HOCKEY one... By Joe Novella Photos Gary Sissons
A
ustralia is a superpower in the world of hockey. Our national men's team – the Kookaburras – and the women's Hockeyroos are consistently in the top four nations in the world, winning multiple Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medals and numerous World Championships. In fact, the Kookaburras are recognised as one of the most consistently successful Australian sports teams over the last 30 years. Despite all that success, the game has struggled at the local levels, often in the shadow of the more traditional sports like AFL, cricket, netball and soccer. Maybe it's the impression hockey is a dangerous sport that makes parents wary of signing up their children or keeps adults from taking up the sport. There are sticks flying in all directions, a ball travelling at incredible speed and the thwack of wood on wood when tackles are made making the game sound more like a battle than a sport. However, according to Chris Wall, President of the Frankston Hockey Club, the impression that hockey is a dangerous sport could not be further from the truth. "From personal experience and the data collected nationally, hockey itself is a relatively safe sport. If we look at the 2016/17 data pre-Covid, hockey sits on par with basketball injury rates at around 2.5% of participants experiencing a serious injury. We use protective equipment and teach safe play from the first stages of hockey to minimise risk of injury to members and other participants. "And another myth I'm happy to bust," continued Mr Wall, "is that hockey is not for everyone. We have members who start at six years old and play all the way up to 65 years. There are even leagues for 80 year olds and we'll enter a team in that league as our members move closer to that age bracket." continued page 16...
E ssence
14 | PENINSULA
March 2023