Ali out to reign in Spain
WHILE Spain is gripped in World Cup soccer fever, the country is preparing to host a World Cup of its own at the end of next month.
The Masters Hockey World Cup will involve about 3000 athletes in 132 teams from 24 countries in age groups ranging from over-35s to over-60s for men and women.
Geelong’s Alison O’Reilly will be front and centre for the Australian over-50s team after a starring role when the side travelled to New Zealand for the Trans Tasman Masters last year.
A late call-up from the shadow training squad for that tournament, O’Reilly acquitted herself well and was selected in the main squad for the trip to Spain next month.
The team will have a week to acclimatise for the expected 30C temperatures before the start of the tournament at Club Egara in Terrassa, which is about 20 minutes outside Barcelona.
“There are 16 countries in our age group and we have Spain, France and South Africa in our pool,’’ O’Reilly said.
Australia meets Spain first up on July 27 with the three pool games over four days ahead of crossover finals.
“I love the hockey (at this level),’’ O’Reilly said.
“The competition is awesome for people of each age group to be able to compete against others and it’s tough hockey, really tough hockey.’’
O’Reilly has been on a tough schedule and has had a full commitment to Geelong’s Premier League squad on top of the training regimen for the national squad.
“We got our fitness program in mid-April, so it’s pretty full-on with playing Premier League and all the training that goes on,’’ she said.
“We haven’t trained together, but we will come together in Spain and have four training session ahead of the opening match.”
The Masters World Cup tournament will be the largest international hockey event staged, with more than 400 matches over 10 days.