UCC and Munster Hockey Partner to Develop The Next Generation of Irish Hockey Stars

University College Cork will become the primary sponsor of Munster Hockey’s InterProvincial teams after signing a three-year partnership agreement.

The announcement represents a massive coup for Munster Hockey and comes after the province’s under 16 and under 18 Girls teams kicked off their InterProvincial campaigns against Leinster South at the Mardyke Arena.

As part of the partnership, Munster Hockey’s InterProvincial players and management will have access to UCC’s world-class facilities at the Mardyke Arena, along with the University’s cutting-edge expertise in sports science, high-performance, nutrition, and sports psychology.

The partnership will help give the province’s senior and underage sides an edge, as well as acting as a platform to grow the game.

“This new partnership demonstrates the importance and benefits of having a partner who truly shares in our vision of nurturing talented Munster Hockey players”, commented Cliona Fergey, Chairperson of Munster Hockey.

“When playing against the best hockey players in Ireland you need a partner who not only knows the game, but one who can provide top-notch high-performance support to your players, support that will give our team’s an edge over their rivals. This is a very exciting time for Munster Hockey as we look to take the sport to the next level with UCC”.

Morgan Buckley, Head of UCC Sport, said that the partnership will help both Munster Hockey and UCC to develop the next generation of Irish Hockey internationals.

“The popularity of hockey in Ireland is rapidly growing, and we are excited to be part of Munster’s continued rise within the game”.

“By providing them with the very best facilities to both current and rising Munster Hockey stars, we hope to play a key role in the success of Munster hockey players on the International stage.”

His sentiment was shared by the Munster Hockey President, Michael Houghton, who praised UCC’s ambition to help elevate the sport and its desire to contribute to the success of its players, both on and off the field.

“UCC is an innovative, athlete-centered educator and supporter of hockey. In addition to its pitch facilities, the partnership ensures access to a wide range of high-performance services that will contribute greatly to the overall success of our Munster Hockey players on, and off the pitch”.

The partnership will also see Munster Hockey and UCC Sport collaborate on joint marketing initiatives to promote the sport across the province. 

https://munsterhockey.ie/munster-hockey-and-ucc-partner-to-develop-next-generation-of-irish-hockey-stars/

​For further information contact Graham Catchpole: pro@munsterhockey.ie

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Softco Tricks for Treats Hockey Challenge

The Challenge

Take a video of your best Hockey Trick and send it to us! Extra points for Tricks done in costume for Halloween!

How to Enter

  1. Post your video on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #softcotricksfortreats and tag @softcogroup on Twitter and softco_life on Instagram.
  2. The Challenge kicks off at 9 am on 5 October 2022 and closes at 6 pm on 28 October 2022.
  3. Each valid entry will receive a Limited Edition SoftCo Training Beanie.
  4. Winners will be announced over Halloween by the Captains of the Ireland Men’s & Women’s Senior Team.

Age Group Categories

U10 Girls & Boys
U12 Girls & Boys
U14 Girls & Boys
U16 Girls & Boys
U18 Girls & Boys

Prizes

Winners of each category will get an exclusive SoftCo “Bag of Treats” including an official signed Ireland Jersey, a Hockey Ireland Hoodie, SoftCo Backpack, & €100 SoHockey Voucher.

The Top 5 winners Club or School will win an unique opportunity for a training & Q&A session with players from the Ireland Women’s & Men’s Hockey Team at an agreed date.

Challenge Terms & Conditions

  • Winners of each of the 5 categories will receive an exclusive SoftCo “Bag of Treats” including an official signed Ireland Jersey, a Hockey Ireland Hoodie, SoftCo Backpack, & €100 SoHockey Voucher.
  • Also the Top 5 winners Club or School will win an unique opportunity for a training & Q&A session with players from the Ireland Women’s & Men’s Hockey Team at an agreed date. (subject to Government COVID-19 Guidelines).
  • Each Participant will receive an Exclusive SoftCo Hockey Beanie Hat *subject to availability.
  • Challenge is only open to residents of the Republic of Ireland & Northern Ireland.
  • Competition Entries are open from 9:00 GMT 05/10/22 and close at 18:00 GMT 28/10/22.
  • Only one entry per person allowed.
  • The winners in each age category is not subject to review or appeal by any entrant or by any third party.
  • SoftCo’s decision in relation to selection of prize winner(s) is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • In the event of any dispute regarding the rules, conduct or the results of a competition the decision of SoftCo will be final.
  • SoftCo competitions are not open to staff of SoftCo Group.
  • Prizes are non-transferable and will only be awarded to the winner.
  • No cash alternative will be awarded in lieu of stated prize(s).
  • If, due to circumstances beyond its control, a prize becomes unavailable SoftCo reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal value.
  • Unless otherwise stated, all taxes, insurance, fees and surcharges on any prize are the sole responsibility of the winner.
  • SoftCo reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend a competition and/or vary competition rules at any time without prior notice.
  • Prizes not claimed within specified time limit will be deemed to have been forfeited and SoftCo may dispose of such prizes without any liability to the winner.
  • SoftCo reserves the right to disqualify any contestant for any reason whatsoever in its sole discretion.
  • Participation in SoftCo competitions denotes acceptance of these terms and conditions and any additional competition specific terms and conditions which may be advertised.
  • SoftCo does not accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem in any network, system, server, provider, or otherwise which may result in entries being lost or not properly registered or recorded and contestants hereby waive any claim whatsoever for any losses, costs, damages and expenses arising from any such problems.
 
