Field Hockey Canada
2000 OLYMPIC GAMES

Syd the platypus, named for the city of the 2000 Games, is a dynamic fellow — a team player and a natural leader whose energy and vigour reflects that of Australia and its people.

Syd admires all athletes — he's the mascot trio's resident cheerleader — and his motivational skills can inspire anyone to bring home the gold. Quite a sportsman himself, Syd's sturdy body and muscular limbs give him the speed and agility to excel at most sports, although swimming is his favourite. Even if he doesn't win a race he'll always finish, because it's not so much winning that counts to him as how he plays the game.

In fact, there are only two things that get up Syd's snout — bad sports and environmental vandals. An easygoing bloke most of the time, if Syd sees anybody littering the land or polluting the water he won't hesitate to thump his tail and let them know what he thinks.

It is because he cares so deeply about our world that Syd was chosen as the environmental mascot.

The "Millennium Athlete" will be everywhere during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. The stylish four-year-old Games' logo depits the figure of an athlete using recognizable Aussie symbols and colours: a large red boomerang forms the speeding legs, while two smaller sandy-coloured versions of the thin curved wooden missile forms the two arms.

Besides the boomerangs, the logo gives suggestions of sun and rocks in the athlete's head and hair. The blue background also represents the Sydney harbour and beaches, while the red boomerang reflects the unique Aussie landscape and its original inhabitants.

The colours of the logo also portray the basic elements of earth, water and air. The Millennium Athlete is carrying a white wavy flash of smoke to signify the Olympic torch and the outline of the famed Sydney Opera House.

Overall, the bounding boomerang boy represents the promise the Games will be dedicated to the 10,200 athletes from about 200 countries.

... but it is not! In fact the Koala has no relation to a bear. It is a distant cousin to the Wombat and both the Koala and the Wombat have fossil history over 15 million years.

The Koala is Australia's most popular and most loved marsupial mammal. It has a woolly coat with large fluffy ears, a bulbous nose and almost no tail. A Koala is nocturnal. This means it sleeps during the day in the fork of a tree and eats after dark.

Its strong claws allows it to be a strong climber. The Koala moves very slowly and some people think it is lazy.

The Koala feeds on selected eucalyptus leaves. Other animals couldn't digest the oils and poisons in eucalyptus leaves, but the Koala's digestive system has evolved to accommodate this.

SYDNEY — Pakistan's bid to return to what they feel is their rightful place at the top of world hockey begins at next month's Summer Olympics, but the team's manager admitted on Thursday the road back would be difficult.

"The competition is very tough," said Islahuddin Siddiqui. "We are in with Germany and Holland and Great Britain." Holland took the gold four years ago in Atlanta and Germany won in 1992 in Barcelona, while Pakistan, who used to compete with arch-rivals India for Olympic glory, have slipped badly since their last gold in Los Angeles in 1984. They finished fifth in 1998, took a bronze in 1992 and ended up sixth in Atlanta, their worst-ever placing for the team.

Pakistan missed the elite annual Champions Trophy for the first time this year and were forced to qualify for the Olympics, which they also won in 1960 and 1968.

Siddiqui, who has kept only three players from the Atlanta squad, brought his team to Australia early to get them used to the artificial turf. "This is an important training period for us," said Siddiqui, who won a silver medal in Munich in 1972 and a bronze in Montreal four years later. "It is important we get into the semifinals and the boys are capable of that," he said.

To do that, Pakistan will probably have to beat Germany or Holland and not lose to the other teams in the pool: Great Britain, Canada and Malaysia.

Pakistan is led by short corner ace Sohail Abbas, who has scored 62 goals in the last year. "He's the leading scorer in every match, but we are not going to depend on only one player. We have more depth, more players than that," Siddiqui said.

After drawing a three-match series with Australia after arriving in early August, Pakistan leave on Friday for two weeks of training and matches in New Zealand. They return on September 4 for more training before Pakistan's first game, against Canada, on September 16.

It is now just a week before we head off to the Games. For me, it is the closing of a 12 year circle from the fall of 1988 in Seoul to the fall of 2000 in Sydney. I can't wait to get started!

Last week, the team went off to Saltspring for a few days away from training and all of the distractions of the pre-Olympic hype. It was golfing and fishing, a couple of BBQs and some swimming in the ocean. We had a great night at Shorty's home. Wetts did some grilling and the Shorts' delivered some world class salads and spuds. I ran into Mr Short on the way home the next day and he related some of his conversations from the previous night back to me. "Everyone seems to be talking about the possibility of a medal. Each guy." He then spoke about how different this attitude was from when we went to the 1998 World Cup. "Back then, you guys were happy to be there. Willing to see what might happen. Things are different this time around!"

