2021 Year In Review

2021 has almost wrapped up and once again Hockey Queensland is taking a look back at the year that was, month by month! The year saw many milestones, achievements, and triumphs within our hockey community!

January

2021 marked 100 years of hockey officially being played in Queensland. Our celebrations began with the unveiling of our 100 Years Logo, which symbolises the connection of the past with the present and future.

The U15 and U13 Indoor camps held at the start of January at Kedron were a huge success, with over 120 athletes in attendance from all over the state. Sadly, the U18 camps were cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

February

The U18 and U15 Queensland State Teams were announced at the conclusion of the Trials at the State Hockey Centre.

Our High Performance coaches ran the 16 Years Development Camps, with the North camp held in Rockhampton on 20th & 21st of February and the South camp held in Ipswich from 27th & 28th of February.
 

March

Hockey Queensland’s Team 100 was announced as part of 100 Years celebrations, after over 750 votes were submitted from around Australia. Team 100 is the Top 11 Queensland hockey athletes in each of the Men’s & Women’s teams.

The 2021 Sultana Bran Hockey One season fixture was announced.

Our women were named in the 2021 Australian Women's Development Squad:

• Hannah Astbury
• Ashlea Fey
• Savannah Fitzpatrick
• Morgan Gallagher
• Rebecca Greiner
• Britt Wilkinson

The Victoria Institute of Sport brought up a High Performance (HP) group of men's athletes, which was confirmed 3 days prior to arrival, for a set of friendly matches against the HQ HP Unit. This was first time either state had played any HP matches in over 12 months.

Hockey QLD had 11 athletes attend the Hockey Australia Junior Camp held in Canberra earlier this month. Congratulations to:

• Claire Colwill
• Dayle Dolkens
• Kendra Fitzpatrick
• Ruby Harris
• Morgan Mathison
• Jordn Office
• Jesse Reid
• Jade Smith
• Laney-Belle Smith
• Tatum Stewart
• Emily Witheyman-Crump

Hockey Queensland welcomed our new staff members to the team including Kerry Liebenberg.

The 31st March 2021 marked 100 years of hockey officially being played in Queensland. Hockey Queensland unveiled the original meeting minutes from 100 years ago to celebrate this date.

April

Hockey Queensland announced the winners of the Hockey Queensland Annual Awards for 2020. Congratulations to all of our winners, and thank you for your dedication to hockey.

ANNUAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Outstanding Achievement Award
Angela Groves

ANNUAL COMMUNITY AWARDS

Association Of The Year
Sunshine Coast Hockey Association

Volunteer Of The Year
Emma Ziviani

Initiative Of The Year
Toowoomba Hockey – Under 15 Invitational Tournament

Association Coach Of The Year
Amanda Ross

Community Coach Of The Year
Tamiesha Elmes

Association Umpire Of The Year
Alyson Aleksic

Association Technical Official Of The Year
Sonya Fisher

#TeamQLD – Individual Award
Scott Brennan

#TeamQLD – Team/Club/Association Award
Warwick Hockey Association

The Queensland U21 Men and Womens Teams were selected after trials held on the 23 & 24 April 2021 at the State Hockey Centre.

 Congratulations to our U18 Women for winning the Australian Championships, and to our U18 Men who finished 4th.

Congratulations to our U15 teams on their Australian Championships results.

Boys Maroon - 5th

Boys Gold - 8th

Girls Maroon - 3rd

Girls Gold - 6^th

May

The inaugural Hockey Queensland Championship (HQC) brought over 300 of Queensland's best athletes together across 19 teams to fight it out for their Association, in Toowoomba earlier this month.

The Annual General Meeting was held Saturday 1 May 2021 at Toowoomba Hockey Association during the Hockey Queensland Championship.

The Queensland Country Teams were named after the Hockey Queensland Championship.

Hockey Queensland announced the three latest award winners for service to hockey in Queensland:

• Darren Cavanagh - Life Member
• Mick Smith - Distinguished Service Award
• Peter Searston - Distinguished Service Award

Decorated and long serving Kookaburra Matthew Swann announced his retirement from international hockey, ending a long and distinguished career that has spanned 13 years. Congratulations on an incredible career Swanny! Queensland is so proud of you.

