Olympic Winter Games: February 12 to 28, 2010

As you may or may not know, the olympics (winter or summer) take place once every 4 years, and this recent olympics was one for the books, although sadly South African TV coverage was nothing special.

If you were lucky enough to view the highlights between 1 and 2 hours a day, you would have a decent idea of what was going on between the hockey, figure skating, speed skating, curling and many more. Obviously our main concern and focus was on the men's and women's ice hockey.

The lucky ones that have the German bouquet on DSTV will still be smiling as they had the luxury of sitting back and watching the games live. The Men's final was between USA and Canada. With just under 20 seconds to go the USA came back from a 2:1 score to tie the game. This sent the game into overtime which was an additional 20 minutes played with 4 on the ice instead of 5 and with the golden goal rule (first team to score, wins!).

5 Minutes into the 4th period, NHL SuperStar (although was hardly seen in the entire game) Sydney Crosby gets a tight angle shot on the American goaltender and put the puck away. Canada win!

TEAM SA - Training camp no.3

Two camps have gone by and major growth has been seen both on and off the ice. This team is equally spread between Cape Town and Jhb with some Natal input.

The third training camps is taking place at the end of this month again at Grand West as head coach Ronni Wood will put on the finishing touches before leaving for Armenia on 9 April 2010. Sadly two strong players have pulled out due to personal reasons and line jugglying will need to take place to keep the team in alignment.

Additional players should be entering the squad but at this moment in time, nothing is for certain. TEAM SA is still looking to bring home the GOLD medal which means they will need to beat Korea in the finals. They are very confident and training is going well as the next training camp will see them for the last time during an allstar game before they leave.

The previous allstar game featured TEAM SA vs a WP invitational allstar team mainly showcasing international players from Russia, Switzerland, Namibia, America and Canada. TEAM SA held their heads high and kept their composure for most of the game to win it 9 - 4. The next all star game will take place on Monday 29 March @ 7pm - Grand West.

From the ice - local ice hockey blog

Cape Town ice hockey player, Marc Giot, has started a website/blog called fromtheice and can be found here www.fromtheice.co.za.

The focus of the site is to create awareness of ice hockey in South Africa. The site is updated almost daily with his views, interesting articles, youtube videos and clips from hockey where Marc is either behind the camera or on the ice. This site has been taken to very well and is definitely creating some kind of boost to the sport in the country.

Some of the latest uploads are from the Fantastic4 where SuperStars (Russia's Fedorov, Ovechkin and more) are interviewed including highlights from the last allstar game between TEAM SA and WP AllStars.

fromtheice also focuses on hockey tips, techniques, drills and do'&donts... This gives people who have no idea about ice hockey, an inside view into the sport as if they were a player themselves.

Check it out at www.fromtheice.co.za

IIHF Coaching Course - Grand West

This past week (1-7 March) Darryl Easson, IIHF Sports Development Manager, visited Cape Town for a coaches coaching course and level 1 coaching course.

The course was very well attended with coaches from Natal, Jhb and Cape Town. The first course was held during the week which was specifically for SA coaches Ronni Wood, Kieren Edge and Eddie Compton. The 2nd was a level 1 coaching course which took place over the majority of the weekend.

Friday and Saturday was mainly in the classroom with Sunday morning having hands-on training with Darryl on the ice, coaching 60+ kids. The main focus of this session was complete ice coverage, ensuring all kids were active throughout the entire session, correct basic hockey techniques and team work.

The course was a great success and alot was learnt during the 3 days. We would like to thank Mr Darryl Easson from IIHF for his time, effort and great stories.

African Nations Cup - 5 Teams for 2010

With the postponing of the African Nations Cup last year which was scheduled between 3 countries, South Africa, Algeria and Morocco. The organisers are busy working with the other countries and teams to set up and confirm dates for the event to take place.

In addition, there has been interest from numerous other countries to take part in this tournament. For more information about the African Nations Cup please go to their website www.africa-nations-cup.co.za

Team SA - Battle it out in Armenia, IIHF World Championships, 2010

The IIHF Senior World Championships are being held in Armenia later this year in April. The SA team that is made up of athletes from Durban, Gauteng and Cape Town have been under vigorous training since the beginning of the year and with 3 training camps scheduled (1 already taken palce) this should see TEAM SA in great running for a GOLD medal in Armenia.

