FIH Women's Series Finals Banbridge 2019 Media
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FIH Women’s Series Finals Banbridge 2019 8-16 June 2019 Media Kit 1 Contents General Information Page 3: Key contacts and resources Page 4: Welcome message from FIH President Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra Page 5: FIH Series Open & Finals – Questions & Answers Page 10: About Northern Ireland and Banbridge Hockey Club Competition Page 12: Competition format Page 15: Match schedule Page 16: Teams Page 21: Competition officials Useful information Page 22: Event logos for download Page 22: Event Photography Page 23: FIH World Rankings 2 Key contact and resources Contact For all media queries relating to the event, please contact: Nishant Mehta – Event Media Manager Email: [email protected] Mobile: +41 78 735 64 07 Event Name: FIH Women’s Series Finals Banbridge 2019 When: 8-16 June 2019 Where: Banbridge Hockey Club, Havelock Park, Lurgan Rd, Banbridge, County Down BT32 4LU, Northern Ireland Teams: Ireland, Korea, Scotland, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Ukraine, France, Singapore Event website: https://www.fihseriesfinals.com Broadcast and live streaming Global broadcast and live streaming information will be published on the event website as listed above when it becomes available. In January 2019, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) launched the FIH.live global broadcast platform. This year, all FIH competitions will be available live on FIH.live in every market where a broadcaster will not be showing the matches. This includes the inaugural FIH Pro League, the FIH Series Finals and the FIH Olympic qualifiers. To visit FIH.live, click here. FIH Tournament Management System (TMS) Raw competition data including match starting line-up pdfs, pool tables, top scorers, in-match statistics and daily appointment sheets will be available for the media at https://tms.fih.ch/competitions/1052 Social media The FIH will provide comprehensive coverage of the event via our social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Facebook: facebook.com/fihockey Instagram: instagram.com/fihockey Twitter: twitter.com/fih_hockey Hashtags: #FIHSeriesFinals 3 A message of welcome from Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra, President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) Dear all, On behalf of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the FIH Series Finals, events that are all crucial milestones on the road to earning qualification for the men’s and women’s hockey competitions at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Between April and June of this year, a total of six FIH Series Finals events are hosted by the National Associations of Malaysia, India, Ireland, France, Japan and Spain. Kuala Lumpur (MAS), Bhubaneswar (IND) and Le Touquet (FRA) all stage men’s events, with women’s competitions taking place in Banbridge (IRL), Hiroshima (JPN) and Valencia (ESP). Each Finals event consists of eight teams, with the best performers from last year’s FIH Series Open events taking on a group of nations who pre- qualified for the Finals events due to higher placement in the FIH World Rankings. I am certain that the qualifying nations from the FIH Series Open will be relishing the opportunity to upset the odds against supposedly superior opposition. With berths in the new FIH Olympic qualifiers on the line, not to mention valuable rankings points, it is difficult to overstate the significance of these competitions to all nations taking part. The top two finishers at each of the six FIH Series Finals competitions will win through to those FIH Olympic qualifiers, joining the best performers from the FIH Pro League as well as some of the highest ranked nations in the sport. The FIH Olympic qualifiers are scheduled to take place towards the end of the year and will each feature two nations playing two back-to-back matches for that coveted ticket to Tokyo. The opportunity for even the smallest of hockey playing nations to make their mark, qualify for the Olympic Games and write their own chapter in hockey’s history books is something I passionately believe in. The FIH Series Open saw numerous shock results that defied the FIH World Rankings, and I firmly believe that we will see more of the same in the FIH Series Finals events. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to the host National Associations for their tireless dedication in their planning and preparation for these events. I hope that the teams, officials and fans who attend these competitions depart with the very best of memories. Yours in hockey, Dr Narinder Dhruv Batra FIH President 4 FIH Series Open & Finals: Questions & Answers What is the FIH Series? Open to all countries not in the FIH Pro League, the FIH Series gives developing hockey-playing nations the opportunity to test themselves against some of the world’s best and to qualify for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The FIH Series is composed of two rounds, played over two years. In line with hockey’s ‘Equally Amazing’ ethos, the competitions and subsequent qualification processes are exactly the same for both the men’s and women’s competitions. The FIH Series Open were continentally based. From