Not to be denied their moment in the limelight, masters players from over-35 level to over-80s will still be up for national selection following the news that four World Cups will be played next year.
The 2020 World Cups were postponed and cancelled last year as the pandemic took hold but now World Masters Hockey has announced four tournaments in as many continents.
The first event will be the WMH Indoor Hockey World Cup to be played in the USA in February, with O60s and O80s World Cups taking place in October, making it a bumper year of masters hockey.
Indoor Masters World Cup 2022
February 15-20 – Virginia Beach, USA
Men + women: O40/O45/O50/O55
Outdoor Masters Hockey World Cups 2022
August 12-21 – Nottingham, England
O35 W & M
O40 W & M
October 1-10 – Cape Town, RSA
O45 – O55 M
O45 – O65 W
O55 M Spirit of Masters
O45 – O50 Spirit of Masters
O55 – O65 W Spirit of Masters
October 19-29 – Tokyo, Japan
O60 – O80 M
O60 – O80 M Spirit of Masters
A statement read: “These will be the inaugural events for WMH and we would like to thank everyone for their support, and patience, over the past few years, it has been, and continues to be a tough time for many, but that support has allowed us to get to this point of hopefully playing again at this level.
“While WMH and the host nations are excited to announce these dates, we do still need to keep in mind that the health and safety of all players and participants is paramount, and so we continue to monitor the effects of the pandemic and will notify you immediately if anything changes.”
Spirit of Masters teams may either be the “B” international team from a member country, a team from a Recognized Entity, or a team of players from more than one country, in the same age category, who are unable to form a complete team from within their own country.
Eligibility for the various age groups in 2022 will be assessed according to players’ age on 31st Dec 2022.
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