To view the team announcement made by SAIHA at the beginning of the year please view the NEWS HEALINES below.

The next training camps are scheduled for the end of February & March as the team depart on 9 April. They will be playing in a warm up game against Georgia (2011 IIHF qualifier for Georgia). The tournament sees TEAM SA take on Armenia and Mongolia and then tackle Korea (who last beat RSA 6 - 0 in 2008). After studying the video of their previous encounter, head coach Ronnie Wood is confident that they will have what it takes to beat the Korean team.

SA U18 - Wins the bronze medal !!!

Not gold, not silver but a very well deserved BRONZE. The final game between SA and Israel determined the outcome, and as you can read below in the game report, it went right down to the wire!

3 periods, 1 over time period and penalty shootouts. With the man of the hour being Mr Uthman Samaai scoring 2 goals, 1 assist and scoring the final goal in the penalty shootout. Well done to SA u18.

More info to come on the teams arrival.

The Constitution of SAIHA Revision 2 Draft5 has been published on the SAIHA website.

Please note: that the revisions were approved at the AGM on the 3rd September 2012 and we invite comments from South African players, officials, parents and interested parties regarding wording (bad English), conflicting clauses, numbering and such like.

The period for comments will be 30 days from the date published on the website (Thursday, 20 October 2011).

Click here to view the PDF document
Click here to make your comment via email

The South African Ice Hockey Association has the pleasure of announcing the Women's National Ice Hockey Squad for the 2012 IIHF Womens World Championship Div II, Group B, which will take place in Seoul, Korea from 10th - 16th March 2012.

The Squad is as follows:

Bianca Birrell
Mariska Brand
Anoesjka Brand
Sabrina Bundock
Rosie Cronje
Ashley Gryber
Samantha Jansen
Corolla Koch
Chelsea Leith
Laura-Ann Murphey
Kirsten Oxenham
Donne Oxenham
Dalene Rhode
Nicola Roche
Malyssa Roos
Chloe Schuurman
Nadine Sheffield
Kristyn Swanepoel
Simone van Wyk
Madelain Vd Wyk
Dominique Verwey
Shaylene Swanepoel GK
Sandy McClurg GK
Danika Rykaart GK

This past weekend the Mens Senior Nationals took place in Cape Town with 2 teams from Cape Town and Gauteng: WP A, WP B, Gauteng A (Miners) and Gauteng B (Colts).

The tournament got underway on Sunday morning with JHB A beating WP B 21 - 0 (the same score as WP A vs WP B that took place the Monday before) the back2back game was between JHB B and WP A with a score of 19-1 in favour of the WP A team.

That evening JHB B took on WP B and with a tight game WP won with 4 goals to 2, however WP A was not to be as fortunate with a loss to the JHB A team 3 - 2.

Monday evening saw a repeat of the Sunday evenings games with "B" playing "B" and "A" playing "A". This time JHB was to take both games on the scoreboard with the B game (bronze medal game) ending at 7-2 in favour of JHB B and the A game (gold medal game) being called seconds before the end of the 60 mintes at 5 goals to 3 in favour of the JHB team.

An unfortunate turn of events with an open ice brawl ended with the game officials calling the game "Null and Void" and the Gold Medal being awarded on the result of the previous game, going to JHB A.

Congratulations to the Gauteng Miners on their Gold medal, just a pity that the tournament had to end the way that it did. The SA Mens Squad will be announced soon.

WP will be hosting the SA Senior National Championship this year from the 25 to the 26th Sept at the Ice Station at GrandWest. The provisional schedule is as follows:

The SAIHA have set the dates for the Senior SA Nationals to take place at in Cape Town at the Grand West Ice Arena.

The tournament will be played from Friday 23 - Sunday 25 September and the should be hosting 5 teams with 3 from Gauteng and 2 from Cape Town.

Additional information to follow.

View the below results from the 2011 Junior Nationals recently held in Cape Town:

U14: Gauteng A vs WP
The junior national champs got underway this past Sunday with the opening game between WP A and Gauteng A. With a short warm up before the face off you could noticibly see a deminished squad on the WP side of the ice compared to the Gauteng squad.

Players didnt waste time and action kept the crowd in awe from start to finish with Gauteng scoring their first goal at 3min20sec into the first period by Johan van der Merwe and then a 2nd goal by Gareth Bremner 5 minutes before the close of the period.

