Novel hockey prospect

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33215, 3 May 1973, Page 32

Novel hockey prospect

indoor hockey, a game which has swept through Europe, will be introduced to Christchurch next month.

A sub-committee of the Canterbury Hockey Association, including Drs S. G. Maister and R. Bailey, both of whom have had recent ex-

perience of the game in England, has arranged the novel contest. Twelve teams from the association’s senior and senior reserve grades will enter in the competition, to be known as the Trans Tours indoor hockey tournament. Matches will be played at night at Canterbury Court, starting on June 14.

There will be two pools of six teams, each pool playing a round-robin, and on the final night the first teams in each pool and corresponding placed teams in each pool will play off. HIGH SCORING The popularity of the sport in Europe can be gauged from the reply of West Germany to an invitation to the international hockey tournament in Christchurch next year. It said it would be a difficult time for the team to come here because its players would be involved in indoor matches. Dr Maister, who played in Britain and Europe in 1971 and 1972, said the game was very fast with high scoring but still involved individual skills. This year a European Cup was introduced for the first time, the finals of which would be held in a few weeks. The sport has gained such a following that the International Hockey Federation recently recognised it and established a committee which made standard the rules. The game’s main differences from field hockey is that there are only six players on the court at a time but there can be up to six substitutes. The court is also smaller — between 36 and 44 metres long and 18 and 22 metres wide.