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Upcoming Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 1 Q&A sessions – 21st February, 22nd March and 18th April

The Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 1 Q&A sessions of the new hockey season are coming up.

International Umpire Alison Keogh will be taking the online Q&A session on the Tuesday 21st February at 7.30pm

International Umpire Gillian Garrett will be taking the online Q&A session on the Wednesday 22nd March at 7.30pm

International Umpire Tanja Schafer will be taking the online Q&A session on the Tuesday 18th April at 7.30pm

To take part in this online Q&A session you must have fully completed your Fundamentals of Umpiring Module 1 through our eLearning Hub https://hockeyirelandhub.ie/

You also need to take part in a Q&A session to complete the practical module 2 session.

To book onto this online Q&A session please email niamh.fahey@hockey.ie

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EY League Round 3 Recap

Week 3 of top hockey was action packed.

Here’s everything you need to know from Week 3:

 

Wednesday 28th Sept

WOMEN

Monkstown V Old Alex 0-4

Goals (Old Alex: M Power x 2, A Russell, R Heatherington)

Saturday 1st October

MEN

Three Rock Rovers V Glenanne 1-3

Goals (Three Rock Rovers: A Empey; Glenanne: G Shaw, J McCormack, B Cleak)

Cookstown V Pembroke Wanderers 2-2

Goals (Cookstown: C Anderson, M Kerr; Pembroke: E Albers, C Hynes)

YMCA V Annadale 0-0

Monkstown V Instonians 2-0

Goals (Monkstown: L Cole, T Kohlmann;)

This week saw four EYHL  Men’s games as Lisnagarvey competed in the EHL competition in Hamburg. With action both abroad and at home it was an exciting weekend for Men’s hockey. Three Rock Rovers welcomed a strong Glenanne side to Grange Road with the first quarter showing how even the two teams were. Good build up from both sides but no numbers on the scoreline with only one penalty corner for Glenanne coming to nought. Quarter two again was an even showing with Glenanne taking the lead when Gary Shaw fired home from a Sam O Connor pass. But this was a short lived lead with Three Rock Rovers finding the back of the net with a sliding deflection from Ali Empey managing to connect to a ball from James Walker. In quarter three things started to stretch out a bit more with Glenanne retaking the lead with a deflection goal by Jonathan McCormack. Still everything was left to play for in the final quarter until a turnover by Glenanne with a few quick passes led to a counter attack and a Brynn Cleak goal. This scoreline sees Glenanne to the top of the table on goal difference but Three Rock Rover stay close behind.

Pembroke Wanderers travelled up to Cookstown for their round 3 match  which saw both teams leave the pitch with a point each after a showing of some fine hockey skills. Pembroke were the first on the scorecard with Cillian Hynes scoring from a penalty corner in the 11th minute. For the next 34 minutes each team tested the other and there were some excellent moments of neat stickwork and cross field passes but it wasnt until the 45th minute that Cookstown broke through the Pembroke defence with Callum Anderson finding the back of the net. This meant all was left to play for with just over a quarter of playing time left. For the rest of the third quarter the scoreline stood 1-1 making for a big 17.5 minutes in the final quarter and the teams didnt disappoint the spectators. Pembroke taking the lead with a goal from play by Ewout Albers but after a big celebration they didnt hold the lead long when two minutes later Michael Kerr evened the scoreline at 2-2. A draw but a great game of hockey.

