Hockey
16 May, 2025
Juniors prepare for championships
After a hectic three rounds to start the Wimmera hockey season, the competition pauses for a week while two local representative teams travel to Melbourne this weekend to compete in the junior country championships.
For the first time since 2019, Wimmera teams will participate in this tournament, which brings together teams from across Victoria's 12 regional hockey associations.
This provides participants with the opportunity to play alongside those they regularly compete against in local competition and test themselves against the best from across the state.
The Wimmera teams will compete in the under 16 girls' and under 14 boys' divisions, with 29 players from across all six Wimmera clubs involved, along with a team of nine coaches, team managers and helpers.
The tournament will run tomorrow and on Sunday.
The girls are scheduled to play seven games at Greensborough Hockey Club against opponents East Gippsland, Geelong, Hamilton, Ballarat, Warrnambool and North Central.
The boys will play in pool A, against Geelong, Bendigo, West Gippsland, North Central and Warrnambool, and will have a crossover game against a team from pool B, which includes East Gippsland, Hamilton, Ballarat, Sunraysia and Goulburn Valley.
Depending on earlier results, they may also qualify for a final or play-off game.
These games will be played at Essendon Hockey Centre.
Three more Wimmera players will also take part in the championships in other age divisions with the Sunraysia Hockey Association.
The local competition will resume on May 24, with round four to be played at Davis Park in Nhill.