WP's Sky Johnson put 4 goals away with the 4th being assisted by Jean-Paul Britz. Gauteng then came back with 2 goals to level the score and again each team scoring once more to tie the game at 5 goals a piece.

Dion Phakathi was the glory boy for the Gauteng team as he scored the go-ahead and winning goal with 7min57sec to go. Final score was 6 - 5 in favour of Gauteng A.

MVP's for the game: WP's #20, Aslam Khan & Gauteng A's #13, Gareth Bremner.

U14: WP vs Gauteng B
A one-sided game from start to finish but both teams putting in great effort. Sky Johnson scoring 11 goals assisted by goals from Matthew Cerff, Dario Maselli and Jean-Paul Britz. Game ended in favour of WP with 16 - 0.

U16: Gauteng A vs WP
With 22 minutes in penalties between the two teams you can just imagine the intensity of this game. Gauteng seemed to have the goal-scorers as they racked up 2 goals in the first, 1 in the 3nd and 4 goals in the final period.

WP's Alex Obery with ample break-away chances but couldnt put the puck past Gauteng's net-minder Marcello Strydom, however was beaten by Ryan Fourie early in the 3rd period as a consellation goal for WP.

MVP awards went out to WP's #14, Christophe von Blittnitz & Gauteng's #9 Keagan Thornton (2 goals).

U16: WP vs Gauteng B
WP struck very early with 30 seconds on the clock by Ryan Fourie and WP kept up a steady flow. Ryan Fourie with an additional 8 goals & Christophe von Blittnitz with 6 goals assisted the 18 - 0 win.

Both Gauteng B goaltenders trying their best and a consellation goal by David Ruthven late in the game.
MVP's awarded to WP's #30, Ryan Fourie and Gauteng B's #1, Jason McCauley.

With the SA ice hockey season underway all over the coutry, the provincial teams for junior divisions u14, u16 and u18 are busy with their final preparations for the SAIHA Junior National to be held in Cape Town at the Grand West Ice Arena.

The three teams taking part are WP, Gauteng A and Gauteng B. The tournament commences on Sunday 26 June and runs its course until Thursday 30th June 2011.

The schedule of games are as follows:

Sunday
08h30 WP U14 vs Gauteng U14 A
10h30 Gauteng U14 A vs Gauteng U14 B

Monday
05h15 WP U14 vs Gauteng U14 B
07h15 WP U16 vs Gauteng U16 A

Tuesday
05h15 WP U16 vs Gauteng U16 B
07h15 Gauteng U16 A vs Gauteng U16 B

Wednesday
05h15 WP U18 vs Gauteng U18 A
07h15 Gauteng U18 B vs Gauteng U18 A

Thursday
05h15 WP U18 vs Gauteng U18 B
07h15 ALLSTAR GAME

With the tournament underway in great form we were soon at ease with pride and glory.

Hails of praise and respect shown to the organisers and the team for an outstanding performance both behind the scenes and on the ice. With a nail-biting loss to Israel being the goal that kept Team SA from the gold medal, the general consensus was that this game definately did not belong in division 3 hockey.

Thus being said, both Israel and South Africa have been promoted to Division 2 where they will once again faceoff against each other. Team SA as a whole was rather pleased about their performance and there is massive talks going on about training camps commencing as soon as July for the 2012 tournament.

Head coach, Ronnie Wood, rose to the challange and produced what is to be the best South African team that this country has seen in many years and many say that if he is to remain the coach for next year, that the team will be even better and obtain their goal of staying in Division 2.

Confidently SAIHA, WPIHA and the City of Cape Town can rest assured that they pulled off possibly the best world championships that the IIHF has been to in the better half of 10 years and we are sure to host many more in the near future.

Thanks to sponsors, the Mens Div 3 Championships will be streamed live via internet allowing your to watch all the games online here.

Click here to be directed to the video streaming page.

ZURICH – The Mongolian Ice Hockey Federation informed the IIHF on Thursday that they have to withdraw their men’s and U18 national teams from the respective Division III tournaments.

The main reasons are lack of money and of hockey equipment, MIHF General Secretary Choijiljav Baasandavaa states in his message.

The teams were supposed to participate in the 2011 IIHF World Championship Division III in Cape Town, South Africa, and in the 2011 IIHF World U18 Championship Division III Group A in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.

