N.Z. may get tilt at hockey trophy

Press, 29 October 1982, Page 30

N.Z. may get tilt at hockey trophy

By

KEVIN TUTTY

An invitation to the prestigious Champions Trophy tournament early next year is a possibility for the New Zealand hockey team. Scheduled for Karachi in Pakistan, the tournament usually involves the top six teams in the world in a round-robin competition. New Zealand narrowly missed a place in this year’s tournament in Amsterdam when it finished seventh at the World Cup in Bombay in January. Had it finished a place higher it would have been an automatic entry. West Germany has indicated that because it will be playing in the Esanda tournament in Melbourne in December, it will not be able to play at the Champions Trophy tournament. The chairman of the New Zealand Hockey Association, Mr Dave Coulter, said yesterday that Pakistan was not obliged to invite New Zealand to the tournament, but if it did it would be a hard invitation for the N.Z.H.A. to refuse. Pakistan pays all costs of the tournament including international travel. “The only costs we would have are assembly costs." said Mr Coulter. New Zealand played in the first Champions Trophy tournament in Lahore in 1978, but has not been invited since. The Karachi tournament will be played on an artificial surface. An official invitation has not been forwarded yet, but the N.Z.H.A. is hopeful that Malaysia will tour New Zealand next year. Mr Coulter said preliminary negotiations

started at the Junior World Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur last August. Malaysia was keen to come to New Zealand after the Melbourne tournament but that was not practical because it would have involved playing through the Christmas-New Year period. A programme leading up to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 has been proposed by the N.Z.H.A., and it includes a tour to Europe at the end of next year. Negotiations have not' started but Mr Coulter, who will manage the New r Zealand team in Melbourne, hopes to start negotiations with Dutch. German and English administrators during the December tournament. In 1984 New Zealand would like one'of the Olympic teams to play here en route to Los Angeles, but he is not optimisic of that goal being achieved. “Everyone wants to play on artificial surfaces before major tournaments, so the N.Z.H.A. will find it hard to attract teams here. We found that with the Melbourne tournament. Both England and Canada preferred to go to Perth where they can practise on an artificial surface, rather than come to New Zealand. “We are trying to get teams here so we can show the public some top hockey, and the New Zealand team in action, but it makes it hard when the prerequisite these days seems to be an artificial surface." Preparations for the Olympics, including a pre-Olympic tour of Canada or the United States, will cost the N.Z.H.A. about $lOO,OOO.