Field Hockey Canada
2000 OLYMPIC GAMES

Canada will now play the host Cuba in the Final of this inaugural Americas Cup, with the winner earning an automatically qualification for the 2002 World Cup in Malaysia.

Hello friends! We are half-way through the Americas Cup here in Havana, so I thought that I would bring you up-to-date.

We are sitting in first place in our pool after wins against Jamaica (9-0), Chile (3-2) and the USA (4-0). Today we play Mexico in what should be a one-sided affair. Chile and the USA will battle it out for 2nd place in our pool tomorrow.

In the other pool, Cuba and Argentina are dominating four other very weak sides: Venezuela, Barbados, Peru and Puerto Rico. Scores posted have included 21-0 by Argentina over Puerto Rico and 14-0 by Cuba over Barbados... In the big match of this pool, Cuba pulled off the upset and beat Argentina 3-1!

What this means is that we will meet our big rivals, Argentina, in the semi-finals on Friday and then Cuba in the finals on Sunday. This will be the first time in my memory that the Americas Championship will not be Canada vs. Argentina.

Away from the field hockey pitch, we have had a chance to take in a little bit of the local scene. Down the road there is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has a satellite TV connection. This has been the hang-out for the soccer fans on the team who are addicts for Euro 2000. There is a regular crowd in for the games that has a few locals, some Portugeuse businessmen, some students from Ghana and some consular representatives from Spain. The match between France and Spain was the highlight so far - great soccer and a charged atmosphere at "Artex"!

The pool at the hotel has also been a hangout for the team. There are shaded tables to sit around playing cards and the cool water offers a reprieve from the heat. We are averaging about 34C and 70% humidity which is a killer for the games - OK for poolside however!

Our only glimpse of the city so far has been through the windows of the bus en route to the matches. Posters and statues of Fidel, Che Guevara and Lenin are frequent. In contrast, there is not a single commercial advertisement. Slogans are painted onto the walls of factories and schools such as "Fidel, estamos contigo" (Fidel, we are with you). Of most interest are the cars. Old time Chevy's from the 50s and Soviet era Lada's dominate. I don´t think there is a wrecking yard on the island.

Check our Special Page for detail on the competition.

---

Canada played Mexico today at the Americas Cup in Cuba. A highlight of the game was that Rick Roberts celebrated his 150th cap for Canada and was the game Captain. Rick has had an eventful career playing for Canada and his hardwork and perserverance has paid off. CONGRATULATIONS  RICK !

The Canadian Men's Field Hockey Team is currently playing in Cuba for the 1st Americas Cup, The game against USA was special for Canadian Captain Peter Milkovich: it was his 250th international cap, an exceptional milestone achieved by very few players on the international scene.

Peter won his first cap back in 1988 against Belgium, then shortly after was selected for the Olympic Games in Seoul (the last time the Canadian Field Hockey Team qualified for the Games). He has since worked relentlessly to improve his skills and was one of the first Canadian players to decide to go and learn in the much stronger competition abroad (Australia, France and most recently in Holland). He was rewarded by a selection to the World XI that played against the current World and Olympic Champions, Holland, during the festivities organized in 1999 for the FIH (Fédération International de Hockey) 75th Anniversary.

Peter has played in two World Cups (1990 and 1998), three Pan American Games (1991, 1995 and 1999), one Commonwealth Games (1998) and Sydney will be his second Olympic experience.

Peter has certainly played a key role in the ascension of the Canadian Team, relentlessly pushing himself and his teammates.

CONGRATULATIONS PETER !

Pictures: www.OffTheCrossbar.com

AMJ Campbell Van Lines, Canada's largest moving company, is sending its first shipment of Olympic containers on June 26, 2000 to Sydney, Australia. Approximately six, 40 foot containers, weighing 40 tonnes will set sail for Australia, home of the XXVII Olympiad.

The large shipment will include everything Canadian athletes will need on a daily basis to do their best while at the Games; from Cheerios to recreational beverages; from shampoo to computers. Crews will begin at 9:00am with early afternoon as the target departure time for the containers.

In addition to shipping cargo, AMJ Campbell will be holding cross-country Olympic banner signings and fundraisers for Canadian Olympic athletes over the course of the summer. The public will be encouraged to show their support by sending their best wishes to Canadian Olympic Team members. Banners will be forwarded to Sydney where they will be displayed throughout the Olympic Village and Canada Olympic Place.

