Hockey Australia announces National Championship calender for 2021

Hockey Australia on Thursday announced the dates and venues for all the national competition scheduled to will be held in 2021. As per the new schedule, all the competitions except the Australian men’s and women’s Master Championships will be held at the same location as per the 2020 schedule. 

The National Championship for next year will start from April with Under 15 and Under 18 championships taking place in Tasmania and New South Wales respectively. The under-21 competition will start from June 30th immediately after the County Championships which will take place in Albany, Western Australia from August 7-14 in 2021.

Hockey being the major outdoor sport and hugely popular in Australia had faced a huge backlash due to COVID-19 as no major tournaments were happening from March 2020 onwards.

Talking about the challenges, Hockey Australia CEO Matt Favier said that this dates will certainly give a ray of happiness to all the hockey fans in Australia and will provide a sense of optimism in the time of uncertainty.

“Following successful discussions with our funding partners, councils, committees, Member Associations and event hosts, we are excited to confirm all the events will be held at the same location which was decided in 2020 except Australian men’s and women’s Masters Championship,” he said.

“Ultimately these events are for enjoyment, competitiveness and everything that is great about our sport, so as disappointing as it has been not seeing them held this year, there is a genuine sense of excitement about what 2021 holds” he added.

He also stressed on the fact that we know that there is no certainty whether this pandemic will end by 2021 or not. But the governing body will continuously monitor the progress and also make further decisions at the appropriate time.

“The safety, health and well being of the players, staff, officials and spectators remain Hockey Australia’s top priority, so we will continue to follow government advice and direction, but we are largely enthused about all of these events recommencing in 2021,” Favier added.

 

Hockey Australia national championship includes 4,500 players who compete every year at different levels annually. Australian men’s national field hockey team is one of the nation’s most successful top-level sporting teams in the world as they have clinched Hockey World Cup thrice in 1986, 2010 and 2014.