What isn't different is the support that we are getting for the team. Almost 80 people are flying south for the games. This is an amazing commitment (and cost!) and we hope to reward it with our best hockey to date. This group is now world renowned by their moniker of "Mapleheads" and commitment to loud cheering and tall drinks. We also have tremendous support from home! Keep up with the e-mails and faxes. Every bit helps!

The Games have informally started this morning for the Canadian Olympic Team as the first group has touched down in Sydney early in the day. Here is a picture of what they looked liked upon arrival at Macquarie University after the 14 hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney.

Left to right: Caroline Assalian (Village Operations Director), Linda Konkol (Sport Services), Martha Buchanan (Assistant Director of Operations), Sue Hylland (Team Captain) Ben Morin (Assistant Director of Operations) and Mollie Cartmel (Staging).

Australia will field a team of 623 athletes, edging out the 600-strong US team as the biggest at the Games. And the numbers for Australia don't end there, with 447 support staff pandering to the athletes' every whim. Australia will be represented in nearly every sport, thanks to a relaxation of the team qualifying rules for the home country.

The Australian team includes 145 coaches for the 28 sports, 41 technical support staff, 106 section managers, 12 athlete services personnel, 26 media liaison officers, 25 central administration officers and a medical team. The medical team has ballooned to 92 and includes doctors, physiotherapists, a nutritionist and masseurs.

Olympic legend Dawn Fraser is the team attache, while high-profile athlete liaison officers include Herb Elliot, Laurie Lawrence, Peter Brock, John Bertrand, Robyn Maher and Greg Welch.

Dutch Men's Field Hockey Team National Coach Maurits Hendriks has announced his team for the Sydney Olympic Games: Jacques Brinkman, Jaap Derk Buma, Jeroen Delmee, Marten Eikelboom, Piet Hein Geeris, Erik Jazet, Wouter van Pelt, Bram Lomans, Teun de Nooijer, Sander van der Weide, Stephan Veen, Deiderik van Weel, Remco van Wijk, Peter Windt and the keepers Roland Jansen and Guus Vogels.

After Nagano for the 1998 Winter Olympic Games, the Canadian athletes hope once again to be the best looking team at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Roots is the official team outfitter and will be providing Parade, Podium and Casual wear to all 690 athletes, coaches and team members.

Roots cofounder Michael Budman: "We developed our Olympic wear with one saying in mind: "If you look good, you fee good, and if you feel good, you play great!" .

For the Opening Ceremony on September 15, the Parade Uniform includes a red and white nylon vest with high athletic collar and contemporary logo featuring "Canada" and the Olympic rings. Under the vest, the athletes will wear a cycling inspired workout jersey in red for men and white for ladies. A nylon pant in platinium with cargo pockets and cuff zip, nylon and leather sneakers and a red or white nylon camp hat finishes this Parade uniform.

For the Canadian athletes who will ascend the medal podium, there is the Podium outfit, a light weight street hockey-inspired red and platinium jersey with large cresting and a special athletic fitting nylon baseball cap.

The athletes, coaches ans team members will also receive a large selection of casual wear that can be used for official functions, training and lounging. A sleek Reception Jacket was designed in a nylon bomber style available in red for men and platinium for ladies. A signature piece will be the Roots Fleece Kanga Hoody with large Canada logo and pictographs of all 40 official events lining the sleeves.

• Total stich count of embroideries on Men's Podium Jersey: 137,200
• Number of times "CANADA" appears in the clothing package (embroidery, print, PVC patch): 25
• Number of different types of fabric used in the package: 16
• Number of iterations before the final style and package were approved: 38

Montréal, August 15, 2000 -- Olympic great Caroline Brunet will proudly carry Canada's flag during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia on September 15. Brunet was beamed in by satellite from the Gold Coast in Australia to officially accept the honour and was cheered by 27 Sydney-bound athletes at a media conference announcing the Canadian Olympic Team and officially unveiling the Olympic Team clothing package.

Brunet, who is coached by Christian Fredericksen, was named the Canadian Team Flag Bearer by a selection committee comprised of the Chef de mission, the Assistant Chef de mission, three athletes, a team leader and a coaching representative. She was chosen to represent the 309 athletes named today to the Canadian Olympic Team.

The 31-year-old, who boasts a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and was world champion from 1997 to 1999, says she is honoured to have been chosen as the Canadian Team flag bearer. "Representing my fellow athletes and my country at these Games will undoubtedly be my finest hour," says Brunet, who was also named Canada's female athlete of the year in 1999. "Although I'm not there in person to receive the flag, a big part of me is with you during this celebration."

