Nicola Roberts Jo Page Lynne Joseph Eira Rowe Alison Hibbert Rhian McKnight Nicky Oliver Janine J Pritchard Eleri Jefferys Donna Druce Annie Lindsell Anne Barratt Coach: Linda Treharne Manager: Anne Mullin |
Jackie Mudge (Captain) Jane Rowley Sian Trottman Sally Manley Carol Donavan Bev Rogers Kath Maliknosky Judith Davies Bernie Bettison Rachel Murrow Brenda Goodfellow Chris Smith Lynn Rees Jane Hitchin Kath Charters Sue Morley Laura Garnesh Coach: Sue Legge Manager: Jackie Whiller Secretary: Jane Wheeler |
Bob Fleck (Captain) Andy Cox Billy Barletta Les Malinovszky Ian Davies Malcolm Evans Mark Joseph Steve Murphy Mike Kyriakides Rob Blacklidge Malcolm Thomas Dave Bull Chris Wall Paul Thomas Mark Kimber Steve Thomas |
Ian Johnson (Captain) Steve Sparkes Ben Johnson Manager Phil Bond Martin Brough Mike Fitter Roy Grafton John Hardman Andy Ible Martin Kavanagh Pete Martineau Alun Morgan Chris Parry Bruce Perkins David Sykes Ian Towler Bernie Wheeler |