London 2012 seems so long ago now and hockey has come on leaps and bounds since we stood on the podium on that balmy August evening.
The word ‘legacy’ was banded around left, right and centre during the Games by athletes and officials alike. GB Hockey did a fantastic job at capturing the Olympic enthusiasm and has really created something lasting in terms of participation numbers.
In England alone we have 25 per cent more females in clubs since 2011 (47k to 60k) and 55 per cent more under-16s in clubs since 2011 (18k to 28k). Hockey have talked the talk and walked the walk regarding legacy, of which I am exceptionally proud.
It’s important for sports to maintain the captive audience post Olympics and now we are just a year away from Rio, Olympic fever is beginning to ramp up again.
The luxury of having a home Olympics in London was that we didn’t have to go through the qualification process. This time around we’re back in with the pack and both the men’s and women’s GB hockey teams will have to fight for their place in Brazil.
The GB team will fly out to Valencia in June for our qualification tournament, while another qualification tournament will play out a few weeks later in Belgium.
Teams will need to finish in the top three in their tournament to secure a place out-right for the Olympic Games.
The GB team will face Argentina, China, Spain and Canada in their pool before crossing over with the other pool, which sees USA, Germany, South Africa, Uruguay and Ireland pitched against each other.
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Teams have to finish in the top four of their pool to qualify for the quarter-final crossover match.
We are training as a squad of 32, every day fighting to better ourselves individually but also fighting for our place in the team.
GB will take 18 players to the qualification tournament with some non-travelling reserves selected as back up. It’s a brutal time around selection and something we have to accept is part and parcel of the job we do.
We make plans as individual players and as a team as to how we want to hear the selection news and how we move on from this, whether you make the cut or not. These pressured times pull us together, the testing times bond us as a group.
The strength of the squad of 18 players who finally are selected to pull on the GB
shirts in Valencia in June is the strength of the 32.
We continue to push each other for bigger, better, faster, stronger every single day.
When the 18 walk out to sing the national anthem you will hear the voices of 32.
Please stand with us and support us in our quest for Olympic qualification and
the pursuit of our dreams.
- Investec, the specialist bank and asset manager, support women’s hockey from grass roots level through to the national team - investec.co.uk/hockey or on Twitter @Investec_Sport
