Field Hockey BC hosted their Annual Awards and Volunteer Recognition event on Friday, Nov. 25. Vancouver Island was honoured as St. Michael’s University School senior and Lynx 1 defender Anna Mollenhauer was named U18 Player of the Year. CIS Umpire of the Year Tyler Klenk was named Field Hockey BC Umpire of the Year after earning his international badge this year, while long-time Sailors Club President Ronnie Lee was awarded the Barbara Schrodt Award for contributions to women’s field hockey in BC. In the category of Governance Support, Gillian Batey was honoured for her leadership and contributions in umpiring. Cowichan’s Stan Bennett and Heather Goodman were honoured as Volunteers recognized for their dedication and contributions to Cowichan Field Hockey.

ANNA MOLLENHAUER – U18 Player of the Year
Anna’s Team BC Coach writes; ‘In a team game, on a team of our top athletes, it is hard to find one athlete that stands out. This year Anna was an athlete that took things to the next level. Her commitment to the team and her hard work shone through both on and off the pitch. At nationals this year it was Anna’s fitness, her ability to stay calm under pressure, and her competitive drive that helped lead the team. Her ability to know how and when to use her skills helped the team to capture Gold at U18 Nationals. Anna, is a very intelligent, creative and coachable athlete. She was a credit to her team and fully deserves this recognition.’

RONNIE LEE – Barbara Schrodt Award for contributions to Women’s Field Hockey in BC
The Sailors Field Hockey Club is the oldest women’s league club on Vancouver Island – over 50 years and counting. Now grown to include a women’s team in each of the three divisions, as well as two men’s league teams, the Sailors Club has been fortunate to have Ronnie Lee as both a player and its club president for an impressive 31 years. Outside of her regular duties as Sailors club president, Ronnie has spent time on the VILFHA executive, originally as Director of Membership and now as Director of Operations. Ronnie was a volunteer at the 2008 Women’s Olympic Qualifier tournament, and is a prominent volunteer on the technical table at National Championships, Canada West Games, Bridgman Cup and any other Victoria-hosted tournaments. Ronnie has helped organize a team to attend the Vancouver International Tournament and the Master’s Tournament for a number of years and organizes weekly summer drop in sessions for Victoria. Her efforts, dedication and commitment to the sport of field hockey were honoured by VILFHA as the Christine Trophy Winner for Ability, Sportsmanship and Service in 2013. A travel agent by day and a committed field hockey volunteer for life, Ronnie is most deserving of the Barbara Schrodt Award.

TYLER KLENK – Umpire of the Year
Tyler is seemingly a young hockey umpire, yet he’s blown a whistle for almost ten years already. Starting at the age of 14, Tyler has worked hard to challenge himself and move up the hockey ranks, both as a player and an official. His work ethic paid off as a player, with selection to the University of Victoria Vikes in the Vancouver Men’s Premier Division and caps with the Junior National Team. He applied that same drive to his umpiring career with appointments to National Championships, Premier Men’s Division, BC Provincial Championships, CIS, Canada West, the 2015 Canada Cup, and the 2015 California Cup. He was named the 2015 Canada West Umpire of the Year. Tyler’s big debut onto the international stage came this past May, at age 23, with his appointment to the Junior Men’s Pan Am Championships in Toronto. He surpassed all expectations of a rookie international, with well-earned nods to both a semi-final and the bronze medal match. Tyler has since followed that up with a great performance during the Canada-USA Test Series. It’s obvious that both the FIH and PAHF have taken notice, as Tyler is now booked to umpire at the 2017 Men’s Pan Am Cup in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And this just the beginning for Tyler.

GILLIAN BATEY – Volunteer Recognition (Governance)
Gillian stepped down from her role as Umpiring Director for the Field Hockey BC Board of Directors this past spring after four years in the role. During this time, Gillian has been a central figure in driving the strategic direction and supporting structure for officiating at Field Hockey BC and in doing so, has contributed to the Society being regarded as one of the top Provincial Sport Organizations in British Columbia. Gillian has volunteered her time to mentor young and experienced umpires alike at all manner of local, regional, and national tournaments, continues to work within junior and senior leagues, and is an invaluable resource as we look to continue to improve standards in officiating across BC.

STAN BENNETT – Volunteer Recognition
Stan Bennett has held the position of 2nd Vice President for Cowichan Field Hockey Club for a number of years now, he is one of the junior coaches, has been directly involved in Cowichan’s indoor program for many years, he plays point in the distribution of uniforms and equipment for the club and has spent many hours building equipment for the club, including the equipment locker used to this day. We hope this award goes some way to thanking Stan for all that he has done for the club.