The team was officially announced today by Chef de mission Diane Jones Konihowski at a media conference at the Roots Store in Montréal. Jones Konihowski, a three-time Olympian, says she is honoured to be involved with the largest celebration of sport and culture ever staged worldwide. "I'm thrilled to be leading the Canadian Olympic Team and look forward to sharing our athletes brightest moments."

To date, 311 athletes have been named to the Canadian Team, with 153 men and 158 women competing in 24 different sports.

These Games will be the largest athletic competition ever. Over 10,000 athletes from 160 countries will participate in 28 sports. For the first time ever, athletes from all sports have the opportunity to stay at the Olympic Village in Homebush Bay.

The Senior National Championships (men and women) were held in Livingstone Park, downtown Vancouver, from August 10 to August 13, in superb weather.

On the men's side, the switch from Provincial representative teams to Club teams produces a high level and very exciting competition. In a hard fought and spectacular Final followed by a large crowd, Brampton Sports (Ontario) won over India Club Vancouver (2-1). This gives them the right to represent Canada in the 2001 Pan American Club Championship.

Peter Milkovich and Bubli Chohan Scott Mosher

Ronnie Jagday and Scott Mosher Bindi Kullar

Mike Mahood in front of the COA poster featuring Rob Short, Andrew Griffiths and himself on the Pan American Games podium!

Ranjeev Deol played for Toronto Lions and finished in third place

Casey Ferguson led India Club Vancouver to the Final and only lost to Brampton Sports

Our Olympic Team has been announced. This means an incredible opportunity for the athletes who have been selected, but also a huge disappointment for those who have not made the team. Athletes have been working towards this event for years, and to lose the coveted chance to play in the Olympics is extremely difficult. Some of my teammates and friends have been passed over in final team selections. And for those of us who have made the team, our sense of pride and anticipation is tempered by the knowledge of what a difficult time this is for the guys who won't be in Sydney.

Our sights and energy, however, will clearly become more focused now that the 16 players have been selected. The challenge from here is to prepare to be ready for every team; to avoid the distractions that will come along with the preparation for the Olympic Games; to play the best hockey possible; and to enjoy every bit of the experience!

Canadian Olympic Team Announced

Atlanta Olympian Louise Dobson is the shock omission from the Hockeyroos side that will defend its 1996 gold medal at the Sydney Games. The 27-year-old defender, who carried the Olympic flame out of the Melbourne Cricket Ground last week, has not been in form but was widely tipped to make the final 16 on reputation alone. But Women's Hockey Australia General Manager Gwen Ford told Dobson yesterday that she had been cut from the squad of 19...

It is believed there was heartbreak also for Tasmanian fullback Bianca Langham - who lost her place to the youngest Hockeyroo, 19-year-old Angie Skirving - and Toowoomba midfielder Karen Smith, both of whom would have made their Olympic debuts.

The most relieved Hockeyroo was dual Olympian Juliet Haslam. Haslam, 31, has had a horror year, during which her form slumped as she travelled between her Perth base and Sydney where her boyfriend, former Melbourne Demons player Andrew Obst, underwent brain surgery. The queen of South Australian hockey paid dearly, being dumped from the squad which travelled to the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam in May. She fought back to play strongly in home series against Germany and New Zealand and had been hoping to perform well in the four-Test series against China last week when she contracted a kidney infection. She was hospitalised for three days and didn't play a match.

The irony is that while Haslam and Obst were celebrating yesterday, a serving Demon, defender Steven Febey, was consoling his girlfriend, Dobson. Dobson, who has 130 international caps, has been one of the more high-profile Hockeyroos and appeared, discreetly naked, in an advertisement for the pear industry and has appeared for Berlei bras.

There was joy for the Hockeyroos who dubbed themselves "The Rejects" after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Katie Allen, Nikki Hudson (then Nikki Mott), Claire Mitchell-Taverner and Alison Peek travelled to Atlanta with the team, learned they had been axed days before the tournament began, watched the first match in the stands then were sent home...

The axing of Langham and Dobson means the Hockeyroos go to the Games with just one specialist penalty corner hitter, Jenny Morris.

The Australian Olympic Committee will officially announce the team on Friday. The players called Ford yesterday to get a simple yes or no. They have 48 hours to appeal.