Confirmation of NOCSA’s decision not to send the South African Men’s Hockey Team to the Olympic Games and the team’s subsequent replacement by Argentina announced by the International Hockey Federation late last week (see June 14) has been met with huge disappointment by the players.

Over the past four months, they have remained patient and hopeful that NOCSA’s decision to exclude them from the Olympics would be reconsidered and reversed. The South Africa Mens Hockey Association took several steps in its efforts to address this. The announcement of the replacement signals the end of the road for the players who now have to accept that they will not be going to Sydney and that no further steps can be taken to effectively change this.

Tony Irish (the players’ representative) : "I was co-opted to the Executive Board of SAHA in May and attended the IOC meeting in Rio. From a player’s point of view, it is difficult to understand or to accept NOCSA’s decision. The clear reasons given for the decision in February were firstly that NOCSA was not satisfied that the team would finish ninth or better at the Games and secondly that NOCSA did not believe that there were sufficient black players in the team. However, NOCSA’s perception of the strength of the team was not based on any objective evidence or criteria and neither SAHA nor any relevant international hockey organisation was ever consulted over this. Furthermore the team hadn’t yet been selected in February and we don’t believe that NOCSA were even aware of the number of black players in the training squad from which the team would have been selected. At the time, the training squad in fact contained seven black players all of whom stood a realistic chance of being selected in the final team of 16 to go to Sydney. It’s very disappointing for all of the players concerned.

What is a matter of real and serious concern for the future is that eight senior players have now indicated that they intend to retire from international hockey. These players have almost 900 international caps between them. They include Craig Jackson the national team captain, Greg Nicol, who many believe to be the best striker in world hockey, Brian Myburgh, South Africa’s world class goalkeeper, and Gregg Clark, who has more than 170 international caps and is the most capped player in South African hockey history. The country can’t afford to lose these players but they are extremely disillusioned. One has to appreciate that there is little or no money to be made in playing hockey. The guys play for pride and to represent their country at the highest level. The Olympics is the ultimate for a hockey player. The reaction is understandable. Dreams have been shattered".

Craig Jackson (National Team Captain) : "Many of the players are very disillusioned at the moment. We have trained so hard and performed very well over the last two years. Many sacrifices have been made by players. Some had contracts to play overseas but we took a decision as a team, after winning the Continental Championships last year, at the All Africa Games, that we would all remain in South Africa to train and play together in preparation for the Olympics. We are the only country to be excluded despite being Continental Champions. The Olympic Games is all about Continental participation. Now no one will represent Africa in Men’s Hockey at these Olympics".

The South African men finished 10th out of 12 at their first Olympics in Atlanta. At that time the players were relatively young and inexperienced. For example the six players who formed the core of that team at Atlanta, and who would again be competing at this Olympics, had a total of 300 international caps between them. Now those same players have a combined total of almost 800 caps. The team is vastly more competent and experienced. In the two year period before February 2000 the team won 27 out of 42 internationals, drew 5 and lost only 10. Some of their victories were over countries such as Australia, India, England and Canada all of whom will be at Sydney.

NOCSA’s decision constitutes a major set-back for hockey in South Africa and Africa. No-one in hockey circles any where can understand it.

A few days after deciding not to send the South African Men's Hockey Team to the Olympic Games, NOSCA, the National Olympic Committee of South Africa, named the athletes to participate at the Games in Sydney in seven sports: swimming (14 athletes), archery (2 athletes), baseball (24 athletes), cycling (4 athletes), sailing (2 athletes), taekwondo (1 athlete) and triathlon (2 athletes).

Comment (from George Brink): Isn't it amazing? There is not a single name in the above line up that is identifiably from the "formerly disadvantaged communities" that NOCSA seemed so keen to punish Men's Hockey for not including in their line up. NOCSA have gone out of their way to say how wonderful Baseball have been in qualifying for the Olympics (albeit against substandard international competition such as Guam) whereas the Men's hockey team had to beat nations like Egypt and Kenya to qualify for the Olympics - Kenya having been at the 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1984, 1988 Olympics and Egypt at the 1992 ones.

