New agreement signals official “Home of the Canadian National Teams”
Field Hockey Canada is pleased to announce its partnership with West Vancouver Field Hockey Club (WVFHC) effective now until the end of 2022.
WVFHC has been a longtime supporter of the Men’s and Women’s National Field Hockey Teams and seeks to develop the sport at all levels, with recreational and high-performance programming at all ages and abilities. The partnership serves as a desire to grow recognition of both national teams to inspire the up-and-coming players.
Kari Hendricks, Communications Coordinator for WVFHC, highlights the existing partnership and looks forward to more collaboration. She said that the organization is delighted to partner with and support the continued development of Field Hockey Canada athletes.
Hendricks said, “We look forward to this partnership and seeing the community connection it will provide as well as more visibility to the sport.”
Rutledge Field, located at Ambleside Park and named in honour of legendary former national team player Ross Rutledge, will henceforth be known as the ‘Home of the Canadian National Teams’. For many players intimate with the area, this will serve as a homecoming.
Based in Vancouver, Stephanie Norlander recalls some of her best youth hockey memories at Rutledge Field with the club and looks forward to training among familiar faces.
“The new partnership [between Field Hockey Canada and WVFHC] is exciting and I am happy the National Team will be joining such a large and supportive hockey community that I was fortunate to grow up in,” Norlander said. “Thank you to everyone within the Rutledge Field community for the ongoing support of our program.”
High Performance Director Adam Janssen recognizes the importance of this agreement and the foundation it sets as national teams gear up for upcoming international competition.
“The partnership is exciting on many levels as it allows both of our National teams the ability to utilize top-class facilities directly in the Vancouver community,” said Janssen. “We are pleased to be able to work closely with WVFHC and look forward to a continued relationship.”
Please note that this partnership is non-exclusive. WVFHC and Field Hockey Canada share the vision of growing the sport through an open approach. As such, FHC will embrace the opportunity for similar partnerships in all communities across the country. For more information on the partnership, or if your club or community is interested in partnering with Field Hockey Canada, please contact CEO Susan Ahrens at <sahrens@fieldhockey.ca>.
