11th February 2010
Great Britain Hockey Announces GB Super League 2010
The big cats are back again for Great Britain Super League 2010. The annual competition, now in its fourth year, is aimed at Great Britain (GB) and Home Nation international hockey talent identification and will commence on Saturday 10 April 2010 at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire.
The 2010 Great Britain Super League (GBSL) will feature a men's competition only, consisting of five teams, with no women's competition taking place this year to allow Wales' and Scotland's women's teams to effectively prepare for their World Cup Qualifier tournaments in Russia and Chile respectively.
GBSL 2010 begins over the weekend of 10-11 April at Lilleshall National Sports Centre near Newport, Shropshire. Of the five teams, two will consist of English players, two of Scottish players and one of players from Wales. Following the opening weekend, GBSL continues with midweek games on the evening of Wednesday 14 April between the English-based teams, the Pennine Pumas and Saxon Tigers, at Lilleshall NSC and the Scottish teams, the Caledonian Cougars and Highland Jaguars, at Forthbank Stadium in Stirling. The competition comes to a climax at Edinburgh University's Peffermill Playing Fields on the Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 April.
Talking about the value of the GBSL, Great Britain Hockey's Performance Director David Faulkner said: "The GB Super League is an excellent vehicle for performance assessment for GB and the Home Nations. This year it will support the GB men's training programme, GB Youth [Under 21], who will be preparing for the World University Hockey Championships in Edinburgh in August, and the England and Scotland squads for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October."
Great Britain Hockey introduced the Super League in 2007 to become an annual event to showcase players, coaches, umpires and officials who have the ability and aptitude to participate in future Olympic Games. The 2010 men's GBSL will continue to focus on the ongoing talent identification process for GB selection and is becoming ever more important with London 2012 looming large on the horizon.
The 2010 GBSL squads will be announced in March and Great Britain Hockey is expecting another exciting and competitive competition featuring the very best upcoming talent in England, Scotland and Wales.
Great Britain Super League 2010 Fixtures
Saturday 10 April 2010
12.00: Pennine Pumas v Caledonian Cougars, Lilleshall NSC, Shropshire
14.00: Saxon Tigers v Celtic Panthers, Lilleshall NSC, Shropshire
Sunday 11 April 2010
11.00: Saxon Tigers v Highland Jaguars, Lilleshall NSC, Shropshire
13.00: Pennine Pumas v Celtic Panthers, Lilleshall NSC, Shropshire
Wednesday 14 April 2010
19.30: Caledonian Cougars v Highland Jaguars, Forthbank Stadium, Stirling
19.30: Saxon Tigers v Pennine Pumas, Lilleshall NSC, Shropshire
Saturday 17 April 2010
11.00: Highland Jaguars v Pennine Pumas, Peffermill Playing Fields, Edinburgh
13.00: Caledonian Cougars v Celtic Panthers, Peffermill Playing Fields, Edinburgh
Sunday 18 April 2010
11.00: Caledonian Cougars v Saxon Tigers, Peffermill Playing Fields, Edinburgh
13:00: Highland Jaguars v Celtic Panthers, Peffermill Playing Fields, Edinburgh
