Hi Folks,

Lots of news and views from Australia’s Favorite Hockey Website, www.puckhandlers.com Heaps of new exciting events and leagues happening over the winter season at Puckhandlers. Be sure to come down and check out the action. Upcoming events include Tuesday Night Social League, Over 28’s Elite League, Women’s Pro League, Under 11 Development League, Senior Silver Cup, June Puckhandlers Hockey School, the September Junior Silver Cup (filling up fast!!) and of course the big news that Puckhandlers will be hosting the Australian Nationals for the next two years!!

Puckhandlers Under 11 Development League – The season kicks off Saturday May 7 and we have sixty players battling it out each Saturday morning at Puckhandlers for the championship trophy in the Under 11’s. The teams competing are the Raptors, Northern Stars, Bulldogs, Eltham Eagles, Goils (all girl junior side), and the defending champions Rangers. We are always looking for a few extras in this age division so if you or someone you know may be interested please contact us asap to get the players enrolled. May 2004 fixture can be found on the home page of the Puckhandlers website.

Tuesday Night League – The social league has ten teams and over 90 players enrolled this winter season. The season fires up on Tuesday May 4th and runs from 6:45 through till 11pm. Anyone interested in joining is more than welcome as a few of sides are looking for some extras. Teams competing are the Tri Lams, Stars, Eagles, Goils, Swinbourne Uni, Raptors, Rangers, Old Boyz, Phoenix and Cougars. The night will also include an ‘Advanced Training’ from 8:15 – 9:00pm which will be very popular and comes highly recommended. Fixture for the night is now available on the home page of the Puckhandlers website.

Over 28’s Elite League – We have started an over age Elite League that kicks off its inaugural season this Wednesday May 5. The league has generated a lot enthusiasm and should prove to be an excellent competition. The league has four captains who have each drafted their respective teams who will do battle between 8:00 – 9:30 each Wednesday night immediately after the Womens Pro League. Come down and check out the action, fixtures available on the Puckhandlers homepage. If you or someone you know would like to play in the league contact us asap to ensure you do not miss out.

Team lists are as follows

Womens Pro League – This league has been a roaring success and provided an awesome weekly competition for the girls to play in and be proud of. The level of play has risen dramatically and must say the semi final last season between the Snipers and Dogs was as good of a game as you could ever hope to see. The end result was a 2 – 1 victory to the Snipers who eventually won their second successive title in an impressive display against the minor premiers, Labeda Inferno. This season should be a nail biter once again as all the players have improved and the preseason draft has seen a few new faces come into the league that should put some pressure on. If there are any girls out there who would like to tryout be sure to get onto us asap so we can try organise you a spot in one of the lineups.

Team lists for the upcoming season are as follows –

July Senior Silver Cup – The dates for the non elite senior cup are July 3 – 11. Local teams play both weekends and weeknights while the interstate teams play from Wed July 7th to the 11th. Teams from Tasmania and Canberra are already booked and we are hopeful on a mob from NSW getting up and organised this time around. The tournament has three divisions (Paper, Bronze and Silver) and therefore manages to cater to all levels of non state senior players. The tournaments are always heaps of fun and a great way to spend the week!! Organise your team now and be sure not miss out on one of the spots as the tournaments are always booked solid.

June Hockey School – Saturday June 26 and Sunday June 27. Schools come highly recommended by all the best juniors in the country and are a great way to learn from the best coaches. There is no way to enjoy your chosen sport quite like excelling…. the only way to rise above your peers is to improve your fundamentals, this is exactly what these schools are designed to do and the results are in the proof of the kids who have participated in the past. Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity to improve!

U10 and 12’2’ - 10am – 12:30 (both days)

U12’1’ and 14’s - 1:30 – 4:00pm (both days)

Senior Players - 7:00 – 9:30pm (both days)

Cost is $65 per player.

Puckhandlers Junior Silver Cup – As per usual we expect and absolute barn burner of a tournament here as the Junior Silver Cup has become Australia’s most enjoyable event. The dates for the tournament are Sept 27 – Oct 3. We have already received nominations from teams in Adelaide and Sydney, and expect many more in the coming few weeks. Forty teams from across Australia will end up competing in the age groups of under 11, 12, 14, 16 and Open. Anyone keen to enter a team please get nominations through asap and if you are an individual looking for a team we can assist there as well, shoot through an email to karl@puckhandlers.com

Australian Nationals 2005 – The Nats have been held in Queensland for the past two years, Steve Hall and his crew have done a sensational job organising and running the events which have run smoothly and professionally on the Sunshine Coast. Victoria will now be hosting them for the next two years at Puckhandlers and we take great pride in being chosen by the AILHA committee and president Michael Rodwell to take on what is a huge responsibility in organising the most important tournament on the Australian inline hockey calendar. We have already had confirmation WA will be sending teams as they are excited about playing at our venue and especially on our $90,000 Orbcourt hockey surface.

That is it for this edition of the Puckhandlers.com News… archives for the newsletters can be found on the ‘Karl’s News Bench’ of the www.puckhandlers.com website for anyone interested. Hope to see everyone at our upcoming tournaments/events in the near future which will all be a lot of fun. If you are interested in nominating a team or to join an existing side please contact me soon as the spots are limited in all the upcoming events. Please pass this information on to anyone who might be interested in the content.

Thanks for tuning in,

Karl Bryan

www.puckhandlers.com