Three more local hockey players have been selected to compete in the international arena.

Madeline James, Savannah Fitzpatrick and Gabrielle Nance have been selected in the Australian U16 Schoolgirls Team to tour Europe in March 2011.
All three girls have been competing at the National All Schools U16 Championships in Western Australia. Some games were held in Bunbury and some in Busselton. Gabi from Kingscliff High and Savannah from Lindisfarne Anglican were representing NSW and Maddie represented Qld as she attends Varsity College in Burleigh.

NSW and QLD and dominated the competition and played the final on Saturday which ended in a draw. The game then went to 7-a-side sudden death which ended when QLD scored.  See all the results here at the School Sports web site

Gabi plays for the Kingscliff Hockey Club and Savannah and Maddie play for Casuarina Hockey Club. This made for some interesting contests on the field as on many occasions Maddie (Qld) was marking Gabi (NSW) or Savannah (NSW). It was almost like State of Origin.

The girls play in the local Tweed Border Hockey Association and contribute much of their development to the local competition and the Regional Coaching Director, Mathew Bartell. Matt’s programs are having a huge effect on many junior players in the Region from beginners to our elite athletes.

Ex-internationals such as Lorelle Morrisey, Sharon Buchanan, Kim Crane, Kim Tuckwell, Scott Fitzpatrick and Warren Birmingham and are also playing a role as mentors for many of our junior elite players. The Tweed Region has increased its profile in the hockey world and undoubtedly is now recognised as a nursery for State and National players.

Savannah and Gabi are also Tweed Academy of Sport athletes. The combination of dedication and training, and the great support network currently on offer for Tweed athletes is putting Tweed on the map in Australian Sport.

Three other Tweed Academy athletes, Andrew Butturini, Jake Farrell and Dylan Wotherspoon (a goal scorer in the final) won a Gold Medal (2-1 over Pakistan) at the Inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore. more

The Australian Schoolgirls 15 day European tour includes 2 test matches in each of the following countries France, Belgium and Holland.

Articile by Magie Coleman