Our Queensland athletes were named in the 2021 / 2022 Australian Women’s and Men’s Future (Under 18) Talent Squads:

• Jordan Bliss
• Claire Colwell
• Hannah Cullum-Sanders
• Madeline Kenny
• Kyra Livermore
• Georgina West
• Ryley Bobart
• Diarmid Chappell
• Zac McCoombes
• Ryan Wilcox

Some of our U21 Men attended the Australian Burras World Cup Preliminary Camp at the Gold Coast.

Savannah Fitzpatrick was added to the Hockeyroos squad for 2021.

Hockey Queensland proudly revealed our commemorative badge for 100 years of Hockey in Queensland, and launched our Limited Edition 100 Years Supporter Shirts through uniform partner BLK.

June

The U18 Women's & Men's State Championships were held from 27-29 June from Townsville and Rockhampton.

7 Queenslanders were announced as heading to Tokyo in the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras teams. Plus Aleisha Neumann and Adam Kearns were appointed as umpires.

Hockey Queensland launched the brand new Junior Blaze Program.

The Women's Masters State Championship was held on the 10th - 13th June 2021 at Warwick Hockey Association.

Hockey Queensland welcomed two more staff members to the team: Marc Wittmann as our Community Hockey Manager, and Jade Smith as our Athlete Development Officer.

Blaze Memberships & Tickets went on sale.

July

Madison Fitzpatrick was added to the Hockeyroos Olympic Tokyo Team.

Brisbane was announced as the host city of the 2032 Olympics.

The Big Hockey Hit Out (BHHO) was scheduled to be held over the 30^th July – 1^st August  at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. The best of the best and Queensland's rising stars fought it out for a shot at Brisbane Blaze selection, bragging rights, and a share in $4,000!

The event was postponed after the Lockdown in SEQ on the morning of the 31st July, and was rescheduled to finish on Sunday 26th September at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre. 

The U13 Girls & Boys State Championships ran from 4 - 7 July in Gympie and Townsville, where the Queensland Boy's & Girl's U13 Teams were selected.

The Queensland U18 Squads were also selected ready for trials in February 2022.

August

The Kookaburras won a Silver Medal at #Tokyo2020 Olympics in a heart stopping match! 

This is an incredible achievement, as the Aussies only played a handful of international matches in the last 18+ months. The Hockeyroos were a powerhouse, winning all of their pool matches, but were knocked out in the Quarter finals. Queensland is so proud of all our athletes.

Aleisha Neumann was appointed to the Tokyo 2020 Women’s Quarter Final and Adam Kearns appointed to the Tokyo 2020 Men’s Bronze Medal Match.

Jake Whetton has been shortlisted as a FIH Men's Player of the Year, and announced as a finalist for the Philips Sports Dad of the Year.

Season 2 of the Sultana Bran Hockey One League was pushed back due to the current COVID situation in many parts of the country.

Hockey Queensland announced the signing of Kookaburra as the Official Ball Supplier of Hockey Queensland, Hockey Queensland State Championships, and the Junior Blaze Program.

Kookaburras legend Matt Swann and his wife Roos welcomed the safe arrival of their first child Willow Iola Swann.

September

The Big Hockey Hit Out (BHHO) Women’s Competition continued on Sunday 26th September at the Gold Coast with the Stingers taking out the competition and $2,000 in prize money! Unfortunately the Men’s Competition was cancelled.

The U15 Women's & Men's State Championships ran from 19 - 22 September at the Gold Coast and Bundaberg. Then the Queensland Boy's & Girl's U15 Squads were also selected ready for trials in February 2022.

The conclusion of the U15 State Championships meant that Hockey Queensland achieved the milestone of being able to run every State Championship in 2021.

His Excellency the Governor of Queensland penned a message of support to celebrate 100 years of hockey in Queensland, for which Hockey Queensland is tremendously grateful.

COVID continued to impact the staging of national hockey events with Hockey Australia announcing the Australian Country Championships and Under 13 Carnival were cancelled.

Registrations for the Junior Blaze program opened on 6th September. 

The Junior Blaze Program conducted it’s first-ever clinic in Brisbane at the State Hockey Centre on Friday, 24 September 2021.

66 eager junior athletes arrived at SHC dressed ready to be challenged and have fun, and were surprised by the attendance of Savannah Fitzpatrick and Tim Howard 2020 Tokyo Australian Hockey Olympians joining the two-hour clinic.

