Two types of field hockey

Did you know that there is both an outdoor and an indoor women's national field hockey team? Did you also know that the player rosters for each team are often made up of different players?  Traditionally, Canada's national outdoor field hockey team has represented the country at the most widely known international field hockey event - the Summer Olympics - every four years since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced Women's Field Hockey at the Moscow Games in 1980. 

For Canada's national women's indoor field hockey team, the biggest international event they will play in is the World Cup. Team players are currently working hard to prepare for the Indoor Pan American Cup which is their only chance to qualify for the World Cup.  In fact, only one spot is available to Pan American countries at the World Cup level, so the team's focus is to win the Indoor Pan American Cup.  Both the outdoor and indoor (women and men) national programs are administered by Field Hockey Canada.

2020 Indoor Pan American Cup

First introduced in 2002, the Indoor Pan American Cup happens every 2-3 years and has been hosted by a number of countries from both North and South America. Host countries have included Canada, the United States, Guyana, Uruguay, and Argentina to name a few.  2020 was to mark the 8th time the Indoor Pan American Cup would have taken place and initially to be hosted by the USA in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. But because of the COVID-19 world pandemic, this year's tournament was postponed to a later date which has yet to be determined. (At the time of the publiciation of this article, the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF) still had not announced an update as to when the tournament is taking place).

Our efforts to showcase Canada's National Women's Indoor Field Hockey Team and their participation in the 2020 Pan American Indoor Cup initially began on a Sunday morning in February earlier this year.  SeeWhatSheCanDo travelled to Rick Hansen Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario to capture some of the team's players and coaches in action as they practiced and prepared to represent Canada on the international sports stage. We also wanted to ask each member on the squad some questions so that we could share their experiences playing field hockey and how help us understand how their experiences would shape what they'd tell their ten year old self if they had the chance to go back in time.  Each player's profile is a stand alone story and gives you a chance to get to know the players on an individual basis.

Initially, we had asked each each player to share some details around their introduction to and history playing the sport; what they love about field hockey; what their favourite sport memory is; and what each player would say to their 10 year old self if they had the chance to go back in time. 

But, as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold across the world and on the daily lives of people everywhere, we felt it was equally important to have players give their feedback on the direct impact the pandemic has had on athletes competing at the highest level of their sport, and help Canadians better appreciate the challenges and frustrations they were facing during these extraordinary times.  In addition, we wanted to learn how each player felt a digital community platform like SeeWhatSheCanDo could support each of them while they manage these ongoing challenges and frustrations created by the pandemic. Links to the opinions and insights shared by a majority of the National Women's Indoor Field Hockey team members are listed below.  We invite you to take some time to get know each and every player who generously shared so much of themselves with us.

Player Roster:

Maddie Babineau

Rebecca Carvalho

Morgan Hanley

Angela Lancaster

Marcia LaPlante (GK)

Alison Lee

Katie Lynes

Hannah Meyer

Rachel Spouge

Madi Thompson

Kaitlyn Tomas (GK)

Mackenzie Williams

Krissy Wishart

Elise Wong

Emily Ziraldo

Hilary Ziraldo

* GK - Goalkeeper

Coaches:

Head Coach:  Shank Premakanthan

Assistant Coach:  Louis Mendonca

Connect with Canada's Women's Indoor Field Hockey Team

Want to send some good vibes to the Canada's Women's Indoor Field Hockey team? Here are their social media coordinates.  

Facebook: @canindoorwomen

Instagram: @fhc_indoorwomen

Twitter: @canindoorhockey

Hashtags: #MindtheSkirt 

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