Rangeville remains at the ready

THE three-time defending Toowoomba Hockey champions are staying active as they prepare to resume the season.

READY FOR ACTION: Rangeville is preparing for a hopeful resumption of the Toowoomba Hockey season. Photo: File

HOCKEY : With a hopeful return to Clyde Park inching closer, Toowoomba hockey teams are ramping up their regimes to avoid being left behind.

The Rangeville women have claimed the last three A1 titles, and they’re doing everything in their power to make it four in 2020.

Coach Elke Swain said they have been looking at new ways to keep each other motivated.

“Every second day the girls are posting up some form of exercise or a bit of a session to do like cardio or running,” Swain said.

“It helps with me working at The Bar, I’ve been able to give out some good sessions over the weekends.

“We haven’t done a Zoom session yet but it is on the cards.

“We have people that work different shifts so it wouldn’t be the whole team, but everybody has been trying to do something and keeping fit, that’s for sure.”

Like many, Swain was caught off guard with the severity of the break from the game, and the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the sporting landscape.

She said the club has tried to stay as positive as possible throughout the saga and believes a return could be on the cards.

“I thought it might only last a week, but it was a case of no, this is going to be longer,” she said.

“Most of us have still been working, if not from home, then at the workplace.

“We’ve got nurses and bakers, a teacher in there and some uni students as well that have been finding it a bit harder.

“We’re lucky in that we have our own Facebook page where we can interact on and challenge each other a bit, and I have a feeling we won’t be too far away from playing.

“The social aspect is something that everybody has been missing. Catching up on a Friday night, not just with each other but other teams too.”

The great unknown when play resumes is how each club will return to action, and what level they will be at.

Swain said Rangeville will have to be prepared for how other clubs come out of the gates.

“We were looking good to start off the season fitness-wise and it is something that we would’ve continued to be improve throughout the year,” she said.

“This will be a test for all the teams. I’ve been speaking to a couple of Newtown girls and they’ve set up a challenge for the A-grade ladies which will keep them going for a few weeks.

“Bernie (Fox) will have Past High fit, and while Norths haven’t been one of the stronger teams in recent years, a few of their players have joined The Bar and the challenges to get fit, so we might need a challenge with the gym of hockey people.”

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