All the arguments that NOCSA have officially put forward to exclude the Men's Hockey team are rendered as baseless and despicable by today's announcement and one can only be left thinking that there is a lot more substance to the racial utterings of Sam Ramsamy and other members of NOCSA when they refer to the "demographic representivity" of the Men's hockey team.

The scandal surrounding South African cricket at present pales into insignificance against such hypocrisy. The IOC have been duped into accepting and supporting NOCSA's hypocrisy only bring disgrace upon themselves and the entire Olympic movement.

When did you start playing hockey? At 6.

Why? As being an only child, my mum was keen to have me interact with others and hockey was what she chose. I loved it right away!

What position do you play? Left wing and sometimes right wing for the Dutch team. In club hockey I play midfield as well.

So you can play many positions? I hate defending and love attacking!

So you love scoring goals? Well, who doesn’t? But I don’t judge how well I played by whether I have scored or not.

Do you find others are like that? Well, some that’s all they do but you need both types of players.

Your team has already qualified for Sydney by winning the European championship in Cologne. The tourney obviously went well? It was the same as many other qualification tournaments. It is so hard to be ready for the crossovers as you play such weaker oppositions in the pool matches. We played the English in the semi final and it was extremely tough. We were so excited to beat England and had to be careful not to ride that excitement into the final against Germany. It was an exciting final and what an amazing feeling to win!!

What assets do you bring to the world's second best team? I would think my ability to get corners is my greatest contribution of skill.

What are your plans for the summer? It will be dominated by hockey of course but in July I plan to visit my boyfriend in Canada. It will be a tough summer with not seeing him for more than two weeks in five months.

And after the Olympics? If everything goes well, I will be releasing and promoting my CD. I would also like to complete some more studies of my law degree.

So you are a singer as well. You are a multitalented woman? If you want to call it that.

You are attending school at the moment? Well, a little bit. Yeah, I am but I am only attending one course right now.

How do you balance it all? It’s a matter of doing things in phases. Everyone finds it hard to believe that I can do all of these things well. But, for example, now I am focusing on hockey and singing takes a back seat while after the Olympics my singing will be my focus.

Who are the best male and female hockey players? I don’t think there really is one as it depends on the day and who plays around them.

What do you think of players being paid? Its always nice to get a bit of money for things you do but, if hockey players start to get paid like soccer players, we have to be careful of what happens to hockey. We need to avoid the dark side of it. Amateurs enjoy hockey just for playing the sport and the honour of playing for your country. It’s a great feeling.

What’s the dark side of it then? It would be the change from a goal meaning helping the team to a goal meaning dollars.

Do you get paid? No.

You were a member of the Dutch side who won a silver medal at the World Cup in Utrecht in 1998. How did it feel to lose that final? It was a weird feeling as I made the team due to an injury to another player. So I was the 16th player and wasn’t expecting to see much time. I saw close to 30 minutes every game but didn’t play in the final. It felt awkward as we didn’t win and it is hard for me to say we lost.

Some players play for years playing less than 30 minutes a game; does that mean they aren’t really part of the team? No, that’s not what I meant, but it's a feeling you have yourself. It was my own feeling that left me thinking about my lack of contribution.

Do you predict a Australia vs. Holland final this year? I don’t like predicting. It may be though.

Off The Crossbar has heard that you are dating Rob Short of the Canadian National Team. Assuming you both make the Olympics, will it be a distraction to see him there? Yes definitely. It will have been a few months since I had seen him, so it will be tough to focus on just hockey. It will be amazing to share such an experience with him.

Do you train together? Sometimes we run together but at times it is frustrating as he is hard to keep up with.

Do you play hockey together? Yes sometimes we love hitting the ball together.

Who teaches who? He teaches me when we run but I teach him in hockey, obviously!

About your singing career how did it start and what do you see in the future? It started back at the World Cup in Utrecht when I ended up singing on stage at the final party at the stadium. I was spotted by a record company and they offered me a contract. It wasn’t a good contract so I refused and since then I have been supported by a good manager and he is working on a record deal. Now it is singing lessons, working on songs and meeting producers.

Do you see yourself as being famous? No, not at all, but I’ll just see what happens!

Off The Crossbar was created by three players of the Canadian National Team, Alan Brahmst, Andrew Griffiths and Hari Kant, with the mission "to bring the latest in international field hockey to young players and coaches in North America".

