Hockey vets in Bay to play champs

MORE THAN 1 000 veteran hockey players will descend on Port Elizabeth this weekend when the National Masters Hockey interprovincial takes place this weekend.

Believed to be the largest single sport event in the southern hemisphere, hockey players aged 35 and over from all over the country will contest various age-groups at a number of venues in the city.

Besides the provincial teams, sides from Namibia and Zimbabwe will compete in the tournament, which is sponsored by Timefreight.

The Eastern Cape hosts the tournament every six years and Eastern Province will be fielding seven teams, totalling just over 100 players.

Matches will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday on 11 fields at the NMMU south and north campuses, as well as the Grey High and KC March astros. The hub will be at the NMMU south campus cricket fields.

While the players are naturally past their best, the hockey is of a high standard as many are former provincial players, and there will also be a fair number of ex-national players among the various teams.

Matches start at 8am each day and some high quality hockey will be on display at Grey and Gelvan where the A pool players will be playing.

ý Six EP Masters players competed in the Masters’ World Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands, recently.

They were: Chris Jordan, Liz Bailey, Rene de Lauwere, Lesley Kirsten, Charlene Loftus and Evan Wells.

The most successful team were the women’s over-45 side who defeated the United States and Scotland to play Netherlands in the final, losing 2-0. The average age of this SA team was 53.

The men’s over-40s were the next best SA side, securing fifth place.