National field hockey team to call Victoria home
Canadian women to be based at UVic
Another national team is centralizing in Greater Victoria in what is turning into a growth industry.
The Canadian women’s field hockey team, in their new home, interacted with hundreds of young Island players Sunday in Power to Be and Power to Play events before capping the day with an intra-squad game at the University of Victoria pitch.
“There is such a great community base of support here in Victoria,” said Canada captain Kate Wright.
“And the facilities here are awesome. It’s nice to have this as home base. Everything is in such close proximity [at UVic] from the field to gym to meeting rooms to dining room.”
The national team was formerly centralized at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Field Hockey Canada joins Rowing Canada, Rugby Canada, Triathlon Canada, Cycling Canada, Athletics Canada, Swimming Canada, Tennis Canada, Golf Canada and Surfing Canada as organizations that have national training centres located in Greater Victoria.
The national women’s field hockey team, which has returned from the Commonwealth Games last month in Gold Coast, Australia, is in the midst of a training camp in its new Island home before departing next month for a World League tournament in Mexico, which is the first points qualifier for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
“Tokyo is the ultimate goal this cycle,” said Wright, who grew up in a sporting household, as the daughter of former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis.
“We were happy, yet not satisfied at the Commonwealth Games, and disappointed not to make the medal round.”
Yet, fifth place was commendable behind field hockey powers New Zealand, Australia, England and India.
World No. 21 Canada is co-managed by former Island star players Carrie Trumpy and Nancy Mollenhauer. Mollenhauer is one of the many former Island women’s field hockey Olympians for Canada.
Canada is coached by South African Giles Bonnet, who built up the current world No. 3 Belgian men’s team program, and guided the South African women to the 2012 London Olympics.
“[Bonnet] has us training hard, effectively and smart,” said Wright, a native of Kingston, Ont.
“The practices are harder than the games, and that says something. He has us focusing on playing attacking hockey.”
The move across the strait is a homecoming for Island players Maddie Secco, Kathleen Leahy, Alexis DeArmond, Nancy’s daughter Anna Mollenhauer, Rosie Beale and Lindsay Cole of Victoria, Sara Goodman of Duncan, and former UVic Vikes stars Kaitlyn Williams and Danielle Hennig.
“It’s exciting to be back at UVic,” said Hennig, a native of Kelowna, who won a national title with the Vikes.
“It feels like home. I missed out on CARSA when I played here at UVic. It’s nice to get in on it now.”
The national team veteran says things are on track for the 2019 Pan Am Games in Lima, Peru, which is a direct qualifier into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for the goldmedallist squad.
“We’re building as a team with steady improvement and lots of big things to come. We’ve upped the ante with the number of international games we are playing this year. We’ve been in Victoria a couple of weeks and the intensity in camp is as high as I’ve seen it.”
Island fans can see Canada in action when it hosts Scotland for a series of games at UVic in August.