For the next ten weeks, CBC Television airs the Australian series "The Games" every Monday night from 9:30 to 10:00pm (check your local listing).

Produced by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), "The Games" is a biting satire, Aussie style, focusing on the fictional organizers of the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It provides a behind-the-scenes view of the committee at work - from press conferences to protocol problems to botched board meetings. Leading the Logistics and Liaison Division is John Clarke, head of administration. Joining Clarke is Bryan Dawe, in charge of accounts, budgeting and finance and Gina Riley, manager of marketing and publicity.

Making fun of the politics, business and bureaucracy of the Olympics, "The Games" looks at issues such as protocol, ticket sales and whether sheep run faster than horses. Other pressing matters include questions about a track that is roughly 100 meters long, television scheduling across time zones, drug testing and accreditation for a defending gold medallist - after a sex change.

The series was wildly popular in Australia and is a great pre-Olympic laugh! .

Modern technology will provide a dazzling coverage of the Games across the five continents represented by the five Olympic rings. On the Web, people will be able to see and hear every heat - live or in replay and in their native language. Athletes will carry biometric chips transmitting data such as speed and heart rate so we can share the experience with unprecedented depth of detail. Eventually. But not in Sydney. We are talking Athens in four years' time. Maybe.

This technology is available now. But last month the International Olympic Committee confirmed that no Web broadcasting or biometric technology would be authorised for use during the Sydney Games. Frightened at the prospect of Atlanta-style technical glitches, the IOC, SOCOG and major technology sponsors such as IBM have avoided the very latest computers and software, instead opting for upgraded versions of older systems from Nagano and Atlanta.

What of the information revolution? The high-tech boom? You won't find either at the Sydney Olympics. Sydney 2000 will be distinctly low-tech. Even authorised radio broadcasters 2UE and the ABC - which have been broadcasting over the Internet for some time - may be forced to shut down their Internet audio streams during the Games.

The IOC's technology chief, Dick Pound, said the Web broadcasting ban had been made following pressure from existing broadcast rights-holders. "Following the collective request from Olympic broadcast rights-holders, the IOC executive board confirmed that no moving images or audio coverage of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games on the Internet will be authorised," Pound said last month.

Similarly, the IOC confirmed that athletes in Sydney "will not be permitted to carry or allow third parties to place any electronic device on their person for the purpose of gathering biometrics data for Internet or other use". Both issues proved too complex to resolve prior to the Sydney Games.

The decisions are a big disappointment for technology experts who predicted at the Atlanta Games that Sydney would provide a stunning online broadcasting experience. In 1996 the Internet was still a curiosity to many people. The Web was mostly made up of grey sites with still images and text riddled with spelling mistakes. But online coverage of Atlanta was nevertheless very popular. Millions of people tuned into IBM's www.olympics.com for comprehensive and instant coverage of Olympic news and results. The press often referred to Atlanta as "the first online Olympics", but computer experts were already dreaming of Sydney.

Mark Muggeridge, who manages Beyond Online's Web broadcasting unit, Streamworks, said the Games would have provided a "fabulous" showcase of the technology. "Sport is certainly one of the drivers of Internet broadcasts," he said. "The shame is that Australians have been leaders in adopting this technology and we haven't had the opportunity to use our experience of that early adoption."

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) will ask the Argentinian Men's Team to participate in the XXVIIth Olympic Games in Sydney. This follows the decision made by the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (NOCSA) not to select the South African Men's Team to participate in the Hockey Tournament of the Games.

The FIH deeply regrets that the African continent will not be represented in the Men's Hockey Tournament and that NOCSA has not respected the athletes' right to participate despite having qualified.

Argentina was the first reserve men's team, coming 7th in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Osaka, March 2000. The FIH sincerely wishes Argentina the best of luck in their preparations for the Games.

