Tassie U21s are looking to go big at Hockey Australia National Champs

The next generation of aspiring Kookaburras and Hockeyroos will be out to display their talent when the 2023 Hockey Australia U21 Championships begin tomorrow (Wednesday 22 March) at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.

The highly anticipated national event, featuring eight women’s and eight men’s teams, comes just eight months after the last U21 Championships which took place in July 2022 in Perth.

Over 270 players from every state/territory will participate in the championships at the Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre, with hundreds of staff, families and spectators expected to attend.

Every match of the U21 Championships will be streamed on LIVEHockey.

“There is always a great sense of anticipation as the cream of the crop of Australian Under 21 hockey talent assembles for the national championships,” said Hockey Australia CEO David Pryles.

“Given the depth and quality of hockey players we have at this age level, it is going to be a fantastic eight days of competition at the iconic Sydney Olympic Park Hockey Centre.”

“The NSW Government through Destination NSW have been and continue to be great supporters of hockey, so we thank them for their commitment and desire to hosting this event, together with Hockey NSW CEO Emma Highwood and her team.”

Kookaburras great and Men’s National Athlete Pathway Program Technical Lead, Mark Knowles says the earlier time of the year for the event was due to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) holding Junior World Cups more often.

“With the Junior World Cup changing to being held every two years, we didn’t want to keep changing the date of the Under 21 Championships every second year,” said Knowles.

“There is potential of a mid-year Junior World Cup in 2025 so a national under 21 championships earlier in the year makes sense for squad selections.”

“These national championships are a key marker for our National Junior (Under 21) Programs into how players are developing and performing, so we look forward to seeing the standard of hockey on display.”

Knowles, Women’s National Athlete Pathway Technical Lead Mark Hager, plus Jillaroos Coach Stacia Strain and Burras Coach Jay Stacy will watch on during all eight days of the event as they look to identify and narrow down players under consideration for the Junior Men’s and Women’s World Cups being held in December.

Victoria goes into the tournament as the defending Under 21 women’s champions, while Western Australia are the reigning men’s champions.

Tune in to LiveHockey.com.au if you want to watch the games live. The first game is streamed here: https://livehockey.com.au/hockey/hockey-australia/under-21-womens-national-championships/2023/431907/