Canada makes final push for Indoor World Cup
The Women’s National Indoor Team returned this week from Austria’s Rohrmax Cup with crucial experience preparing them for the upcoming Indoor World Cup.
It was a whirlwind trip of less than a week for the Indoor Team, who qualified for the Indoor World Cup last year at the Indoor Pan American Championships. Ali Lee, a member of the team’s leadership group and long-time indoor stalwart, said the experience at the Rohrmax Cup was exactly what they needed before the Indoor World Cup.
“With the exception of Pan Ams, this team has only really been on one tour. So, getting these game reps is so important. It gave us so much experience and so many learnings that we can take back with us,” Lee said. “We started a little rough, but as the tournament went on, we improved every game.”
Most of the players have a mix of experience playing both outdoor and indoor and the bulk of the athletes are from Ontario. Of the athletes that went to Austria, Lee, Sam McCrory, Kat Leahy, Elise Wong and Rowan Harris all have outdoor Women’s National Team experience.
Team Canada plays at the 2023 Rohrmax Cup in Austria. Photos/Johannes Girgis
Lee tied for the tournament lead in goals, potting four in the final match against the Swiss U21 team. Canada finished 2-2, adding a pre-tournament victory over Indonesia.
For Lee, the tournament was about developing chemistry both on and off the field. Because of the hasty nature of the tour, she said they didn’t have much downtime, but they made the most of the time together.
“It was an intense bonding trip. We spent so much time together. We gelled as a team, we built that chemistry on and off the field,” she said. “We to learn to trust each other; trust that we’d be there for that pass, then the last person finishes the play off.”
Lee said that a young cohort of players stepped up and have been playing great this season including in Austria. Emily Ziraldo, McCrory and Nat Winter make up the young core of the team that’s pushing towards the Indoor World Cup. Looking ahead to the World Cup, Lee said she’s mostly excited for the best competition in the world.
“It’s just so fun to play these competitive games. This is why we do this. This is why we put the time in, this is why we train — so we can go to the best tournament in the world and play the top teams,” she said. “We know we can play well, we’re going to be going in feeling loose and excited. We have nothing to lose.”
The Indoor World Cup roster will be named internally in the next few weeks time by a public announcement. Follow Field Hockey Canada on social media and visit our website for more information about the Indoor World Cup.
The 2023 FIH Indoor World Cup will take place in Pretoria, South Africa on February 4 – February 11, 2023. The competition will take place at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria. The inaugural Indoor World Cup was held in 2003. Since then, the tournament has been held every four years. The tournament was postponed due to the COVID pandemic. Canada’s Indoor Women’s National Team has attended the Indoor World Cup twice, finishing ninth in 2007 and 10th in 2015. Team Canada qualified by way of the 2021 Indoor Pan American Championships.