What is unique about the contributions from Olympic Industries is that the drive for funds is being led by company President Steve Granger within the lumber industry in British Columbia. In essence, he has challenged his competitors within BC (and colleagues in the world market) to step up and support our team! Here is the letter sent by Mr. Granger to other BC lumber brokers and marketers:

Here's an opportunity to support the Canadian Men's Field Hockey team. As in most amateur sports in Canada, our field hockey team is underfunded. There seems to be a Canadian attitude about our athletes that is decidedly apathetic on the amateur level. This changes when success happens. We are suddenly filled with pride when one of our teams wins on the world stage. Similarly our individual athletes are celebrated when a win happens. We love to be surprised by success. Our field hockey team is a successful winning team. The team has performed miracles in the last year or two and has won a berth in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney by winning the Pan Am Games championship. Winning comes with hard work, good coaching, superior athletes, and tough management. Funding is a constant problem in Canada, especially with a lower profile sport. The team constantly must come up with money in order to train and compete internationally. In most cases the team raises funds on their own with some monies coming directly out of personal savings. The Federal government has finite guidelines in administereing funds for amateur sports. The team has qualified for funding for the Olympics but needs interim financing to ensure the training and competitions leading up to September in Australia will keep the competitive edge honed. The team needs your help. There are two ways to help. You can contribute to the team in general or help an individual on the squad through the "Adopt an Athlete" program. A majority of the team is comprised of BC athletes and , although most are anonymous to the average public, are great representatives of our province and country. Please contact Steve Granger at Olympic Industries Inc. (604) 985-2115 or 1 800 735-2115

One week to go before leaving for Cuba and the Americas Cup. This past weekend, the team came together in lovely, but not so sunny, Port Coquitlam for a "mini training camp" to work on set plays and sort out some essentials for Cuba. Our time was useful and the team learned one very important lesson, courtesy of Pete: Always keep your head up when stretching beside a hockey field!!

Hockey aside, one great thing about playing at the international level is the opportunity to travel to several interesting countries (Malaysia, India, Egypt, Spain and Cuba to name a few). To compete at our best in these countries, however, is not always such a simple task and our preparations for this trip are no exception. In order to have a safe and happy tournament in Cuba, the team will have to have an adequate supply of food, entertainment and other essentials. To this end, each player will spend about $100 on food (soup, pasta, powerbars, chocolate bars, whatever's your fancy) to supplement the food provided by the tournament. No doubt several players will be taking various Ian Bird endorsed Webber Naturals products down with them. While we are all certain that the Cubans will put on a good tournament for us, experience tells us we are better safe than sorry.

With the added burden of having to sort out food and entertainment, this next week will be a busy one for most. I will have to fit these tasks into my normally busy schedule of training, practicing and Lab work. When not with the hockey team, I work in a lipid research lab as part of my masters degree in Pathology at UBC. I have to take this opportunity to plug my forgiving supervisor for allowing me all the time off that I need while still paying me a scholarship! As Alan Brahmst's journal of a few weeks ago hints, some are lucky to have found a workable balance between competative sport and a normal life.

That sums up the goings on with the boys prior to Cuba. Look for our daily journals (if we can sort them out). These journals will no doubt include updates of other "distracting" activities on tour. Rumour has it that the old guys will try for a comeback against the young guys in either floor hockey or soccer. The trade of Bob Dunlop from High River Alberta for promising young rookie Tyler Dumont will however hurt the old guys chances, I suspect. To his credit, we all remember Bob's heroic efforts in goal in the Canberra leg of our soccer saga!

An exclusive pin has been designed for the 2000 Canada's Olympic Field Hockey Team, featuring both the Canadian Olympic Association logo and the Field Hockey Canada logo in a dazzling combination of red, white and gold!

The pin has been designed for FHC by Laurie Artiss Limited, The Pin People from Regina, Saskatchewan. They have produced the Canadian pins for the last six Olympic Games and have the exclusive rights to use the COA logo with a National Sports Federation logo.

If you are a pin collector, Laurie Artiss Limited is producing (since 1988!) a newsletter called "The Pin Platform" and have an interesting web site @ www.pinpeople.com.

The 2000 Canada's Olympic Field Hockey Team will be on sale at various FHC events during the summer (e.g. National Championships) at the price of $3 a pin or $10 for 4 pins, a bargain considering the going price of some of these limited edition pins!

You can order this special pin by mail from the FHC National Office if you order at least 4 pins ($10) to minimize shipping costs. Please send a cheque payable to Field Hockey Canada to:

The Association hopes to fundraise to cover the cost of the Olympic Team rings (during the AGM and Board Meetings, a silent auction on donated items raised about $1,000 for that purpose!). If you would like to contribute toward the rings and be a part of recognizing the Canadian Team's accomplishments, please send a cheque payable to Field Hockey Canada to:

Tax receipts will be given for all donations over $25.00. Only write "DONATION" on the front of the cheque and clearly indicate your name and address.