HEATHER GOODMAN- Volunteer Recognition
Heather Goodman has volunteered countless hours during the years her daughters have been involved with Cowichan Field Hockey Club. She is an organizer extraordinaire, helping co-ordinate field hockey events for our members of all ages. Heather was the Junior Coordinator for five years and is currently the club’s 2nd Vice President. We again hope that this award goes some way to show the Club’s appreciation.

For more on the FHBC Awards and Volunteer Recognition visit: http://fieldhockeybc.com/Home/FHBCAwards/tabid/527/Default.aspx

The Cowichan Thunderbirds repeated as AAA B.C. Provincial Champions yesterday, Nov. 11, after beating Kelowna 1-0 in the finals in Surrey. Following last year’s win in Shawnigan Lake, the Thunderbirds have successfully defended their provincial title thanks to the leadership of coaches Perri Espeseth, Caitlin Evans and Jen Budding.

It was an all-island battle for fifth place as Mount Doug, doubled their entry ranking to finish in 5th after a dramatic shoot out against fellow islanders, the Francis Kelsey Breakers.

The fourth island team at the 16-team tournament was Oak Bay who lost in a shoot out to finish 10th place. Oak Bay qualified for the tournament after a wild card win over West Vancouver late last week.

Congratulations to all four teams for their performances this season and to all the dedicated island coaches for their time, energy and passion.

Vancouver Island celebrates four high school girls field hockey teams qualifying for the upcoming AAA BC Provincial Championships hosted this week, Nov. 9-11, at Tamanawis Fields in Surrey, B.C. Cowichan High, Oak Bay, Frances Kelsey and Mount Doug are all heading to the championships.

The 2015 reigning AAA champions, Cowichan High, return as favourites for the tournament and know the road to a repeat victory will include facing mainland strengths such as Carson Graham and Handsworth. Cowichan will play Kelowna, Charles Best and Eric Hamber in Pool B of the 16-team tournament. The team is led by coaches and former Cowichan players Perri Espeseth and Caitlin Evans, while the team features junior national team members Sara Goodman in midfield and Robin Fleming in goal as well as stand outs Emma Dame and Jillian Wallace.

Also qualifying for the championship is Mount Douglas Secondary who will face South Delta, McMath and Churchill in Pool D. Mount Doug is led by two former Mount Doug grads, coaches Andrea Rushton and Derrick Norton. The Rams are led by a cohort of regional and provincial athletes including Stefanie Sajko, Claire Church, Natalie Boraston, Janet Dawson and Brecken Sales.

Frances Kelsey qualified for the AAA championship after coming second in the Island Championship and they will match up against powerhouse Handsworth, fellow islanders Oak Bay and Penticton, all in Pool A. The Frances Kelsey Breakers are led by head coach Alison Andersen and have strengths in central defender Hannah Craig as well as the offensive power of veteran Kyla Toljander.

Oak Bay qualified for the AAA Championship through a wildcard win over West Vancouver last week and the young team earned their spot thanks to the talents of regional players Reilly Sinclair, Judy Cristante, Cara Butler, Carmen Andiel, Sophia Berk, Nora Strutchup and Lexi Knight. Oak Bay have two former UVic Vikes coaching them in Kolette Cristante and Kira Starr.

Pool A: Handsworth, Frances Kelsey, Oak Bay, Penticton
Pool B: Cowichan, Kelowna, Charles Best, Eric Hamber
Pool C: Carson Graham, Gleneagle, Kitsilano, Sullivan Heights
Pool D: South Delta, McMath, Mt. Douglas, Churchill

For Championship Schedule Click here: http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/sites/default/files/files/attachments/2016%20AAA%20Field%20Hockey%20Championship%20Draw.pdf

For more information click here: http://www.bcschoolsports.ca/championship/field-hockey-girls-aaa

All umpires are invited and encouraged to attend the South Island Field Hockey Umpire’s Association Annual General Meeting next Monday, November 14. We will be adopting of our long-awaited constitution and bylaw as well as other business such as education and development.

The meeting will be held at the Pacific Sport office, which is in the lower part of the Saanich Commonwealth Pool.

If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Burns kjburns@outlook.com or Denise McGeachy denise.mcgeachy@gmail.com

Look forward to seeing you there.

