A bunch of photos taken during Nationals 2010 can be found in the album "Nationals 2010" in the Gallery menu above. They include photos taken at the Presentation Evening.
Australian Underwater Hockey Championships
Hobart Aquatic Centre - 22 to 26th January 2010
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Tasmania obtained its first U19 gold medal for 11 years when Nick Johnston’s players beat Victoria 6-2 at 8.30 am today. Jacob Marsh-Robinson made a special contribution with his 4 goals, while single goals came from Matt Paine and Eliza Game. There were hard-fought moments in the match, with both teams at one point having 2 players each in the sin-bin, and only 4 each in the water. Bronze in this division was secured by Ian Shanahan’s Tasmanian U19 Development team over WA 9-1, giving Tasmania a rare 1-3 finish. The Tasmanians see the result as solid dividends for several recent years of vigorous youth-focussed training.
A fit fast Victorian team defeated NSW 5-2 in the Open Women’s division, gaining their third championship in a row. Western Australia also edged out Tasmania 5-2 for the bronze. In the Masters grade, Western Australia (8) was far too good for Tasmania (0), also repeating their 2009 championship performance.
At 11.30 am, the Elite Open championship was secured by Western Australia 6-2, after breaking Tasmania’s back in the first half of the match. The result soundly reversed the 5-2 defeat Tasmania had handed WA in the round robin competition. Nick Yong produced both of Tasmania’s face saving goals, but they were not enough to retrieve the game from a masterful Western Australia. WA players wore black armbands for Graham Anderton, a WA player with a long contribution to the game, who died last week. In a controversy-plagued bronze play-off, Victoria bested Queensland 4-3, scoring the winning goal with only 17 seconds left on the clock.
The tournament will end with a presentation tonight and celebration at the Botanic Gardens. Tournament Director Natalie Wickham, and Tasmanian Underwater Hockey Association President Craig Proctor, both praised the hard work of the local Tasmanian volunteers, which has made these Australian championships such a success.
The 2010 Australian Underwater Hockey Championships kicked off this Friday afternoon at the Hobart Aquatic Centre, with all Tasmanian teams recording wins in their divisions. The Tasmanian Mens Open team suffered opening night jitters but still snatched a 5 - 4 win with a slender second to go on the match clock. The current Australian champions, WA, enjoyed even honours (6 - 6) against the invitation Barbarians team, a mix of international players from
Saturday will see the first full day of competition, with all Tasmanian teams playing multiple games. The full schedule is available at: http://web.me.com/sushsushi/UWH_Nationals_2010/Comp_Schedule.html
Day 2 (Saturday 23rd Jan 2010) Results Underwater Hockey Championships,
Todays championships opened well for the Tasmanians, with the U19As downing their main rivals, Victoria, 7 - 1. Dual goal scorers Jacob Marsh-Robinson and James Milner consistently placed pressure on the opposition, ably assisted by single goals from Kate Howard, Matt McCartney, and Matt Paine. Earlier in the day the Vics had disposed of the Tasmanian U19 Development Team 10 - 1. The Development Team redeemed itself with an 8-1 win over WA in the afternoon.
The Tasmanian Women lead at times in their first match of the day, but were disappointed to lose to WA 3 - 5. They lifted in the late afternoon to draw with last years runner-ups NSW, and should take new confidence into Day 3 of the competition. The Mens Masters team dominated over NSW 9 - 2. However, despite leading at half-time, they fell away against WA in the afternoon, to lose 4 - 2.
In the Open Mens division, The Barbarians built a small lead in the 1st half, but opened up a sizeable gap to come out winners 7 - 2 over
Day 3 (Sunday 24th Jan 2010) Results Underwater Hockey Championships,
Tasmania launched out of the blocks on Day 3, when the Open Mens team met longtime rivals Victoria and bested them 5 - 1. Jack Robert-tissot finessed two goals with quick hands, Simon Talbot also put one away, and Nick Yong included a spectacular lone swim-away amongst his two goals. The win moved Tasmania to second on the leader board, behind the international Barbarians squad, positioning them favourably for the next seeding round. In this same seeding round, in the afternoon Tasmania blotted its record with a narrow 4-3 loss to Queensland, giving them a harder road into the semi-finals on Day 4. However, an 11 - 2 win over NSW ensures that they will finish either 2nd or 3rd in their division. They face a lunchtime semi-final against Queensland on Day 4.