Nine members of the 2000 Olympic Team will return to defend the gold they won in Atlanta. Veteran of 272 matches Rechelle Hawkes, will back up for her fourth and final Olympic Games. 33 year old Hawkes, a dual gold medallist, is only the second Australian women's hockey player behind Liane Tooth, to have played in four Olympic Games. She will be joined by Atlanta team mates Renita Garard , Juliet Haslam, Clover Maitland, Jenny Morris, Alyson Annan, Kate Starre and sisters Lisa Carruthers and Katrina Powell. For Haslam, Carruthers, Starre and Annan it will be their third consecutive Olympic games.

In their continuing sibling success story, Lisa Carruthers will be joined by younger sister Katrina Powell. In Atlanta, they were only the second set of sisters to play hockey for Australia and will once again wear Australian colours together.

In perhaps one of the great sporting comebacks, penalty corner shooter and imposing defender Jenny Morris has returned after a two and a half year injury induced absence from the game, to take her place in the Australian line up. Classed as the best penalty corner shooter in the game in 1996, Morris suffered from a chronic knee injury, that almost destroyed her career, but a tough mental and physical rehabilitation has seen her triumph.

For the baby of the squad, 19 year old Angie Skirving, her selection is just the beginning of a dream start to international hockey. Skirving was selected in the national squad in 1999 and played in her first major international tournament at the Champions Trophy this year in May.

Sumesh Putra - Olympic Umpire

Sumesh Putra started playing field hockey when he was a schoolboy in Malaysia. He moved to Canada in 1977 with his family and joined the Richmond Field Hockey Club.

As is often the case, Sumesh started umpiring... because no one else wanted to. In fact, Lance Carey (the President and Coach of Richmond FHC) admitted been surprised when he approached Sumesh for umpiring and got right away a positive answer! Sumesh started umpiring in the Vancouver League and was noticed and mentored by Alan Waterman, Narinder Sangha and the late John Garnham. Sumesh credits these three fellow umpires for encouraging him to pursue umpiring at a higher level.

Sumesh umpired for the first time at the Canadian Senior National Championship in 1986 and was then sent by Field Hockey Canada to umpire in the Folkestone Festival (England) and in the Hock-Ei Tournament (Holland). Sumesh impressed the organizers and was immediately invited to come back the following year, a trip that also turned out to be his honeymoon as he had just got married to Denise!

Sumesh has now umpired well over 50 international games with the highlights being the 1997 Champions Trophy, the 1998 World Cup in Holland (picture on the right) and the 1999 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Umpiring at that level in Malaysia was obviously very special for Sumesh since it is where he was born and began hockey.

Sumesh finds it a real challenge to maintain a high level of umpiring in North America since there is not the regular exposure to international competitions found in Europe, Asia or Australia. Been a high level umpire is also a challenge for his young family: all of Sumesh's vacation time goes toward field hockey trips, he is away for anniversaries, birthdays and many other family functions and also needs to absorb some of the cost of travelling to competition as well as his unpaid leave of absence...

Preparing for a top competition is an ongoing process. Sumesh stays very involved in umpiring at the local level and always make himself available for National or Provincial practices or training camps. He is also committed to preparing physically and mentally for the competition, an absolute must with the evolution and pace of the modern game. Before every tournament, Sumesh reads (and takes with him) one of his favorite books, "Psychology in Officiating" by Robert S. Weinberg and Peggy A. Richardson.

When asked for words of wisdom for aspiring young umpires, Sumesh says jokingly "Choose another sport!" but adds very quickly "The commitment one makes should be for the love of the game, the friendships and the memories. An umpire should always remember that you are there for the game, the game is not there for you! The best games are when the teams and umpires work as a unit"

Highlights of the tour included winning a 3-game series (2 wins and 1 tie) in Barcelona against Spain, Silver Medalist at the 1998 World Cup in Holland and at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, and the clear win over Korea, a team widely considered to be the fittest and fastest in the World and that had always managed to take the edge over the Canadians in the last few years. No doubt a great moral booster for the Canadian Team!

Physio Note from Barcelona - It's been a tough trip on the physio side, as two people have already been sent home (Kenny & Chris). Other than that, the guys are doing pretty well. In Sabadell, there have been two prime times in the physio room. The first is between 10-11am. Rumors have circulated about a nude sunbather that has been seen on a balcony below my room at around this time and, evidently, many physio goers are hoping for a repeat performance. The second time is between 11pm-1am, when a parade of tired and/or battered bodies comes through for their post-game treatments. Today the boys were fatigued, but clearly benefiting from improved fitness levels over past tours.

There was a distasteful lunchtime experience today. Four of the six salad plates served before our pre-game meal had an assortment of glass shards in them. Mosher was the only one to sample them but he soon spit them out. I guess they didn't taste as good as he had anticipated. Needless to say, the team's appetite for salad has diminished to some degree.

