News and Announcements

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Field Hockey Canada and the Canadian Men’s National Field Hockey Program have named the Senior Men’s National Team and Development Squad rosters for the 2016 competition year.

In total, thirty-nine athletes from across the country and with a wide range of experience have been named to the two squads. From Victoria forward James Kirkpatrick (28 caps) was named to the senior national team, while Josh Brown and Harbir Sidhu were named to the junior squad.

The National Team roster comprises of twenty-five players from which the majority of competition teams in the year ahead will be selected. All sixteen men who represented Canada at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where Canada won silver, are on the National Team.

Veterans Scott Tupper (Vancouver, BC), Mark Pearson (Tsawwassen, BC), Philip Wright (Vancouver, BC), Dave Jameson (Vancouver, BC), Richard Hildreth (Vancouver, BC), and Iain Smythe (Vancouver, BC) lead the way in terms of experience, with a combined 1,013 senior international matches played between them.

Rising stars Adam Froese (Abbotsford, BC), Gabriel Ho-Garcia (Burnaby, BC), Devohn Noronha-Teixeira (Mississauga, ON), and Paul Wharton (Vancouver, BC) give the team an infusion of youth, while keepers David Carter (Vancouver, BC) and Antoni Kindler (Vancouver, BC) bring a wealth of experience between the pipes.

The Senior Development Squad is made up of a mix of veteran and young athletes, with junior standouts Amrit Sidhu and Balraj Panesar cracking the squad.

Canada’s men have qualified for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next August. The majority – if not all – the athletes who will make up Canada’s field hockey team at the competition will be chosen from the athletes named to the rosters below.

In the nine months leading up to Rio, the Canadians have a full schedule of competition in preparation for the Games. First up, the men will compete at the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey World League Final from November 27-December 6 in Rajpur, India.

2015-16 Canadian Men’s Senior National Team

Name Position Hometown Caps
Adam Froese Defender Abbotsford, BC 119
Antoni Kindler Goalkeeper Vancouver, BC 52
Ben Martin Defender Vancouver, BC 83
Brenden Bissett Forward New Westminster, BC 35
David Carter Goalkeeper Vancouver, BC 117
David Jameson Defender Vancouver, BC 231
Devohn Noronha-Teixeira Forward Mississauga, ON 54
Gabriel Ho-Garcia Forward Burnaby, BC 62
Gordon Johnston Defender Vancouver, BC 73
Hudson Stewart Defender Vancouver, BC 82
Iain Smythe Midfield Vancouver, BC 110
Jagdish Gill Midfield Toronto, ON 41
James Kirkpatrick Forward Victoria, BC 28
John Smythe Forward Vancouver, BC 29
Keegan Pereira Forward Ajax, ON 83
Mark Pearson Midfield Tsawwassen, BC 182
Matthew Guest Forward Calgary, AB 102
Matthew Sarmento Forward Vancouver, BC 44
Paul Wharton Midfield Vancouver, BC 53
Philip Wright Midfield Vancouver, BC 143
Richard Hildreth Defender Vancouver, BC 132
Scott Tupper Defender Vancouver, BC 215
Stephen Bissett Forward New Westminster, BC 7
Sukhi Panesar Midfield Surrey, BC 51
Taylor Curran Midfield Vancouver, BC 97

2015-16 Canadian Men’s Senior Development Squad

Name Position Hometown Caps
Adrien d’Andrade Defender Coquitlam, BC 4
Amrit Sidhu Forward Abbotsford, BC
Arif Virjee Midfield Vancouver, BC 7
Balraj Panesar Midfield Surrey, BC
Harbir Sidhu Forward Victoria, BC
Harp Virdi Forward Vancouver, BC 6
Josh Brown Forward Victoria, BC
Justin Dhaliwal Forward Surrey, BC
Leo Bannister Midfield Hamburg, GER 10
Manvir Kingra Defender Surrey, BC 4
Oliver Scholfield Forward Vancouver, BC 16
Sunny Ajula Defender Surrey, BC 4
Tristan Burgoyne Goalkeeper Vancouver, BC
Vikram Sandhu Forward Vancouver, BC

Please note that UVIC has closed the Water-Based turf until it is thawed for Sunday Nov. 29.

The 9:00am game (Marauders vs Rebels 2) is cancelled.

The 10:30am game needs to be assessed upon arrival. The entire pitch must be thawed to be deemed playable.

Updated: as of 8:11 am on Nov. 29

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MIXED 7-ASIDE
In honour of the recent passing of long-time field hockey contributor John Morrison, a mixed 7-aside tournament is being organized to celebrate John’s contributions to sport , especially with Victoria’s junior development and club culture.

WHEN: November 21st. 5:00 – 7:00 pm UVic Turf 1

If anyone is interested in participating or being involved, please reply to Veronica Planella (mvplanella@gmail.com) by Monday, Nov. 16.


JOHN MORRISON:

John Morrison, kilt-wearing, golf-obsessed, coffee-loving foodie, fisherman, gardener, athlete and all round “good man” died on Friday, November 6, 2015 at the age of 57. He fought an almost unprecedented 6-year battle with brain cancer after being told he had 12 months to live. John died as he lived, with courage, kindness, spirit and humour.

