National Under 18 Championships Wrap Up

Tasmania was the host of the 2021 Under 18 National Championships, the first National outdoor championships to be held since COVID, from 8-16 April. The Northern Hockey Centre at St Leonards, Launceston was the setting for an excellent tournament and some thrilling individual and team performances from both our Men's and Women's sides.

The Tassie Women finished 5th overall and started brilliantly with an opening day 2-1 win over NSWS, but a heart-breaking 1-2 loss in controversial circumstances to WA prevented them from qualifying for the medal matches.

Proving their quality they won their final two matches against eventual bronze medallists NT 2-0, and against surprise packets NSWB 2-1. They are still a young and talented group, with almost all of the side eligible to play U18s again next year, and we look forward to seeing them challenge for medals again at the next tournament.

The Tassie Men finished 7th overall but performed admirably in what was a highly competitive pool. They took a few games to find their confidence after some tough first-up losses, but by the end of the tournament were easily matching it with the best sides, going through their final three matches undefeated.

The highlight was undoubtedly the incredible 0-0 draw with eventual bronze medallists Victoria, which included some thrilling team and individual performances across the pitch, but up there was also the classification match win in a shoot-out against the VICD team.

Because Tasmania hosted the tournament we had a number of volunteers filling key-posts with the tournament staff, and Hockey Tasmania extends a huge congratulations to Greer Wells as Tournament Director and Colin Pearson as Umpire Manager on their appointments and their performances, as well as a massive thank you to the huge number of volunteers who served in technical roles during the tournament to help make it a success.

A special congratulations to umpire Aaron Kitchener who was awarded the Men's Gold Medal match to officiate. This is a brilliant achievement and a well-deserved reward for your talent and dedication to being the best umpire you can be.

A shout-out to umpires Courtney Pearson and Alissia Pearson who jumped in and umpired a few games in the Women's competition as well to cover for injuries. What a fantastic resource we have with two excellent umpires in the local area ready to step in and help out at the last minute - speaks volumes of them and their community.

Also thank you to everyone involved in the working bees earlier this month and last month to prepare the Northern Hockey Centre for a national event. With all the additional COVID requirements your help in getting the centre shape-shape was invaluable.

A thank you to the Tasmanian Government and Events Tasmania for their support of the event, Launceston City Council and the Northern Hockey community, The Mercury Newspaper and DUFF TV for providing the livestreams, and everyone else who contributed during the tournament.

On behalf of the Hockey Tasmania Board, CEO, and Staff, congratulations to all the players and team staff, volunteers, umpires, parents who attended the matches and cheered them on, and everyone who tuned in to the livestream. We're all extremely proud of your efforts during the tournament.