Not since 1988 has Field Hockey Canada had both our men’s and women’s teams at an Olympic Games. This year, for the first time in 30 years, this is a real possibility. You can be part of this dream, you can help get them there. Read a little bit about each program below and get involved today!
FHC Women’s National Team: A History Rich in International Achievement
Field Hockey Canada has an exceptional history in the women’s game. During the 1980’s, Canada was feared on the International stage under the guidance of Hall-of Fame-coaches Marina van der Merve and Kathy Broderick. Regulars at the Olympic games between 1980 and 1992, this phenomenal team was the runner-up at the 1983 Women’s Hockey World Cup and the bronze medalists at the 1986 Women’s Hockey World Cup.
In 2018, the team made huge strides towards returning to this golden era. The team played over 30 matches, the most played by any FHC team in a single year and in line with the top-5 ranked nations in the world. They uprooted their program and moved from their University of Victoria home to centralize in Belgium. This allowed them to live the life of full-time professional hockey players. Supported by their clubs, they trained as a national team each week under the guidance of their head coach and assisted by a team of local trainers and coaches. This move offered our women’s team the opportunity to play high-level club matches, play regular international matches against top European teams, and train as a national team.
Unperturbed by a lack of additional funding sources in 2019, the team spearheaded a “Make a Champ” campaign to get them to the first crucial step of the Olympic qualification process. They raised in excess of $80,000 which took them to the 2019 FIH Hockey Series Finals, in Valencia, Spain.
Going to the Olympic Qualifiers!
Going into the tournament as the fifth ranked ranked team, our Women’s National Team was faced with the challenge of finishing in the top two in order to move on to the next stage of Olympic qualification.
Progressing straight to the semi-finals after going unbeaten in the pool stages, the team faced Italy in the semi-finals. The WNT stepped up and blew Italy away with a 7-0 win. In doing so, they secured their place in the Olympic qualification play-off’s to take place at the end of October 2019.
Not only did the team win silver in this tournament, but some of our outstanding talents were recognized. Anna Mollenhauer received the FIH award for best young player in the tournament, while Brienne Stairs took home the coveted top goal scorer award. Following this performance, the team has now moved from 21st to 18th in the FIH World Rankings.
Onwards We Go: The Olympic Qualification Playoffs
Our WNT has guaranteed themselves two games for a place in the 2020 Olympic Games. The winner of the Olympic place is the team with the highest aggregate score over the two games. These games will take place on 26th / 27th October or 2/3 November 2019. Although we will not know who our opponent will be until September 8th 2019, based on current rankings it is likely that we will be playing against a top European nation (GB, Spain, Ireland, Belgium) or New Zealand. We will most certainly be playing these games away from home. Our target is to raise $90,000 for our preparation and these games.
Our Women’s National team is an exceptional group of women who have been working hard in pursuit of their Olympic dream. Our community has been outstanding in your support of them. We are asking for one final push to help get them to and through these final two Olympic play-off games. We are extremely appreciative of any level of donation, and are equally grateful of your willingness to simply share our campaign page with your network. Whether you are able to contribute financially or not – be part of our WNT’s journey by helping us get the word out.
Thank you for believing in our women’s team and joining us on our road to Tokyo 2020!
For further inquiries, please contact our Field Hockey Canada team: kunderhill@fieldhockey.ca and/or sahrens@fieldhockey.ca
FHC Men’s National Team: Regulars on the International Stage
Field Hockey Canada’s Men’s National Team has been a consistent presence on the international stage over the past 40 years. Regulars at the Olympic Games and World Cup, they have finished as high as 8th at the World Cup and are currently ranked as the 10th best team in the World.
Based in BC, but with roots from across Canada and the globe, most of our current men’s squad combine full time study or work with a regime of morning and evening training sessions. Their home turf is the West Vancouver Field Hockey Club and they play for local clubs across the lower mainland.
Olympic Qualifiers!
Our MNT won their FIH Hockey Series Final in May, where they beat host team Malaysia in the final. In doing so, they are guaranteed two games for a place in the 2020 Olympic Games. Not only did they take gold with an outstanding team performance, Dave Carter was recognized as the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament, while Antoni Kindler took home the Man of the Match award for his performance in the final.
By virtue of their top-10 world ranking, this means our MNT will likely host these Olympic playoff games. This will be determined after the Pan American Games and the European Championships. The winner of the Olympic berth is the team with the highest aggregate score over the two-game series. Although we will not know who our opponent will be until 8th September 2019, based on current rankings it is likely that we will be playing against Ireland, Malaysia or France. Our target is to raise $25,000 to support the team in hosting or traveling to these games.
Our Men’s National team is an exceptional group of young men who have been working hard in pursuit of their Olympic dream. Our community has supported them over successful previous Olympic and we are very grateful of this. We are asking for one more push to help get them to these Olympic playoff games. Any amount you are able to contribute will help. We are extremely appreciative of any level of donation, and are equally appreciative of your willingness to simply share our campaign page with your network. Whether you are able to contribute financially or not – be part of our MNT’s journey by helping us get the word out.
Thank you for believing in our men’s team and joining us on our journey to Tokyo 2020!
For further inquiries, please contact our team at kunderhill@fieldhockey.ca or sahrens@fieldhockey.ca