The IIHF, together with the host organizing committees, will revise both schedules in order to accommodate the remaining teams’ playing schedule. However, the games originally scheduled to be played by the Mongolian teams will technically remain in the respective game schedule and all games including Mongolia will end with a forfeit (5-0) for the opposing team. The revised schedules will shortly appear on IIHF.com.

View the article on the official IIHF.com website

Tickets are on sale now via the Computicket website at a low-low price of R30 (adult) and R20 (under 16's).
Click here to book your tickets online now

Tickets will also be on sale at the door prior to each game however please note that seating is limited.

Please view the below game schedule for dates, time and games.

The South Afican Ice Hockey Association has the pleasure of announcing the two goal keepers that will represent South Africa at the 2011 IIHF World Championships, Div III, which tape place in Cape Town, South Africa from 11th April 2011 to the 17th April 2011.

The two goal keepers are:

Ashley Bock
David Burger

Congratulations to the goal keepers on their selection to the team, we are sure that you will do us and South Africa proud.

(Copied from official PDF document from Shane Marsh - President of SAIHA)

The South African Ice Hockey Association has the pleasure of announcing the South African Men's Ice Hockey team that will participate at 2011 IIHF World Championship, Div III, which take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 11th April 2011 to the 17th April 2011.

The final team is as follows:

Goalkeepers:

GOALKEEPERS WILL ONLY BE SELECTED AFTER TRAINING CAMP IN MARCH. IT IS NOT FELT THAT ENOUGH OPPORTUNITY WAS GIVEN FOR A CORRECT DECISION TO BE MADE.

Defence:

1. Ian Ashworth - Gauteng
2. Burton Mathews - Gauteng
3. David Watson - Gauteng
4. Andre Marais - Gauteng
5. Chris Reeves - Western Province
6. Grant Yates - Western Province

Forwards:

1. Cameron Birrell - Gauteng
2. Chris Engelbrecht - Gauteng
3. Damian Cardosa - Gauteng
4. Marc Giot - Western Province
5. Deen Magmoed - Western Province
6. Jack Valadas - Gauteng
7. Uthman Samaai - Western Province
8. Luke Carlse - Western Province
9. Cai Nebe - Western Province
10. Gareth Miller - Western Province
11. Mich Joubert - Western Province
12. George Lyon - Gauteng

Reserves:

Ryan Marsh
Kyle van Rooyen
Grant van Eeckhoven
Franco Habib
Klyde Stevens

The team manager is Lloyd Birrell and the coach is Ronnie Wood.

Congratulations to all the players and officials on their selection to the team, we are sure that you will all do us and South Africa proud.

(Copied from official PDF document from Shane Marsh - President of SAIHA)

With the final 32-man squad meeting in Cape Town this coming Sunday 20 February, all bringing their A-game as the next 4 times they step out onto the ice will be the make or break.

The sqaud will have 2 training sessions (Sunday morning and Monday morning) and there will be 2 exhibition games (Sunday evening and Monday evening) where the local public will be welcome to attend and enjoy the competitive games.

Game schedules:

Sunday, 20 Feb
Grand West Ice Arena
Face-off: 9pm
Cover: u16's - R15 / o16's - R30

Monday, 21 Feb
Grand West Ice Arena
Face-off: 7pm
Cover: u16's - R15 / o16's - R30

Good luck to all players for the final team selection.

Congratulations to all the players on their selection and good luck with the final selection for the team. 

The South African Ice Hockey Association has the pleasure of announcing the National Women's Ice Hockey Team for the 2011 IIHF World Championships, Div IV, which will take place in Iceland from 27th March to the 1st April 2011.

The South African Women's Team is as follows:

Goaltenders:
Shaylene Swanepoel
Sandy Mc Clurg

Players:
Robyn Adamson
Bianca Birrell
Sarah Booysen
Sabrina Bundock
Samanthan Jansen
Debbie Mc Loughlin
Laura-Ann Murphy
Donne Oxenham
Kirsten Oxenham
Dalene Rhode
Fyona Shannon
Nadine Shefield
Kristyn Swanepoel
Simone Van Wyk
Dominique Verwey
Jadi Wessels

The team manager is Wendy Horne and coach is Kieren Edge.

Please note that the decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Congratulations to all the players and Officials on their selection to the Team, we are sure that you will all do us and South Africa proud.

Yours in Ice Hockey,
Shane Marsh
President
South African Ice Hockey Association