Hockey assn gears up

Press, 28 November 1980, Page 26

Hockey assn gears up

’ ■ By Kevin Tutty' ~ A minimum of $lOO,OOO and up to $170,000 -.will be spent by the New Zealand • Hockey Association on its .<. ■ international programme in. the next four, years. ' . / The programme was confirmed at the annual meeting of the association in Wellington at the week-end. It starts with New- Zealand’s participation in the InterContinental cup in Kuala Lumpur next April and culminates with the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Four tournaments ‘ account for the major portion of the proposed expenditure; The Inter-Continental Cup, and the Junior World Cup finals — providing New Zealand

qualifies — are each budgeted at $35,000; thfe World Cup in Bombay . late next year is budgeted at $40,000; and. the Junior World Cup qualifying tournament' in Hong Kong next October will-cost $30,000. --

The national senior and junior. teams will have a surfeit of international competition in the next three and a half years, but unfortunately there will . be little rub-off for all this expense to provincial arid club players. The standard of hockey outside the three main provinces — Canterbury, Auckland and Wellington — is not improving and the N.Z.H.A. should be mindful

■ of the need to expose, these I weaker centres either to the : national team, or overseas ; teams of high standard. i The proposed international i programme up to the Los Angeles OlyrriiCs -is: April 1981: Inter-Con-tinental Cup, Kuala Lumpur. October 1981: Junior World Cup qualifying tournament, Hong Kong. December 1981 to January 1982: World Cup, Bombay. April 1982: Junior World Cup finals, Kuala Lumpur. December 1982: International tournament, Melbourne. 1983: Internal tour by internal side. : 1984: Olympics, Los lAngeles.