A good victory tonight with a 4-2 win over the number 2 ranked Spaniards. Robin D'Abreo won the Physio Game Star, playing one of his best games of the tour. Honorable mentions go to Rob Short (who had a strong game with two goals despite a stomach flu), Paul Wettlaufer and Andrew Griffiths.

This tour has seen the team playing its best hockey that I have witnessed since I started working with them in 1997!

Pre-Olympic European Tour - Diary by Ronnie Jagday August 1st - Ronnie here, reporting from Limburg, Germany. Sitting in the hotel room right now, fresh off a convincing win over Korea, 4 goals to one. After coming up short two days ago, losing 0-1 in a match that we were very unlucky to not at the very least draw, and countless other matches over the past couple years where we also have come up short against Korea, it was definitely good for the confidence to win today. It was as if we cleared a significant mental hurdle, beating a team that has consistently been ranked in the top 4 in the world and is considered by many to be the fastest and fittest team in the world. Not only did we win today, we also proved to ourselves that we are becoming faster, fitter and better that ever before. Credit must be given to Dusan and the 8-Rinks crew, Derik, Carmen and the many other people who have worked hard in helping us become THE fittest team in the world! Off the pitch, things are going very well. I am rooming with Alan Brahmst but much of my time is spent in Ravi's room hanging out. The rookie Rav has fit in well so far this tour but there are still many lessons to be learned about travelling with the National Team that I will take upon myself to teach him!!! Rav may be bigger (much bigger!) but I'm older and wiser! Often Ravi, Bindi, Ranjeev and I can be found blasting the tunes or walking about in downtown Limburg. After buying a cone of ice cream, we're usually around the city center observing the beautiful scenery that surrounds the International Wine Festival that is currently underway in Limburg. I assure you all that none of us have sampled any of the fine wines that can be tasted there! Downtown Limburg is a really cool place. It has the European feel to it with its pebble stoned walkways and very old buildings that can only be found here in Europe. It reminds me a lot of Whistler Village. Tonight, the plans are to eat dinner and then do some bowling in the dining hall / bowling alley! No joke, there is actually a bowling alley in the dining hall! I'm also going to go downtown and do some e-mailing. After that, I'll come back to the room and finish packing as we are leaving Germany tomorrow morning for Barcelona, Spain. Looking forward to this final portion of our European tour! Not only because it signals the near end of our tour but because we have three matches with the Spanish Hockey Team in the beautiful city of Barcelona. Should be lots of fun. This will be my fifth time in Barcelona since my 2nd tour with the National Team back on New Years 1998. Other than that, Pete and I have a bet currently going on. We are betting on the birth of Chris Gifford's first child that is due to be delivered very soon. I am betting that it will be a baby girl, weighing in at above 8.5 pounds and born on the 18th of August or before. I already owe Pete two beers after loosing consecutive bets on the British Open, so I'm hoping winning this bet will help me recover some of my losses to "Hustler" Pete. Anyway, time to go but before I do, I want to take this opportunity to send my regards and thanks to Rich Seymour of Cheetah Sport. Thanks for your patience and help, buddy, the boys are giving tremendous feedback on our product! Also, love to family and friends back home!

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Scientific Green Light for EPO Test
IOC Press Release

Lausanne, 1 August 2000 - A meeting of experts organised by the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) critically reviewed the detailed scientific information presented by the Australian and French scientists as a result of IOC funded research.

The review group agreed unanimously that the EPO test designed for the Olympic Games in Sydney should be implemented. The test, based on a combination of blood and urine analysis, provides information on previous and current misuse of EPO. This test should be applied in addition to the existing testing programme.

While the Australian public expects nothing less than gold from the Hockeyroos at the Olympics, coach Ric Charlesworth said yesterday he would be satisfied if the team plays as well as it can.

The Hockeyroos are no longer the hottest of favourites to win gold following their shock third placing at the recent Champions Trophy event in Amsterdam, but home-ground advantage would have them ranked No1.

"I don't care if the public thinks it will be a failure if we don't win gold because I've never felt that," Charlesworth said. "Anybody who wins a medal at the Olympic Games, in my opinion, is a winner. We have set ourselves the highest target and I want us to win. I want us to play our hockey as well as we can and if we do that, whatever the outcome, I'll be satisfied."

The squad has been cut to 19 for the four-Test series against China at Homebush Bay that starts today. Three more will be omitted when the Olympic team is announced on Friday week. The Hockeyroos will be without Shelley Andrews, who ruled herself out of the Games because of a persistent knee complaint.

China grabbed the 10th and final spot for the Sydney Games by beating the USA at the qualifying tournament in England in April.