CBC, and its new best friend TSN, will not just be offering up neat Olympics packages for post-dinner consumption like NBC will be doing in the United States. No sir. Canadians will be getting their Olympic coverage so live, most of the events we see here won't be taking place until tomorrow in Australia! Meaning that Sydney, Australia, is 15 hours ahead of Eastern Time, so a good portion of the 16 days of competition will be played out in our early hours. The men's 100-metre final will, for instance, be run round about 5:30 a.m. ET.

Lovers of Olympic sport can't help but be excited at the prospect of the feast being offered by CBC and TSN between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1. The people's network will carry 291 hours -- 18 hours a day -- and TSN has 207 hours slotted. TSN's role will be to cover the longer games -- baseball, soccer, basketball, field hockey, etc...

"We're going to see some sports in the middle of the night," says CBC's Joel Darling, who will be co-ordinating CBC's coverage from Sydney. "In this Internet age, with results instantly available, there is no reason why we shouldn't give viewers the opportunity to get up and watch the events live." Anyway, reasons Darling, Canadians are used to watching things early in the morning -- world championship hockey, Formula One racing and such. "When I heard NBC wasn't showing anything live, it surprised me," he says. "With technology progressing the way it is, I don't think they will be able to do it again after these Games."

CBC Olympic hosts Brian Williams, Ron MacLean and Terry Leibel will be perched atop a Roman Catholic boys school with the classic backdrop of Sydney Harbour in the background. CBC scouts found the spot two years ago and negotiated a rental deal. Radio-Canada, the public broadcaster's French arm, will be there, too.

Headquarters for the 7,500 TV and radio people covering the Games will be the International Broadcast Centre next to the main Olympic Park. It's twice the size of the one used in Atlanta which may, or may not, be significant. CBC's technical and on-air crew is 183.

Aside from the three hosts, CBC is sending Peter Mansbridge to cover the opening ceremony with Williams. Sporting events will be covered by a mix of CBC and TSN commentators: Don Wittman (athletics), Chris Cuthbert (rowing), Vic Rauter (softball and field hockey), Jim Van Horne (tennis and water polo), Scott Oake (boxing), Steve Armitage (diving) and others too numerous to mention. CBC has also rented the expertise of 10 former Olympic athletes and coaches. TSN is sending Gord Miller and Dave Randorf as on-site hosts. Both networks will be using pictures provided by the host broadcaster, which is largely Australian with an international component.

CBC predicts that 98% of Canadians will, at some time, tune into the Games coverage. The Olympics have ceased to be an exclusively sporting occasion, which is why viewers will see features and other peripheral material. CBC has hired Australian sports reporter and former Olympic gymnastics champion Ann-Maree Kerry to travel across the country for an item called My Australia. Allen Abel is travelling deep into the Australian Outback for Abel's Outback. And there will be 125 athlete and coach profiles.

---

David Bissett (seen on the right with his son Russell, member of the Junior National Field Hockey Squad) is one of the former Olympic athletes lending their expertise to CBC and TSN. David played twice in the Olympic Games with the Canadian Field Hockey Team: 1976 in Montreal and 1984 in Los Angeles.

ULURU, Central Australia: Atlanta hockey gold medallist and Sydney sprint hopeful Nova Peris-Kneebone was joined by her nine-year-old daughter, Jessica, as she became the first Australian to run with the Olympic torch on Australian soil.

Peris-Kneebone, who ran bare-foot in recognition of her people, has completed the first leg of the Olympic torch relay here in Australia, running around 1.5km, and passing vast numbers of photographers and television cameras gathered in the desert near Australia's iconic heart, Uluru.

After relaying the flame to second runner, TV personality Ernie Dingo, Peris-Kneebone embraced two women from the local Anangu community. They gave her a welcome on behalf of the local people in their Pitjantjatjara tongue.

---

		Countdown to Sydney (By James Christie, The Globe and Mail)
		The COA is not making medal predictions, but athletes are busily preparing for the Games set to open 100 days from today.