Denise McGeachy
250.588.8948
denise.mcgeachy@gmail.com

See attached agenda.

It was a repeat of 2015 as the University of Victoria Vikes women’s field hockey team were dealt their second-straight national final loss in shootouts today, Nov. 6. The UBC Thunderbirds tied the game up at one with nine minutes left on the clock to hoist their unprecedented sixth-straight McCrae Cup as CIS (USports) national champions.

Despite the loss the Vikes had many takeaways from the season including a pretty grand individual finale for fifth-year defender Annie Walters-Shumka. The Claremont grad and Lynx club member capped her senior year off winning the Canada West and USports Gail Wilson Award for Community Service.

A four-time CIS Academic All-Canadian and a Canada West All-Star in two of her five years with the team, Annie has been an important member of the Vikes team both on and off the field. The Vikes co-captain spends much of her free time volunteering as a medical intern, clinic volunteer, ambulatory care unit volunteer, Active Start program leader with Special Olympics, math and science tutor and field hockey coach.

Walters-Shumka volunteered in Nepal this past summer as an under-graduate medical intern. While in Nepal, she also volunteered in a Diabetes Clinic helping to educate people about the disease.

Last year, she was named a CIS Championship All-Star after helping lead the Vikes to CIS silver on home turf. Despite her multiple commitments on and off the field, she manages an 8.5 GPA (on a 9-point scale) in the faculty of Science.

“Annie is an amazing young woman,” said head coach Lynne Beecroft. “To be honest, it astonishes me that she can do so well at university, do all of this volunteer work and still make such a huge impact on the varsity women’s field hockey team.”

At the 2016 national championship Annie was named a tournament all-star alongside her sister and third-year defender, Kristina Walters-Shumka.

Kristina was also named a Canada West All-Star along side fifth year players Amanda Kurianowicz, Lizzie Yates, Kathleen Leahy and Rosie Beale, the latter three who are all from Vancouver Island. Kurianowicz, Yates and Leahy were also named 2016 USports All-Canadians.

The Vikes finished their 2016 national campaign with a 3-2 win over Guelph, a 1-1 tie against UBC and a 0-0 tie against Toronto in pool play. In the championship game the Vikes led 1-0 on a goal from Kurianowicz. UBC’s Gabby Jayme tied it up in the 61st minute deflecting in a penalty corner shot and ultimately sending the game to shoot outs.

UBC netminder Gabriella Switzer came up big for the T-Birds, stopping all four Vikes she faced, while 2016 U Sports co-player of the year Rachel Donohoe and fourth-year midfielder Sarah Keglowitsch both scored to secure the T-Birds victory. Annie Walters-Shumka was named player of the game for Victoria.

With the closing of the tournament UBC’s Haughn was named Championship MVP for the second-straight year, while Vikes Lindsay Cole and Annie and Kristina Walters-Shumka were named to the Tournament All-Star list.

Island players Sarah Keglowitsch and Sara Lowes are members of the UBC team that won. UBC adds to their national record, claiming their 18th U Sports title in program history, and becomes the only team to have won six consecutive national banners dating back to 1975. The T-Birds improve to 18-6 in 24 national final appearances, while also bettering their head-to-head record over the Vikes to 12-11-7 in U Sports championship history.

“I’m really proud of the transformation that this team has made since the beginning of the season,” said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft. “I think everyone stepped up after we lost Kathleen Leahy a couple of weeks ago. It’s going to be sad for me to lose the five players that I lose this year because they are such quality hockey players but more importantly they are such quality people. The winning or losing is what it is but I’m going to really miss those young ladies.”

Though Annie Walters-Shumka is one of the five that Beecroft will lose, her sister, Kristina, still has two more seasons to help the Vikes re-claim the national title, last won in 2008.

2016 CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS
Championship MVP: Hannah Haughn (North Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Guelph Gryphons

2016 Championship All-Stars:
Lindsay Cole (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Ciara Condon (London, Ont.), Guelph
Rachel Donohoe (North Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
Hannah Haughn (North Vancouver, B.C.), UBC
Olivia Lane (Guelph, Ont.), Guelph
Alison Lee (Mississauga, Ont.), Toronto
Elizabeth O’Hara (Oakville, Ont.), Toronto
Rebecca Plouffe (Oakville, Ont.), Guelph
Annie Walters-Shumka (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Kristina Walters-Shumka (Victoria, B.C.), Victoria
Emma Wingrave (Oakville, Ont.), Toronto

Files from University of Toronto Communications (USports Communications)