Masters Athletes Head to New Zealand
Sixteen talented FHA Masters athletes aged 47 - 78 are set to represent Canada and Alliance International in their age groups and step on to the world stage of field hockey at the 2024 World Masters Hockey (WMH) World Cup in Auckland, New Zealand from 7-16 Nov. This is the highest number of Master athletes from Alberta that have participated since the start of the WMH in 2020.
Over the last couple of years, field hockey has seen a significant growth in the Canadian Masters community across the provinces, and because of this seven Canadian teams (four women’s and three men’s) are ready to compete against some of the current top teams in their initial pool play such as England, Australia, Argentina and the Netherlands.
The excitement has been building since selections began in February, with the athletes training hard, working on fitness, fine tuning stick skills and building tactical knowledge. Current Women’s 055 Canada co-captain Gaye Hass is no stranger to the hard work and dedication it takes, as former GK with the Women’s National team and making her second Masters World Cup appearance, she takes this in her stride and values every opportunity to kit up and face the stream of shots from her teammates.
Hass expressed, “Being a mom and working fulltime, family is priority, so with the addition of travel to BC for training and tournaments I definitely train differently now, more efficiently and smarter with lots of rest and recovery. We’ve been fortunate to have extra practices in Calgary with GK-specific drills, and this has kept me and Gina Wozney (Women’s O65 GK) both sharp and focused."
All the athletes agree that trying to find the balance of family, work and being a Masters athlete takes ‘a village’ and having the support of family is huge. Women’s O55 player Maryanne Umbsaar is representing Canada for the third time, and commented, “We are all ‘weekend warriors’ with a desire to play field hockey at the highest level possible and the commitment to this can be difficult if you don’t have the support of your family, friends and employers. Essentially they are our biggest cheerleaders and we are grateful for them being there and cheering us on”. This was echoed by Liz Shortt Women’s 055 and Marge McGillivray 050 team members “Even if your family members are involved in field hockey, the juggling act to compromise and make sure everyone is looked after (we have joked) becomes part of our tough training regime! We all have to make sacrifices but it is totally worth it."
Out of the sixteen, there are a few newbies that have become involved in the Canada Master’s program and many have found that passion to start playing again, get fitter, enjoy the camaraderie and can’t wait to share their experiences with others.
First time Women's 050 Canada team member, Laura Ferguson commented, "This is my first time representing Canada, I turned 50 this year, I still love the game and being selected to play at a World Cup is tremendous. It has allowed me to re-connect with players from university days as well as those who coached or mentored me in my youth and importantly brought the masters community in Calgary together. We’ve had a lot of fun and laughs on this journey and I’ve enjoyed every minute."
At Masters level age is no barrier and no time to slow down! Wendy Carson, Women’s 065 Canada member can attest to this. “I’m 78 years young and the oldest in my team. I have been playing field hockey for donkey’s years so looking forward to this opportunity immensely to be part of this amazing experience. As a defender, I may occasionally be less nimble but I’m definitely older and wiser so will be using my vast experience to stop the offence getting past me."
Two of the younger players Wendy Stewart who will represent Alliance International in the Women’s 055 age group and Anita Jong, Women’s 050 Canada team both laughed in agreement that … “We are in awe of any player (especially Wendy Carson) that inspires us to be our best and the older we are the better we become, improving like fine wine. Our skills just need some refining so it’s important for us to keep working on the basic passing and receiving and the perfecting the timing of those one-two touches." Jong, who will play on the forward line is confident that her time also practicing reverse shots and rebounds will stand her in good stead to score a few past the opposition.
FHA is very proud of the athletes achievements and take this opportunity to wish them all the very best of success at the World Cup. There is live streaming and the chance to follow all match results. https://masters.altiusrt.com
2024 WC Auckland - the tournament Play-Site is NOW LIVE!
World Masters Hockey Event Website
Official Event Website
FHA Athletes and Technical participants at 2024 World Cup
Canada Women teams
050
Laura Ferguson (Astros)
Anita Jong (Astros)
Marge McGillivray (Cougars/Chinooks)
Liz McLean (FHA)
055
Pam Barwell (Astros)
Gaye Hass (Calgary/Chinooks)
Liz Shortt (Lightning/Bluestreaks)
Maryanne Umbsaar (Calgary/Chinooks)
065
Wendy Carson (Calgary/Masters)
Nancy McCutcheon (Calgary/Chinooks)
Gina Wozney (Lightning/Bluestreaks)
Alliance International teams
055 Women
Wendy Stewart (Saracens/Chinooks)
045 Men
Tony Dhaliwal (Kings XI)
Bubby Brar (Panjab)
Kamaldeep Grewal (Edmonton)
Pamandeep Rai (Edmonton)
Tournament Official (Technical)
Tony Stewart (Saracens)