Toronto -- The Sydney Olympic countdown hits 100 days today, the last mile in the marathon of preparation for organizers and athletes. The Olympic flame, lit in Greece three weeks ago from the rays of the sun, is being flown from Auckland, New Zealand, to fabled Ayers Rock at the centre of Australia. Organizers have contrived a moment of healing symbolism at the desolate, ancient stone. The first Australian to take the flame on home soil will be an aboriginal athlete. Nova Peris-Kneebone won a gold medal with the field hockey team at the Atlanta Games.

The flame will be carried through 1,000 towns in the hands of more than 10,000 runners -- about the same total as the number of athletes who will compete in 28 sports and seek medals in a record 296 events at the 27th Olympic Games. The Games have grown since Atlanta, with the addition of trampoline and triathlon and women's competitions for water polo, weightlifting and modern pentathlon.

Around the globe, the world's athletes are in their final preparations as national Olympic committees and international federations try to pare down all the wannabes. Canada's Olympic mission of 533 will be made up of 320 athletes, 140 sport-specific staff, including coaches, managers, trainers, blacksmiths and grooms, 40 medical personnel, 14 bilingual communications staff and 19 village administration personnel.

Canadian Olympic Association officials expect that when the qualifying is complete, Canada will be represented in 24 or 25 of the 28 sports. The country will be absent from baseball, soccer, team handball and possibly modern pentathlon. That is excellent depth for a country that went seven years without a minister of sport and saw the annual federal sport budget drop below $50-million. The host Australians, on the other hand, have pumped $545-million into developing athletes over the past four years. They're aiming for more than 50 medals in Sydney, 15 of them gold.

Canada brought home 22 medals from Atlanta at the Centennial Games in 1996: three gold, 11 silver and eight bronze. The memorable golds were won by Donovan Bailey in the 100 metres, the men's sprint relay team of Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin and Bailey, and the women's rowing double sculls crew of Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle.

Canadian sports went through heavy budget cuts between Games, but there was also a proliferation of six national training centres across the country, a freeing-up of COA purse strings and a recent boost in federal athlete assistance grants. Internationally, a higher standard of antidoping tests will apply. Canada is a stronger sporting nation than it was four years ago and the net result may be a slight increase in medals for Canada, though the COA won't say it.

"We're not making predictions or getting into guessing games this time," said Sue Hylland, captain of the COA's Sydney 2000 mission. It will be the final Summer Games for chief executive officer Carol Anne Letheren, and a best-ever result would be a good sendoff, Hylland said. "But we're not listing any numbers or putting expectations right on the shoulders of specific athletes. Instead, we're creating the best possible environment we can, so athletes will feel cared for, looked after and so they can do the best they can for themselves."

This involves creating a Canada Place at MacQuarie University in the suburban city of Ryde, where 1,500 to 1,800 Canadians, including visitors and athletes' families, can live during the Games. It's a conscious effort to combat the reputation of the national Olympic committee as being elitist and not athlete-oriented.

Before setting up the Ryde operation, Hylland is heading out this week to the national training centres to meet with as many of the selected Olympic athletes and coaches as she can. "We want to touch base and start answering their questions as early as possible," she said. "It's about giving them what they need to prepare for the experience there. It's a conscious effort to change. We knew we wanted to get out and start to hit athletes and coaches directly. In addition to national training centres, we're hoping we can get out to training camps of some of the larger sports. The more we talk directly, the more they have a comfort level they're being taken care of."

Coaches lash "broken" Kookaburras and "lazy" Hockeyroos (By Liz Hannan, Sydney Morning Herald)

AMSTELVEEN, Holland. With the wreckage of their Champions Trophy campaigns still smouldering in the Netherlands, the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras have begun flying home to regroup for the Olympics. The players will take this week off before returning to Perth to resume full-time training, eager to erase memories of a tournament both teams entered as defending champions and emerged with a single bronze medal, while the Dutch men and women scored double gold.

Kookaburras coach Terry Walsh said his charges had been psychologically broken, having just held out an uninspiring Great Britain side to avoid the tournament wooden spoon. The Hockeyroos' Ric Charlesworth said the Olympic, world and Commonwealth champions - who had to fight just as hard to take third place ahead of Argentina - had been complacent, lazy and lost their Olympic favouritism.

While no-one believed that - every other women's team coach said the Hockeyroos would be favourites in September - it has been a long time since Australian hockey has known drearier days than at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen.