John was a big-hearted man of many passions. He loved the water, being both in it and on it. Growing up in Vancouver, he spent childhood summers at Sechelt, fishing, swimming, and vowing never to live far away from the ocean. He eventually settled in Victoria with his family. Always into sports, John swam competitively, raced road bikes, and played and coached field hockey. John discovered the joy (and agony) of golf later in life. Golf allowed him to remain competitive, even through his illness, and led to great friendships with his “Posse” from the Cordova Bay Golf Course where he was a fixture.

John graduated from UBC in Microbiology and went on to become a CA, ultimately becoming CFO at Viking Air. When he could no longer work, he directed his energy into volunteering for Junior Achievement and the Victoria Brain Injury Society.

John’s greatest love was his family. He was adoring and proud father to Fiona and Axel, loving husband of 25 years to Daniela, wonderful brother to Jill (Thom) and Maggie (Tom), brother-in-law to Sue (Stephanie) and Katrin (Rich), and devoted uncle to Mack, Maggie, Angus, Cam, Cole and Finn. John will be dearly missed by them and by his many friends, including his golf “Posse”, business colleagues, field hockey teammates and kids he coached.

The family would like to extend the deepest gratitude to all those who cared for John on his journey – his doctors, nurses, hospice caregivers and volunteers, spiritual healers, and the many dear friends who brought John his favorite daily brew, along with a lot of laughs. John’s story is one of will and determination, and the power of love and support from family and friends. John taught us all that the biggest gift to one’s self is a life well lived.

Please join us to celebrate John’s life on Sunday, November 29, 2015 from 2-5pm at the Church and State Winery, 1445 Benvenuto Avenue, Brentwood, Victoria. RSVP to celebratejmorrison@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Victoria Hospice.

See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timescolonist/obituary.aspx?n=john-h-morrison&pid=176478349#sthash.uKYOHGb7.dpuf

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ATTENTION: ALL UMPIRES

The Umpires Association has committed to improving the standard of Umpiring in Victoria and the Island and hopes to offer a few educational opportunities over the 2015-2016 season. The first of which will be on Wednesday October 28th.

Instead of doing the tradition briefing, we’re going to try something a little different. The focus of the session will be Game Management and instead of conducting a lecture with videos and a Q & A, we’re going to have you work together in small groups to discuss and problem solve various scenarios related to game management.

Each breakout group will work on game management issues related to:

1. Dissent
2. Off-ball or “out of your area of control” management
3. Physical play

The session will be facilitated by Gillian Horgan, Chris Wilson, Alison Sweeten and Denise McGeachy. The facilitators role will be there to offer suggestions but the goal is for the groups to work through each scenario as a group and find a successful solution and present that solution to the larger group.

In order to make this session truly useful to all umpires, we would like YOU to send us suggestions of situations you have faced under the categories above – things that happened to you that maybe didn’t go very well and you wished you could have done it better, or was confusing, or maybe just weird. We intend to use as many of your scenarios as possible so please email them to Denise!

Seminar details:
October 28, 7-9 pm
UVic, McKinnon Gym room 150
Please RSVP attendance to Kevin Burns: kjburns@outlook.com
Send scenarios to Denise McGeachy: denise.mcgeachy@gmail.com
All umpires are strongly encouraged to attend
Players interested in attending can also contact Denise or Kevin to attend.

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After 4 seasons as the Vice President, Erica Kjekstad is stepping down from the board. Erica has been with the VJFHA executive since 2011. We would like to take this opportunity to thank her for hard work and for dedicating countless hours on and off the field. Erica’s work on marketing and communications has lifted our association to a new level.

After many years as the association’s Treasurer, Bill Moffat is stepping down from the board. We would like to thank Bill for his many years of valuable advice and responsible financial book-keeping. Bill has given many hours to our association and ensured that all legal and financial items are carefully considered when conducting business.

Needless to say, there are two very key vacancies on the Victoria Junior Field Hockey Association (VJFHA) Board of Directors for this upcoming season. This is a great opportunity to get involved in the field hockey community. For parents, you will have a direct hand in shaping the association to benefit all children in our sport. For younger adults, this is a great way to acquire some professional development in a volunteer organization. Both Bill and Erica will be available for consultation as we get up to the new volunteer up to speed. We look forward to having YOU on the board!

The AGM will be held on Monday, September 28, 2015 at 7:30pm at UVic in the MacKinnon Building, Room 155. The order of business will be as follows:

1. Call to order
2. Approval of Agenda
3. Approval of 2014 AGM Minutes
4. Financial Report
5. President’s Report
6. Girls Representative Report
7. Boys Representative Report
8. Auditor’s Report
9. Elections
a. President
b. Vice President
c. Secretary
d. Treasurer
e. Boys Representative
f. Girls Representative
g. Directors at Large
10. Appointment of Auditor, if required
11. Other business, if required
12. Adjournment

For questions or more information, please contact Mark Baggott, President VJFHA, at baggott_mark@yahoo.ca