In December, the Canadian men’s junior national team will be heading to New Delhi, India for the 2013 Junior World Cup. The team is reaching out to the field hockey community to donate field hockey sticks, balls, shoes, shin pads and anything else that can be used by kids in India to start programs for those who are unable to afford it.

If anyone has any equipment they would like to donate please drop it off at 3341 Woodburn Avenue (Henderson area). Alternatively, Alison Hastings, manager of Lynx 3, will be at the UVic Turf from 10:30-12:30pm on Saturday, Nov. 16 to collect equipment.

If you need to arrange an alternative time please contact Alison at 250-598-0644.

VICTORIA – Top-level competition returns to the island as the University of Victoria Vikes host the 2013 CIS / FHC women’s field hockey championship on Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 at the UVic field hockey pitch. The four-team tournament will pit the Canada West’s top-two, UBC and UVic, against the OUA top two. Final seeding will be determined over the next couple of weeks despite the Vikes and T-Birds already qualifying.

TOURNAMENT INFO: govikesgo.com/CISWFH

Game times are set for 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, while the weekend games will go at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Nov. 2-3. The Vikes are after their 12th CIS banner with their most recent banner being won in 2008 when tournament was hosted in Victoria.

In addition to the CIS Championship the Vikes will be hosting a number of events including an alumni and friends celebration event that includes a dinner to celebrate Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft’s 30th season. The alumni event is extended to the entire day of Nov. 2 that begins with a fun, alumni and friends game in the morning and ends with watching the current Vikes squad compete at 1 p.m. and a celebration and fundraiser dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Uplands Golf Course. Tickets are $80 and can be purchased online at govikesgo.com/CISWFH . All family, friends and alumni are welcome to purchase tickets. Included in the cost is a t-shirt, dinner and a week-long pass to the 2013 CIS Championship.

The Vikes women’s field hockey team are also working in conjunction with 100.3 The Q and the TLC Fund for Kids to host a one-session field hockey camp for boys and girls on Oct. 25. The day is a pro-d day for many of Victoria’s youth and for $25 (proceeds go to the TLC Fund for Kids), the participants receive a t-shirt, 1.5 hours of skills and fun, lunch and a day pass to the Nov. 2 date of the CIS women’s field hockey championship. The TLC Fund for Kids is a not-for-profit organization of the CRD that dedicates energy towards helping children’s health, happiness and betterment of life. The camp is open to children ages 6-11 and registration is available online now at govikesgo.com/TLC

Don’t miss this opportunity to see Canada’s best university field hockey and get involved!

For more information visit govikesgo.com or contact Ali Lee, Vikes Alumni Chapter Chair, at alilee05@gmail.com

Attention Victoria Men’s League Participants:

Please note that this Sunday, Sept. 22 there will be detours and road closure’s do to the TOUR DE VICTORIA. For full maps and details about closures please visit: www.tourdevictoria.com

Please plan to arrive early for your games this weekend and leave time to walk to the fields.

The rules of field hockey are constantly evolving and always being interpreted differently. The South Island Umpires Association is pleased to host the UMPIRE FORUM *in one week’s time.

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 16
WHERE: Upstairs, Pacific Institute for Sports Excellence (4371 Interurban Rd.)
TIME: 6:30-8:00 pm
WHO: All umpires, players or coaches (men and women)
WHAT: Led by Alison Sweeten and Gillian Horgan, this umpire forum is not only a rules and interpretations refresher for the league officials but also an opportunity for ALL players to come, ask questions, learn the rules and get up to speed on the latest.

It is highly recommended that every team tries to send 1-2 PLAYER representatives to aid in ensuring key messages are distributed across the players.

Note: A second umpire forum in Duncan is to be scheduled.

TeamPages is happy to announce that the first app was just approved and is now available for download.

You can get it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/teampages/id670 … or find it by searching “teampages” in the app store.

A few things to note:

There are still a couple bugs that we’ll be fixing before making a more formal announcement, specifically in replying to messages and viewing maps.

Please keep in mind that this is version 1.0 which means the app is still very much in its infancy. TeamPages is hoping to roll out a bunch of new features prior to the fall season and your feedback will go along way in shaping what we develop next for our mobile apps.

Sorry Android users, just for iPhone right now. The Android app is in the works and we’re hoping to have it ready to go for September.

Get your teams to download it and keep on track of their season schedules and use it to message each other!