UPDATE: The 2016 Canadian Olympic men’s field hockey team announcement date has been changed to Wednesday, July 6. A previous version of this article indicated the announcement would take place on Tuesday, July 5.
This week is setting up to be a memorable one for Canada’s Men’s National Team.
With one month to go before the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, the week is action-packed and the countdown kicks off in earnest with Canada’s Olympic team nomination on Wednesday.
After Canada’s Olympic men’s field hockey team is announced Wednesday, the sixteen men set to represent Team Canada will begin their final preparations for the Games.
The team announcement will be quickly followed by the first of four games against the United States Wednesday in Vancouver.
The opening game of the Summer Games Sendoff Series presented by London Drugs will be played at Rutledge Field in West Vancouver at 7:00pm Wednesday.
The second game of the series will be played at Tamanawis Field in Surrey on Thursday at 7pm, with the return legs being played on Saturday and Sunday at 7pm and 6pm respectively.
To see the full Canada-USA series schedule, results, and game recaps, click here.
The competition will be the first internationally sanctioned matches Canada’s men will play in Vancouver since 2013 when they hosted Chile and Trinidad and Tobago for a three-nations tournament.
It will also be the first and only time the hockey community will have a chance to see Canada’s Olympic field hockey team in action prior to the Games in Brazil.
The games are open to the public and admission is free. There is limited seating at both venues, so friends, family, and fans are encouraged to come early.
To cap the week off, sandwiched in between the matches is the 2016 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Olympic Sendoff where a group of Olympic-theme inductees as well as the 2016 Men’s Olympic Team will be honoured.
The event is open to the public and tickets include dinner and a portion of the proceeds goes back into Canada’s field hockey programs. Tickets can be purchased here.
Canada’s hectic pre-Olympic schedule doesn’t end this week, as the men are headed to Vancouver Island from July 12-14 for training at Shawinigan Lake School and to host two clinics for youth of all ages in Shawnigan Lake and Victoria.
Players interested in participating should contact their local field hockey clubs for information. More information will be posted to fieldhockey.ca shortly.
Canada opens the 2016 Olympic Games against Germany on August 6th. For the men’s full Olympic schedule, click here.