Hockey Queensland welcomed new staff member Toby Nolan to the team.

October

Players were selected for the 16 Years Development Squads. Camps were to be held in December 2021.

Plans to hold the 2021 National Under 21 Championships were abandoned due to all participating states and territories unable to attend because of the ongoing COVID situation.

The Hockey Queensland High Performance team ran an invitational tour to Tasmania for athletes to compete against athletes from Tasmania, SA, and WA.

 “The Tassie Tour was a beneficial trip with the focus on development and trialling different concepts on field with no pressure of results, nor there a focus on competition.” - HQ High Performance Team

Our 2021 Brisbane Blaze Squads were announced at the conclusion of the Big Hockey Hit Out.

Due to ongoing impacts of COVID, Season 2 of the Sultana Bran Hockey One League was deferred to October 2022.

The Indoor State Championships kicked off with the U18 Indoor State Championships from 15 - 17 October hosted by South Brisbane Vipers and the Masters State Championships from 22nd - 24th October hosted by Maryborough. 

The 2021 Queensland U18 Mens & Women's Indoor Squads were selected.

Despite the Australian Indoor Hockey Festival being cancelled for 2022, Hockey Queensland is selecting Queensland Squads at all U13, U15, U18, and Super 6/U21 State Championships held throughout October – December, who will meet in early 2022 to participate in the ‘Queensland Festival of Indoor’, which includes Competitive Indoor Hockey matches, in order to continue the development of our athletes. The QFOH will be held January 3 – 17th at the BIHL venue at Kedron in Brisbane.

Information sessions on the new Hockey Australia Safe Hockey & Integrity Framework were ran for Associations to understand the new frameworks.

November

Hockey great Jamie Dwyer’s achievements and impact on Australian sport have been recognised with induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF).

Madonna Blyth was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame last night (25th November 2021) at the QSport Awards Dinner. Plus the 2021 Queensland U18 Women's Team brought home Junior Sport Team of the Year, with the award accepted by coach Sara Rogers, captain Claire Colwill, and manager Sam Bliss. Congratulations Madonna on your well-deserved induction, and to the U18 Womens Team!

Our Queenslanders were named in the 2022 Kookaburras Squad:

• Jacob Anderson
• Daniel Beale
• Tim Howard
• Corey Weyer
• Jake Whetton

Despite the Australian Indoor Hockey Festival being cancelled for 2022, Hockey Queensland selected Queensland Squads at all U13, U15, U18, and Super 6/U21 State Championships held throughout October – December, to meet in early 2022 to participate in the ‘Queensland Festival of Indoor’, which includes Competitive Indoor Hockey matches, in order to continue the development of our athletes.

The Junior Blaze Program launched its Travelling Roadshow 2022, which will visit Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast, Mackay, and Rockhampton in January with more locations to be announced in February.

In lieu of the 2021 U13 Australian Championships, HQ ran a Development Camp for our U13 QLD Teams, Shadows, and invited players. Thanks to our Olympians for coming out - it was a fantastic weekend of hockey!

Athletes were added to the 2022 U15 State Squads at the conclusion of this event, for trials in February 2022.

Hockey Queensland proudly announced Bird On A Wire Wines as our official wine partner.

Hockey QLD partnered with Grays Hockey, who will become the Official and Exclusive Uniform Partner of Hockey Queensland for the next four years.

Hockey Australia announced etrainu as its preferred Learning Management System partner. This will replace the current HockeyEd system in time.

The announcement was made that the 2022 Australian U18 Hockey Championships will be held in Cairns from 6-14 April.

December

The winners of the Vintage Hockey Moment Competition were announced. Thank you to all of our entrants, and to Bird on a Wire Wines for this incredible prize. 

Players were selected for the 2022 U13 Boys and Girls Indoor Squads.

The Queensland Festival of Indoor announced the draws for all age groups and the announcement of teams began. 

Aleisha Neumann (Umpire) and Steve Rogers (Umpire) were announced among the officials who will be involved in the FIH Hockey Women's World Cup Spain & Netherlands 2022 and the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar & Rourkela.

Players were added to the 2022 U18 Squads. The squads will meet in February for the U18 Trials where the final Queensland Teams will be selected.