YMCA v Annadale was the match in Wesley this weekend and with the tweets by the home club possibly more exciting = than the fixture itself the two teams came away with a point after a 0-0 draw. The middle two quarters of the pitch saw the majority of the action in the first quarter with Annadale having the only bit of pressure but that was well shut down by the YMCA defence. The second quarter saw a YMCA penalty corner saved by the Annadale keeper Benjamin Simms. YMCA took a few chances in this quarter ending with a counter attack as the half time whistle blows but nothing too pressurising on the Annadale defence. So it stood 0-0 at half time. A shot on goal from Annadale kick started the action in the third quarter but it went just wide, YMCA responded well and the ball flashed across the goal with no one managing to get a stick to it for a deflection. And that was the end of the action for the third quarter. The final quarter saw a green card for Annadale and YMCA tried to take advantage of the uneven number with a goal on target but the goalkeeper stood strong and cleared it. Annadale probably had the strongest chance of the match so far with a penalty corner strike saved off the line by Scott Ruttle, then another green card saw the home team down to 10. Some tense moments around a penalty corner saw YMCA go close to 1-0 up but the chances didnt quite get there. Full time score 0-0.

Monkstown as part of their double header weekend faced off against Instonians in Rathdown School. The half time whistle saw the score line remain 0-0 but the second half saw the main action of the game. In the 43rd minute Lee Cole added to his score tally for the season with a goal from a well won Monkstown penalty corner and Theo Kohlmann followed suit with his own penalty corner goal in the 59th minute. Monkstown showing the work on their set pieces pulling off with the three points for the match keeping them in the middle of the table. Two wins from the double header for Monkstown Men and Women saw for a great day of action for the Monkstown supporters.

 

WOMEN

Catholic Institute V Railway 1-0

Goals (Catholic Institute: M Barrett)

UCD V Pembroke Wanderers 2-0

Goals (UCD: N Carey, E Paul)

Old Alex V Loreto 1-0

Goals (Old Alex: M Power )

Monkstown V Belfast Harlequins 4-0

Goals (Monkstown: O Brady, E Kealy, S Moore, S Twomey)

 

Monkstown met Old Alex in a midweek fixture on the 28th September with the goals coming in quick succession by the travelling side. Mikayla Power opened the scoring at the start of the second quarter, Monkstown held off the onslaught for rest of the first half but that was when Old Alex got into their stride, with goals scored on the 41st, 51st and 61st minutes by Mikayla Power, Abbie Russell and Robyn Heatherington it was a half of 10 minute plays.

Old Alex then went on to meet a stronger Loreto opposition on Saturday. Starting off strong Mikayla Power scored again this time in the 6th minute from a neat piece of open play, slotting the final shot past goalkeeper Lorna Bateman. Loreto held strong in defence after that with Old Alex trying again and again but not getting past the backline to score that wished for second goal. Tensions started to rise in the third quarter with a flurry of cards on both sides but neither team able to take advantage of the numbers. A settled final quarter didnt see too many chances to change the scoreline and Old Alex took the three points for the weekend.

Monkstown however went on to face Belfast Harlequins and found an opportunity to get some scores on the board. A goal in each of the first two quarters coming from Sara Twomey and Olivia Brady, both from open play, set the tempo for the match. Belfast Harlequins tried to get on the score line but the Monkstown backline didnt bow to the pressure and the third quarter saw the final two goals coming from Monkstown sticks. Emily Kealy in the 47th minute and almost on the whistle Sophie Moore slotted the last goal past the Belfast Harlequins keeper. Monkstown will be feeling more confident after that match going into the fourth round.

Railway Union players travelled down the road to Catholic Institute for their third round match which was a tense affair all around with both teams looking for those winning points to get back into the top half of the table. The first half the two teams spent testing each other trying to find weaknesses in two strong defences. Nothing was given on either side until Catholic Institute struck gold with a Penalty corner in the 47th minute that was successfully put past Railway keeper Riona Norton to give the home team the 1-0 advantage. Now they just needed to hold it and that they managed to do. A very equally matched game, the reverse fixture between these two teams will be one to watch.

UCD ladies welcomed Pembroke Wanderers to the Belfield pitch for what was sure to be a spicy game with both teams on even points. The match started after a minutes silence as a mark of respect to the late Brian Mullins who stood as Director of Sport in UCD over recent years. UCD started off the stronger team with the first goal on the 6th minute with a fantastic strike from Katherine Egan beating keeper Aoife Glennon. A number of penalty corners for UCD marked the first quarter with the Pembroke solid defence seeing off any shots on target. In the second quarter Pembroke came close with a shot from Sally Campbell hitting the top post and a short corner just going wide. Pembroke upped the pressure but the half time whistle saw UCD hold on to their 1-0 lead. Early in the second half UCD’s Niamh Carey scored from open play to make it 2-0 to the home team and that was the scoreline that stood until the full time whistle.

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