Brisbane Hockey Season 2008 Archive

Newsletter 29 Feb 08

Below is a copy of the BHA Newsletter that was emailed 29th February 2008. If you did not receive a copy of this newsletter directly from BHA then you can add your name to the BHA mailing list for future newsletters by visiting the BHA Mailing List page. (see left-hand menu)

News, Information & Reminders - BHA Inc

MARCH 2008

Welcome to the second BHA Newsletter for 2008. This Newsletter is initially being distributed using the BHA eMailing List to which many have now subscribed through the BHA Website. The Newsletter will also be sent to Club Officials for forwarding to their Members. It's inevitable that many will receive a copy more than once, but that's better than not at all!

Season Start Dates -Update
BHL1 and BHL2 remain as originally scheduled to commence on Saturday 29 March 2008. The scheduled commencement dates for CHL (senior grass) and Junior (grass and turf) Divisions also remain as this date.

However, at the BHA General Committee Meeting of Monday 25 February 2008, the BHA Director of Competitions confirmed that due to the numbers of teams nominating for BHL3, BHL4 and BHL5, coupled with the inclusion of Memorial Cup matches later in the 2008 Season, fixtures for these divisions will commence on Sunday 16 March 2008.

The BHA Director of Competitions also indicated that he was hopeful of being in a position to release a BHL Draw very soon, provided there were no more changes to the nominated teams. The BHA Draw will be posted on the BHA Website as soon as it is released.

Please be certain to immediately inform all players and officials within your Club of this development.

Nominations for Junior Rep Teams
Trials for the selection of Under 13 and Under 15 Brisbane Representative Junior Teams for 2008 have been announced by the BHA Junior Committee. The Under 13 Trials are scheduled for 6 and 13 April, while the Under 15 Trials are scheduled for 30 March and 13 April.

Further details, including the dates and times of the Trials State Championships, and copies of the Nomination Forms can be found by visiting Representative Teams --> Docs & Forms - All Teams on the BHA Website. Every (2007) registered player’s family in the Under 13 and Under 15 age groups for 2008 should have receive copies of these in the mail a short while back.

The Nomination Forms are to be completed in full and returned to the Secretary of the BHA Junior Committee, by Friday 7 March 2008.

Nominations for Senior Rep Teams
Nominations are required for players for the BHA Premier League and State Open Representative Teams. The 2008 Premier League & State Open Championships will be held at the State Hockey Centre, Brisbane, 3 – 5 May 2008. Two teams will be selected for Premier League and one team for the State Open Championships.

Nomination Forms are available from Representative Teams --> Docs & Forms - All Teams the BHA Website. The closing date for nominations is 21 March 2008.

New Brisbane Uniforms
Brisbane Hockey Association has developed a completely new playing uniforms and dress uniforms for 2008. Once selected, players will generally be required to purchase new uniform items including a pair of the new playing shorts; two pairs of the new playing socks (blue & yellow); a new walkout shirt; and a pair of dress shorts. All items listed here will remain the property of the player.

The new playing shirts are to be funded by the Association and as always will remain the property of the Association.

Umpires! Your Sport Needs You!
With the 2008 Season approaching fast an Umpires' meeting has been scheduled for 7:00pm, Wednesday 5 March 2008 at the State Hockey Centre. All Umpires should attend. Your Association requires the attendance of all qualified Umpires, and in particular those who were 2006 and 2007 BHA registered Umpires at this meeting. Umpiring newcomers to Brisbane and anyone who else who may at present be unqualified but who is interested in gaining a badge, should also attend.

It is important that an Umpires' Committee is formed for 2008, similar to that which has existed in the past. A strong and committed Umpires' Committee has been an integral part of our sport in the past. We need to get back there. The formation of an Umpire's Committee will provide a voice within your Association and provide for the recognition of the needs and development of Umpires. The BHA Board is keen to have an effective group representing Umpires. So come along and help establish this group and support your fellow Umpires. Help the BHA Board and the Clubs to recognise and develop Umpiring within your Association. Light refreshments will be provided.

Premier League & State Open Championships
Once again BHA will play host to the Men's Premier League & State Open Championships at the State Hockey Centre. In 2007 BHA hosted one of the most successful of these Championships in recent years and hopes to do the same again in 2008. However, as was the case last year, this won't be achieved without a dedicated and enthusiastic team of volunteers. Please note the date in your diary, 3 – 5 May 2008, and consider raising you hand when asked.

Junior Carnival
Don't forget the BHA Junior Carnival on 9 March 2008 at the State Hockey Centre, Colmslie. The Carnival is for Minkey through to Under 13's. Most Clubs have entered Teams. Contact your Club Secretary for details of times and matches.

If anyone wishes to assist with the running of the Carnival, helping to set up and pull down shades, the PA system, etc, then please contact Tom Whetton asap – 0407 127 644.

Old Blokes Hockey on Thursday Afternoons
The Brisbane Veterans Thursday afternoon "friendlies" are becoming even more popular. They take place each Thursday at the State Hockey Centre from 3pm to 4.30pm, for the special price of $5 per head. All Veteran players are welcome, so if you're retired, or you can skip work for an hour or two, then come along. In recent weeks the numbers have swelled to the point of a “full-field” match.

Mind you, for some, it is sometimes very reminiscent of those childhood backyard matches. The ever familiar cries of “Foot!”; “C'mon Brian, that was out!”; or even the time honoured “Too far out!” are heard throughout the afternoon. There's always someone on hand to keep the scores – or would it be more accurate to say “make up the scores” as the match continues. And of course there's that classic cry of “Next goal wins!” several times over as the afternoon draws to a close. It's terrific fun!

The Queensland Blades - 3 From 3
The Queensland Blades are nearing the half-way point in their campaign to secure yet another Australian Hockey League title. The entire Tournament is being played over two weeks in ACT. To date the Blades have registered three wins from their three matches. They have defeated SA 2-1; come from 2-0 down at half-time to defeat NSW 3-2 in extra time; and defeated NT 8-0.

If you would like to get the latest scores and results, including match descriptions, then visit the Hockey Australia Website and follow the AHL Men's Tournament 25 Feb - 8 March link. More AHL information and history can be found here.

There is a link to the HA Website on the right-hand side of the Home page of the BHA Website.

ShawSportz Ltd
Brisbane Hockey Association and Brisbane Women's Hockey Association are monitoring the situation with respect to ShawSportz and are continuing to make representation to the relevant organisations for positive outcomes for our sport.

BHA Website - Latest News & RSS Feed
As in previous years, the BHA Website remains the focal point for all information and details relating to Men's and Boys' Hockey competitions within Brisbane. Players, officials and supporters should take the time to explore the site and to learn their way around.

For example, the Latest BHA News area on the Home page is a must. Important information and topical and items can sometimes appear here almost daily as the season gets under way. To assist members to keep up to date with news items an RSS Feed link has been added (bottom of the news area). This can be used in several ways including adding a button or favourites link in your browser or perhaps using a dedicated RSS reader application to automatically notify when new items appear. For the later I use Akregator on my Kubuntu (Linux) systems and FeedReader on my MSWindows XP system. There are dozens of other similar applications to choose from.

Next BHA General Committee Meeting
The next BHA General committee Meeting is scheduled for 7:30pm on Monday, 17 March 2008 at the State Hockey Centre. This information is always available from the BHA Website, including all proposed meeting dates being listed on the Calendar.