Whanganui Rink Hockey

Four Whanganui High School students have been selected to represent New Zealand in the under 19 Rink Hockey team. Connor Alderton (Y13), Robert Carter (Y11), Charlie Teager (Y11) and Henry White (Y11) and friend from Whanganui Collegiate, Mika Groves (back left) will attend a tournament In Beidaihe, China in October 2023.

The game of Rink Hockey is the worlds fastest ball sport and is a fast paced non contact game played on traditional “quad” skates, a wooden stick and a hard round ball. Popular in Europe and South America the sport has a small but enthusiastic following in New Zealand. The four WHS boys will join the two WHS Y11 girls that have qualified for the ladies team.

The Mana of representing NZ is not lost on the locals, where the boys practice rink hockey two times a week at “The Rink”. A fitness regime is set by the team’s fitness coach who is the current NZ Men’s Captain who posts it to the boys daily at 6am. Each day all team members are given exercise routines that ensure they maintain match fitness. Mandatory training camps and tournaments are held monthly where the squad of 10 also complete fitness tests. Robert Carter, one of the U19 Goal Keepers has a special fitness test that involves flexibility, speed and stamina.

The boys hope to one day attend the pinnacle of their sport, the world championships. Held in conjunction with the World Roller Games. The next World Roller Games is being held in Italy in 2024. The World Roller Games held biennially, are a spectacle of all things on wheels from artistic skating to skateboarding and speed skating. Attendance in China this year will qualify NZ to send an under 19 team to these games.

Over Kings Birthday weekend the team met in Auckland to play together and pitched their new team against a senior men’s team from India. The NZ U19 team lost 3-0 but the match was a chance to gauge themselves against some international competition. On the near horizon the U19 Team have been invited to attend an invitational match in Macau in late July. Formerly Portugese, Macau retain a strong Rink Hockey following.

7/6/23