After snatching a draw and toughing out a 3-2 loss against the Australian men, Great Britain captain Jon Wyatt said: "I don't think Australia are the potent attacking force that they once were." Injury plagued the Kookaburras' campaign, while food poisoning laid two players low. "We are happy to have finished the tournament, to be honest," Walsh said. "It has been a pretty arduous task, where the closeness of the whole thing has taken its toll from a mental point of view.

"Psychologically, we have been broken a couple of times - being so close and then not achieving. Although we are concerned about finishing fifth, internally we have found out an enormous amount. I think it is probably the tournament [in which] we have learned more about ourselves and our opposition than we have in the three years I have been with the group."

Kookaburras captain Michael York said he had not known such despair since Atlanta, where his team finished with bronze. "We have been trying to cope with a number of things off the field in terms of injury and illness," he said. "To have results such as the Great Britain game [the Australians drew 3-3] and then go down in the last two, it has a hard impact on you."

But the Dutch men, who stole the gold-medal match 2-1 from the more impressive Germans with a golden goal in extra time, had brighter news for the Kookaburras. Giant fullback Eric Jazet said: "We were on our pitch with our own crowd. The Australians are really focusing now on the Olympics and I believe they will be one of the gold-medal favourites."

The 24 members of the men's Olympic squad will play the National Hockey League in Sydney from June 20 to July 2. The Olympic team of 16 will be announced the following week. Negotiations are under way for Pakistan to play a series against the Olympic team in Perth in July or August.

With the last two weeks of hockey completed, the training camp and the California Cup (where drinking was kept to a minimum and a good night sleep was a priority), we now turn to our busy summer ahead.

Just about three months until the team leaves for Sydney and two weeks until the Americas cup.

The team was named on Monday May 29, I am sure there were some guys delighted and some guys upset... We are now into the crucial moments of our preparation not only for the olympics but also the Americas Cup which we must not look upon lightly since a first place finish guarantees a direct qualification for the World cup 2002, which will keep our program moving along.

Good luck to everyone and keep training hard. And tune into Global to see me in the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid commercial!

The 22nd Champions Trophy for Men and the 8th Champions Trophy for Women produced a shake up of the hierarchy! On the womens' side, the formidable Australian Hockeyroos were shut out of the final of a major international event for the first time in eight or ten years (nobody seem to remember for sure!). The still young Dutch team and the German team both beat Australia, indicating that the gap is narrowing at the top of the World hierarchy.

On the men's side, Australia, winner of the 1999 Champion's trophy, was relegated to the 5th position, while Korea keeps climbing up the ladder of the world ranking, this time finishing in 3rd position in front of Spain, Silver medalist at the 1996 Olympics and 1998 World Cup.

Men Holland Germany Korea Spain Australia Great britain	Women Holland Germany Australia Argentina South Africa New Zealand

The FIH Players of the Year were selected after a selection panel, made up of umpires, coaches, journalists and Athletes' Panel members voted for nominations received from various journalists and National Hockey Associations. Voting was based on various criteria such as leadership qualities, contribution to development, technique and skill, influence on team performance and personality.

"Both Natascha and Jay have set such high standards that the FIH is only too pleased to give due recognition to the athletes&' outstanding achievements" said Calzado in announcing the awards.

---

For 22 year old Keller this award really capped her 1999 performance. It may not compensate for her disappointment in losing the final of the European Championship in her home country last year, but it shows her enormous contribution to the team as she pipped other world stars such as Alysson Anan, Dillian van den Boogaard and Carole Thate to claim the award. An outstanding skilful striker, she is also modest and was very surprised to even be nominated. She was selected Player of the Tournament in the Champions Trophy in Brisbane in 1999. Natascha comes from a family with exceptional Olympic tradition. Her grandfather, father and brother were all Olympic medallists! No doubt she will be expecting to continue with that tradition in the forthcoming Sydney Games.

---

Jay Stacy, 31, had an exceptional year in 1999. His penalty corner strike must be one of the hardest in men's hockey today and has been a match winner for the Kookaburras on many an occasion, especially in the 1999 Champions Trophy where he went on to win Gold. As vice captain of the Australian side, he has displayed excellent leadership qualities on the field. He is also a great ambassador for the game, being a role model for many young hockey players. Only recently, he accumulated his 300th international cap and is Australia's most capped player. His commitment will ensure that he will continue to play a major role in Australia's side as they now work towards Olympic Gold.