COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – January 16, 2020 – The U.S. Women’s Masters Committee has announced the tryout dates and location for the U.S. Women’s Masters Indoor Squad. The Committee is working to design a consistent tryout format for future international events and hopes that by creating an annual tryout, scheduled for a similar time of the year and at a similar location, will provide predictability and consistency for all interested athletes. This will allow proactive selections to be made as the Committee prepares for World Masters Hockey (WMH) events.
The indoor program will follow the same process as the outdoor program with a few variations. Approximately 2 to 3 weeks after a tryout, a training squad of 40 or more athletes across all age divisions will be announced for the indoor year, which will run from April to March of the following year. Before an international event, travel team(s) consisting of a maximum of 12 athletes will be selected from that training squad.
The first annual tryout will take place on Sunday, April 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Marple Sports Arena in Broomall, Pa. All athletes in the O-35, O-40, O-45, O-50, O-55 and O-60+ age groups are invited to attend. For athletes that are interested but unable to make the tryout, there is an alternative selection option of submitting a CV, resume, video and/or provide references.
The tryout fee is $25, for both the in-person tryout and alternative selection option. The registration deadline is Wednesday, April 1, 2020 and alternative selection submissions will be accepted until Saturday, April 4, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Deadline to register is Wednesday, April 1, 2020
All athletes must be active members (temporary memberships will not be offered) of USA Field Hockey in order to participate in the tryout.
Athletes selected to the U.S. Women’s Masters Indoor Squad will practice throughout the year and have the opportunity to represent the USA at international competitions.
The preparation commitment for the Masters Indoor World Cup will include practices from May through the departure for the event, in addition to some open tournaments. Athletes selected to the travel teams will be asked to arrive at the event several days prior to the competition for the opportunity to practice together.
The cost for the travel teams will be self-funded and will include major costs of airfare, accommodations and food. The cost will be dependent on where the athlete is traveling from. Based on previous tournaments’ general cost, it is safe to budget between $2,500 to $3,500.
An athlete’s age qualification is calculated as of December 31. For example, if an athlete turns 50 before the end of 2020, this individual can play for the O-50 team.
As per World Masters Hockey regulations, to be eligible to represent a country in an inter-nation Masters event, "a player must be a national of that country or have been a resident of that country for a minimum of 12 months." The U.S. Masters Committee has interpreted this to mean be a citizen or have had permanent residence status for at least 12 months.
If you have any questions, please email the U.S. Women’s Masters Coordinator at womensmastersfieldhockey@gmail.com.
Being selected to represent Team USA is an honor. Please review the women’s Masters Player Contract that describes the terms of selection by clicking here.