National Under 16 Boys Competition Draw

The draw is out!

EH National U16 Boys Championship

City of Peterborough HC have been drawn in the Midlands Pool (League/Section 1).

The group is:

• City of Peterborough
• Harleston Magpies
• Norwich City
• Pelicans
• Rutland
• Spalding

To qualify for the next stages, we need to finish 1st or 2nd in the group.

The format is explained as follows:

Boy’s U16 Championship

In 2011/12, the format of the U16 Cup will be changing to a league format from the Knock Out format which has been running since 2002/03. The format will be the same as the U14 Championship which began in 2009/10.

The competition is played in three tiers.

1.      Six clubs form a Tier 1 league, however this can be smaller or larger depending on the number of teams within travelling distance. Tier 1 leagues are put into four cluster areas which will be approximately based on JRPC geographical areas. In each of the four cluster areas eight teams qualify from the Tier 1 leagues for the Tier 2 competition. Two or three teams qualify from each Tier 1 league depending on the number of entries in each league.

2.      Tier 2 has eight teams per cluster and they are placed in two pools. One pool is played at a venue on one day with all four teams playing each other. The top two teams in the pool qualify for the National Finals (Tier 3) where eight teams participate.

3.      The eight finalists are split into two pools with the top two teams in each pool playing off for the title of National Champions. There is also cross over matches for 3rd, 5th and 7th places. The National Finals are played at one venue over two days.

Other groups in the Midlands Pool are as follows:

• Midlands League 2 – Beeston, Belper, Cannock, Lichfield, West Bridgford Monarchs
• Midlands League 3 – Coventry & N.W., Edgbaston, Olton & West Warwicks, Shrewsbury, West Bromwich, Worcester
• Midlands League 4 – Aylesbury, Banbury, Northampton Saints, Oxford Hawks, Oxford, Witney

We expect fixtures on the following dates:

• Sunday 2nd October 2011
• Sunday 13th November 2011
• Sunday 27th November 2011
• Sunday 12th February 2012
• Sunday 4th March 2012
• Saturday 31st March 2012 & Sunday 1st April 2011 (National Finals)

We await the schedule from EH, but believe we will probably play two matches on each game day. 

Eligibility is boys in year 10 or year 11, or more strictly players must be aged 15 or under on 31 August 2011.

The Under 16 Boys training starts with Mike Yeoman on Thursday 8 September, 6pm at the Hockey Club (Bretton Gate). 

We’d like to see all the under 16 squad there every week if at all possible, so everyone can train together regularly.  We will also probably look to have a practice match in some form or another, prior to the first matches. 

Team selections for the matches will take place about 7 to 10 days before.

Hopefully this will be another good season for the Under 16s, we reached the last 8 of this National Competition last year and a similar performance this year will mean qualification for a National Final.  Whatever happens, the boys should get a lot of competitive age group hockey, all in addition to the men’s hockey which most are regularly involved in too (league starts Saturday 24 September).

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