all teams competing in this round, 30 teams (15 men’s, 15 women’s) qualified for the FIH Series Finals. Each of the FIH Series Finals will have eight teams playing in them, with berths into the Olympic qualifiers up for grabs. Who competed in the FIH Series Open and how did nations qualify for the FIH Series Finals? All nations affiliated to FIH that were not playing in the FIH Pro League were eligible to enter the FIH Series Open, which took place between June and December 2018. The teams marked in bold achieved qualification for the FIH Series Finals. Date Location Final Standings Website TMS Men: 1: USA, 2: Mexico, 3: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Puerto Rico, 4: Panama, 5: Salamanca ons/934 5 - 10 Costa Rica (MEX) - Men Event page Jun 2018 Women: 1: Canada, 2: & Women https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Mexico, 3: Puerto Rico, 4: ons/938 Panama, 5: Guatemala Men: 1: Singapore, 2: Thailand, 3: Chinese Taipei, https://tms.fih.ch/competiti 4: Myanmar, 5: Hong Kong ons/939 23 Jun - Singapore China, 6: Indonesia. 1 Jul (SGP) - Men Event page 2018 & Women Women: 1: Malaysia, 2: Thailand, 3: Singapore, 4: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Kazakhstan, 5: Hong Kong ons/940 China, 6: Indonesia 5 Men: 1: Austria, 2: Wales, 3: 25 - 30 Zagreb https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Croatia, 4: Switzerland, 5: Event page Jun 2018 (CRO) -Men ons/941 Slovakia Wattignies 6 - 8 Jul Women: 1: Belarus, 2: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti (FRA) - Event page 2018 Russia, 3: France, 4: Austria ons/945 Women Men: 1: Vanuatu*, 2: Fiji, 3: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Port Vila Solomon Islands, 4: Tonga ons/946 15 - 18 (VAN) – Men Event page Aug 2018 & Women Women: 1: Fiji, 2: Vanuatu, 3: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Solomon Islands, 4: Tonga ons/947 Women: 1: Ukraine, 2: 21 - 26 Vilnius (LTU) https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Czech Republic, 3: Wales, Event page Aug 2018 - Women ons/932 4: Lithuania, 5: Turkey 28 Aug - Men: 1: Poland, 2: Italy, 3: Gniezno https://tms.fih.ch/competiti 2 Sep Ukraine, 4: Czech Republic, Event page (POL) - Men ons/930 2018 5: Lithuania, 6: Cyprus Men: 1: Russia, 2: Scotland, 4 - 9 Sep Lousada https://tms.fih.ch/competiti 3: Belarus*, 4: Gibraltar, 5: Event page 2018 (POR) - Men ons/931 Portugal, 6: Turkey Men: 1: Chile, 2: Brazil, 3: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Venezuela, 4: Uruguay, 5: Santiago ons/942 18 - 23 Peru, 6: Bolivia (CHI) – Men Event page Sep 2018 Women: 1: Chile, 2: & Women https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Uruguay, 3: Paraguay, 4: ons/943 Brazil, 5: Peru, 6: Bolivia Men: 1: Egypt, 2: Zimbabwe, https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Bulawayo 7 - 9 Dec 3: Zambia, 4: Namibia ons/1018 (ZIM) – Men Event page 2018 & Women Women: 1: Namibia, 2: https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Zambia, 3: Zimbabwe ons/1019 Men: 1: Uzbekistan, 2: 17 - 22 Lahore (PAK) https://tms.fih.ch/competiti Kazakhstan, 3: Nepal, 4: Event page Dec 2018 - Men ons/944 Afghanistan * Following the withdrawal of Vanuatu, Belarus – who finished third in the Open Series event in Lousada, Portugal – were given a berth in the men’s FIH Series Finals. The nine highest placed nations in the FIH World Ranking (as of 9 June 2017) that were not playing in the FIH Pro League were exempt from the FIH Series Open and qualified directly for the FIH Series Finals. Men: India, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, China, France, South Africa, Korea and Japan Women: Ireland, India, Korea, Japan, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Scotland and Poland 6 In 2019, six FIH Series Finals (3 for Men, 3 for Women) take place, each with eight teams competing. Each FIH Series Finals event will include at least five qualifiers from the FIH Series Open but contain no more than three of the teams that qualified directly for the Finals based on World Ranking. The line-ups for the events can be found below. Date Location Gender Teams Website TMS Final standings: 1: Kuala Lumpur Canada, 2: Malaysia, 26 April – 4 https://tms.fih.ch/comp Malaysia Men 3: Italy, 4: Austria, 5: Event page May 2019 etitions/1049 (Completed) Wales, 6: China, 7: Brazil, 8: Belarus* India, South Africa, 6 - 15 June Bhubaneswar Japan, Poland, https://tms.fih.ch/comp Men Event page 2019 India Russia, USA, Mexico, etitions/1050 Uzbekistan Ireland, Korea, Scotland, Czech 8-16 June Banbridge https://tms.fih.ch/comp Women Republic, Malaysia, Event page 2019 Ireland etitions/1052 Ukraine, France, Singapore Ireland, France, 15-23 June Le Touquet Korea, Egypt, https://tms.fih.ch/comp Men Event page 2019 France Scotland, Ukraine, etitions/1051 Chile, Singapore India, Japan, Chile, 15-23 June Hiroshima https://tms.fih.ch/comp Women Poland, Uruguay, Event page 2019 Japan etitions/1053 Russia, Mexico, Fiji Spain, Italy, Belarus, 19-27 June Valencia Canada, Russia, https://tms.fih.ch/comp Women Event page 2019 Spain Wales, Thailand, etitions/1054 Namibia * Following the withdrawal of Vanuatu, Belarus – who finished third in the Open Series event in Lousada, Portugal – were given a birth in the Kuala Lumpur event.