Toowoomba set to host junior hockey tournament

HOCKEY : Toowoomba Hockey Association has said “no to COVID” a lot this year.

HOCKEY RETURNS: Red Lion’s Will Nielsen fires off a pass during the COVID Cup men’s grand final. Hockey returns to Toowoomba this weekend with Clyde Park hosting a junior hockey tournament.

First a determined committee and keen senior players banded together for the COVID Cup, and now it’s time for the junior players to step out.

Clyde Park is hosting more than 500 junior players with 34 teams signed up for a three-day tournament that started Friday afternoon.

For a lot of the players involved it will the first competitive hockey they have played this “season”.

“We (Toowoomba) have four teams in the competition and all our players are very excited,” Toowoomba Hockey Association spokesperson Amanda Ross said.

“A lot of them haven’t played any hockey this season because of COVID so they’re really looking forward to it.

“We have teams from Brisbane, Ipswich, Warwick, the Sunshine Coast and Mackay signed up.”

COVID-19 related restrictions have added an extra layer of difficulty to organising but Ross said it was always “going ahead”.

“It’s one of the largest tournaments, probably the largest, going ahead this year,” Ross said.

“And it’s been very difficult organising it.

“We’ve had a very dedicated committee from the start though and there’ll be about 300 volunteers working during it to make sure everyone is safe and it runs smoothly.

“It was always going to go ahead, even with all the extra hard work that has to go into.

“If it was a chance we wanted it to happen.

“It’s for the kids.

“It gives them something to be happy about, a chance to play the sport that they love and have some fun.”

Originally published as Toowoomba set to host junior hockey tournament