The Tasmanian U19A team bewitched a very green NSW team 21 - 0, soundly beat WA 12-0, and finished off a satisfying day with a 7-2 win over Victoria. This record leaves them at top of the leaderboard heading into semi-final day on Day 4. Staying with the U19s, the Tasmanian Development team (U19B) lost to Victoria 5 - 2, but in the afternoon they excelled with a scintillating 17 - 0 win over NSW.
Happy times prevailed in both Tasmanian Masters games of the day. Tasmania first ground ACT down 14 - 1. Goal scorers for Tasmania were Chris Scheuker (4), Rudy Kloser (3), Steve Cleary (2), Chris Cleaver (2), and Richard Lane (1). Tasmania then dealt with NSW 12 - 1. The final ladder positions in this division await the final round robin game between Tasmania and Western Australia on Day 4, with the semifinal to be played in the afternoon.
Brushing aside Queensland in the morning, the Tasmanian Open Womens team placed their full focus on a good result against WA in the late afternoon, to force their way into a 2nd - 3rd play off. They led through the 2nd half, but conceded a goal with a minute and a half to go, after a desperate defence around the goal tray. The draw places them into 4th position, and they will play off in the 1st vs 4th semi-final on Day 4, against Victoria.
Day 4 (MondayToday saw 3 Tasmanian teams advance through Semi-finals on Day 4 to the Grand Finals on Day 5 (Jan 26th). The Tasmanian Open Men will meet WA at 11.30 am, The U19As will meet Victoria at 8.30 am, and the Masters will play off against WA at 9.30 am. During this period the Tasmanian Open Women will play for bronze against WA, and the U19B Development Team will also wrestle for a bronze, but with NSW.
Day 4 was split between remnant ranking games in the morning, and Semi-finals in the afternoon. There were some key results affecting Tasmanian Semi-final positions. The U19B Development team took a game from WA 5 - 3, placing them firmly into the No. 3 ladder position. The Tasmanian Open Women suffered a narrow defeat 4 - 3 to NSW. Tasmanian captain Natalie Wickham wryly said afterward that they had equalised with -2 seconds on the clock. This result confirmed the closeness of the competition, because in the other court, Victoria was beaten by WA, with whom Tasmania had drawn yesterday. In the Masters division, TasmaniaWestern Australia. However, they redeemed themselves in the subsequent sudden-death Semi-final by defeating NSW 8 - 1, benefiting from goal sprees from forwards Chris Scheuker (4), Colin Hepher (3), and Rudy Kloser (1). was again defeated 6 - 1 by reigning champions
In the afternoon, the Tasmanian Open Men broke Queenslands heart in the 2 vs 3 Semi-final at 1 pm. The 5 - 1 win allows last years Grand Finalists, Tasmania and Western Australia, to meet again, in what promises to be a sensational final. Tasmania’s win over Queensland was built on two early goals from the stick of Nick Yong, capitalising on Nick Johnston boundary drives, forcing the Queenslanders into an uncharacteristically defensive mindset. Coach Nick Martyn praised his teams bottom time, and their dedication to avoiding the contest. Queensland made some determined drives, one of which was memorably blunted by a classic dispossession by Tom Howarth only 5 metres from the Tasmanian goal. The final Tasmanian goal scorers were Nick Yong (3), Simon Talbot (1), and Jack Robert-tissot (1).
Tasmania’s promising U19A group advanced to the Grand Final after an authoratitive 15 - 0 win over WA. Goal scorers were spread around the team, but James Milners 5 goals, and 4 to Matt McCartney, were notable contributions. In the other semi-final, the plucky young Tasmanian U19B Development Team buckled under the pressure applied by Victoria, to lose 8 - 2.
In the last semi-finals of the day, the Open Womens division saw NSW defeat WA, and Victoria 3 defeat Tasmania 0. Natalie Wickhams Tasmanians conceded the 3 goals early, and then spent the second half of the match attacking repeatedly down the right wing. The game play through this period was spectacular. There were regular frenetic skirmishes along the wall, followed by sudden breakouts which were decisively shut down by the respective defenders. Tasmanian backs Danielle Hunt, Jane Davis and Natalie Wickham all made vital saves in the goal area through this period. Tasmania will meet WA on Day 5 in the Bronze play-off.
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