Hockey: Tests in South require 'local support'

Hockey internationals will return to the South but only if they receive significant local council and community support.

That was the message from the sport's national organisation following Otago Daily Times queries over why it had been so long since the Black Sticks men's and women's teams had played in the South Island.

It has been five years since the national teams ventured past Wellington. The past 55 Black Sticks women's tests in New Zealand have been played in the North Island, and the past 30 men's tests have been played in the North.

There was no predetermined plan to shut the South out, Hockey New Zealand chief executive Malcolm Harris said.

''It's not a strategy. In fact, we are very much focused on playing around the country.

''We've simply found that councils and business in smaller communities provide really strong support. That's important for us.

''Typically, the host team has to pay for all the internal travel. It can be crippling for us.

''Taking teams from Auckland to Dunedin, for example, is not easy. But Dunedin is not off our radar. The key is getting local council and funding support.''

Dunedin nearly got a Black Sticks test last year, Harris said.

''We were keen to play a test against Japan in Dunedin. The council was prepared to help with that.

''But our international teams are often on a stopover, and they tend to ask to play in Auckland or North Harbour. Japan asked for that, so we were a bit hamstrung.''

Two rather unlikely towns have hosted major Black Sticks events in the past year.

Stratford - population 8800 - hosted the Oceania Cup, and Napier is this week hosting the Hawkes Bay Festival. Whangarei and Tauranga have also had games in recent seasons.

North Island venues had the advantage of being closer to Auckland but it was more about local support, Harris said.

The Hawkes Bay region enlisted 23 businesses to sign a sponsorship deal with Hockey New Zealand, and the Taranaki Electrical Trust had poured money into the hockey base in Stratford. Ironically, the Stratford turf has hundreds of seats from Carisbrook.

There was no problem with turf quality at South Island venues, Harris said, although lighting was occasionally an issue.

The Christchurch earthquakes had complicated the picture.

''If we have a three-test series, for example, if we can't go to Christchurch, the South Island is reasonably limiting.

''But there is an absolute will to get back to the South Island. We want to be inclusive.''

World hockey has just signed off a four-year tournament calendar. That would allow the Black Sticks to plan their domestic tours, Harris said.

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