Welcome to NCHA Junior Country Championships

Friday 14th May - Sunday 16^th May 2021

The Junior Country Championships is a fantastic weekend of hockey, played on turf at major hockey centres in Melbourne. Players travel to Melbourne by bus, with the players being picked up in each town on Friday afternoon. Buses transport the players to hockey grounds during Saturday and Sunday and then home Sunday night. It is a great opportunity to improve skills and meet other players from our NCHA and other associations around the state. A team shirt is supplied but players must supply their own black shorts and red socks. We would recommend that players stay with the group, and parents are encouraged to volunteer as coaches, managers or helpers.

In 2021 North Central will be entering a boys and girls team in each age group: Under 13 (2008 or 2009) at Essendon, Under 15 (2006 or 2007) at Greensborough and Under 18 (2005, 2004 or 2003) at Footscray Hockey Centre. If there are not enough nominations in Under 13s the age group will be extended to include players born in 2010.

The cost of $200 includes bus travel, accommodation, shirt hire, some meals, team entry fee and supplies. An initial non-refundable deposit of $50 is required with the player registration due 5.00pm Thursday 1^st April. To register your interest please go to https://www.revolutionise.com.au/northcentralha/events/94461/

Full payment of the JCC registration fee (payable to your club), hoodie order and adult assistant fee must be made to your club’s JCC Coordinator by Thursday 29^th April.

Clubs are encouraged to fundraise to help reduce costs for both players and parents, so see your club and offer some assistance. Parents do an amazing job looking after your child – why not help pay their way.

Rules of the JCC weekend

These rules are to promote the safety and enjoyment of players and those around them:

• No caffeine-containing drinks (eg. Red Bull, Mother, etc) are permitted for the entire weekend. These drinks will be confiscated if found.
• Mobile phones are permitted – however they will be collected at 10pm each night by an adult and returned to players in the morning. If parents wish to contact players after 10pm team managers or parent assistants may be contacted.
• All valuables are the responsibility of the players. Please consider leaving iPods and any other electronic gadgets at home as this weekend is centred around playing hockey and having a good time with other players.
• Inappropriate behaviour will NOT be tolerated. Managers will have no hesitation in ringing parents to come and collect players. Please keep in mind players have agreed to the Players Code of Conduct and many adults have given up their weekend to assist and we will be sharing accommodation with others.

Adults – Coach/Manager/Assistant/Umpire

We welcome any assistance with coaching, umpiring, managing or as a parent assistant. Please indicate if you are willing to assist by choosing the tab labelled 'EOI coach, manager, umpire or assistant' in the above website. We are only able to continue to compete in this event if we find enough adults to fill these roles. Each team will have a coach, team manager, and at least two parent helpers. The cost to attend JCC is $100 with $50 deposit at the time of your registration. Final payment to each club's JCC Coordinator is Thursday 29^th April.  To register your interest please nominate at the following site https://www.revolutionise.com.au/northcentralha/events/94461/.  Please choose your preferred role in the position drop down box.

Umpires

For the 2021 Junior Country Championships there is a strong focus on the development of regional umpires. As in recent years Regional Associations or individuals within may nominate to officiate (umpire & technical official) at the Junior Country Championships in 2021. Hockey Victoria will be supporting the development of umpires by providing Qualified Umpire Coaches and feedback throughout the championship for participants. It is recommended that for each team that is entered, one umpire is supplied for the championship from the association. The value of this opportunity is to continue growth and develop skills in an external environment. Umpires are welcome to stay with the team and need to nominate on the JCC website to indicate this, as well as nominating through Hockey Victoria. To register your interest to umpire at the 2020 Junior Country Championships, please use the contact Damien Deefholts ddeefholts@hockeyvictoria.org.au

Hoodies

For the past few years players representing the North Central Hockey Association at the Junior Country Championships in Melbourne have worn red Hoodies with the NCHA JCC logo embroidered on them. We recommend that all players attending the weekend have a JCC Hoodie as it is a way of unifying the teams and also to ensure easy recognition of our team players. Adults attending the JCC weekend also have the opportunity to purchase the Hoodie or alternatively there is a zip version for adults only. Hoodies are $45, though check with your club JCC Coordinator to see if there are any second hand hoodies available. The sizing is on the small side so we recommend getting at least one or two sizes larger than you would normally wear.

Sizes are as follows:

Ladies 10 12 14 16 18 (very small sizing with different panels to Men’s)

Men’s  10 12 14 S M L XL 2XL 3XL

Training, Information & Uniform Session

We hope to have a Goalie session and experienced turf coaches at our training day. Training will occur for all teams with three sessions of approximately 45 minutes each. Two sessions with specialist coaches teaching some of the finer skills required for turf and the other session with their coach and getting uniforms fitted.

When: Sunday May 2^nd

Time: This will be confirmed once we have details of specialist coaches.

Where: Charlton College tennis courts.

Who: All players, team managers, coaches and parent helpers.

Why: • Fit out teams with uniforms.

• Get to know who is in your team, who is your team manager, parent helper & coach.

• Do some training with your team.

• Sort out any problems and answer any questions about the weekend.

Each team will have 14 players. In the case where there are more applicants than places a trial will occur on the training day. In the event a player is not selected to play for NCHA their registration fee will be refunded.

JSC – Junior State Championships July 1^st - 4^th

Players wishing to represent North West Country Lightning team at the Junior State Championships are encouraged to play at the Junior Country Championships. ALL players wishing to trial for the Lightning team will be required to nominate through the link below by 5.00pm Wednesday 14^th April. https://www.hockeyvictoria.org.au/events/86681/  There is no cost involved with nominating but if selected there is a cost of $315. Players must attend a 2-hour trial on Sunday 18^th April.

 

For more details about JCC or JSC please contact Candece Jay on Mobile 0459469699 or email nchajcc@gmail.com.