Hockey South West sent four teams to represent the association in the 2026 Junior Country Championships last weekend, 16 and 17 May. The annual competition sees teams from regional Victoria contest the hockey championship over two days, across three venues in Melbourne.
The HSW U16 girls team had a brilliant tournament at Greensborough Hockey Club, finishing third overall. The squad of 13 players improved on the team’s 4th place finish last year. In the Bronze medal match, HSW secured a 2-1 win over Ballarat.
Goal scorers were Keira Austin and Sophie Burrows.
“The girls did us proud,” says Team Manager, Belinda Van Zelst. “It was a brilliant tournament with a fantastic team of players who worked so hard and gave everything.”
The State Hockey Centre hosted the U18s where the HSW boys momentum grew throughoutcompetition, playing their best hockey on day 2, beating Hamilton with a 2-0 win in the preliminary final.
In the playoff for third, the boys had multiple scoring opportunities, but in the end East Gippsland was too strong, and the team had to be content with fourth place. Coach Jarrod Knoop reflected that “the boys stepped up to the challenge and fought hard” producing a very high standard of hockey.
The HSW U14 girls and U14 boys teams played at the Essendon Hockey Centre. Taking relatively inexperienced teams, the coaches were pleased with their players effort. U14 girls coach, Sharyn Stevenson noted, “Plenty of growth as a team or within themselves (across the weekend) …Plenty of laughs, fun and smiles off the field.” U14 boys coach, Anthony Leddinwas proud of his team and echoed Stevenson, noting the team’s strength was team play despite coming up against some tough opponents.
HSW umpire, Juliette Pinkerton officiated at her first JCC event. She umpired 8 games and got the opportunity to grow her experience at championship level.
The president of HSW Kim White says that the strong results reflect continuing growth in hockey participation in the south west region. “Hockey South West encompasses Warrnambool and surrounding districts, including Port Fairy, Terang, Camperdown and Timboon. We have strong junior membership, and we are proud of the success of these representative teams.”
