Five VIS athletes have been selected in the 18 women Hockeyroos team to contest the Hawkes Bay Cup in Hastings, New Zealand this April.
VIS scholarship holder Kristina Bates will move up into the senior side after her outstanding performances at the Junior World Cup last year and the recent Hockeyroos super camp.
Bates joins fellow VIS athletes Laura Baden, Georgia Nanscanwen, Madi Ratcliffe and Ashlee Wells in the Women’s Hockeyroos squad heading to New Zealand next month.
Hockeyroos Head Coach, Paul Gaudin, said that the selections were made with the opportunity to provide newer squad members with international experience in mind.
“We hope that seeing such a young side in action at Hawkes Bay will help us in make the crucial team selection for the World League semi-finals, which is a qualifier for the World Cup in 2018.” Gaudin said.
In men’s hockey, four VIS athletes have been named in the Kookaburras squad ahead of the Darwin International Hockey Open next week.
Kiran Arunasalam, Casey Hammond, Aaron Kleinschmidt and Joshua Pollard will don the green and gold in their four-game test against Pakistan.
Pollard recently debuted for the Australian side at the Trans-Tasman trophy, while Arunasalam will be moving up into the senior team for his international debut following standout performances in the national junior team at last year’s Sultan of Johor Cup and the Junior World Cup.
Kookaburras head Coach Colin Batch said “I believe the team we have selected will be able to show Darwin just why they are ranked number 1 in the world when they take on Pakistan in the four-game test.”
