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When the Kelowna 2008 BC Summer Games open on July 24, at least seven competing field hockey teams from around the province will have the opportunity to take their game to a higher level thanks to the artificial turf facility at the Capital News Centre.

The new venue for field hockey has got hopeful BC Summer Games athletes buzzing about tryouts for the sport, which will take place in six weeks.

Though the name is deceiving, field hockey is primarily played on artificial water-based turf, which allows the speed, control and intensity of the game to increase. High performance athletes are able to move the ball at speeds of 150 kilometres per hour.

Prior to the opening of the Capital News Centre facility one year ago, Interior athletes had been at a disadvantage, training on uneven, slow grass fields.

Though the facility in the Mission is not a water-based turf, the multi-sport playing surface is the next best thing for field hockey players.

Lorne Buna, Sport Chair of Field Hockey for the Kelowna 2008 BC Summer Games, is excited about the opportunity to offer up the new turf to the athletes. Buna’s first involvement with the sport came as a spectator, cheering on his daughters who participated in the game.

When KSS was looking for a coach, he stepped up along with Arnar Bernhardsson and the two have worked together to build one of the strongest programs in the province.

“We are so glad to have this facility for the players because it really makes a huge difference to their game,” said Buna. “If you look at what our kids from this region have been able to do without it, it is exciting to think about how far they

will go with the facility.”The Interior has a longstanding

reputation for producing talented field hockey players. Two of Kelowna’s own are currently on the Canadian National Field Hockey Team: Kim Buker, a graduate of KLO Secondary and Erin Mason, a KSS alumna.

A series of unconventional rules in field hockey (no offside, no using the backside of the stick and no shielding the ball from another opponent with your body, to name a few) make the sport confusing for first-time spectators and has resulted in some misconceptions about the game.

Though the game has an outdated reputation for being unusually rough (think solid wooden sticks and a hard, heavy plastic ball) field hockey is a sport that is big on strategy, speed, strength and finesse.

Known outside of North America as hockey, field hockey is played by more than three million people around the world, making it the largest team

sport played by both men and women internationally.

Although field hockey is only played by girls in the BC Summer Games, throughout the world, field hockey is played by men and women at the Commonwealth, Pan American, and Summer Olympic Games.

“It is such a great sport,” said Buna. “I really encourage anyone who has never seen the game to come down to the turf from July 24-27 to watch this exciting and fast game.”

At least seven teams from throughout the province will participate in Kelowna’s 2008 BC Summer Games. Thompson-Okanagan zone coach Kathleen Farr is expecting tough competition from the other zones and a great tournament experience for the players.

“We have planned all of our practices on the turf and are going to have seven weeks to get prepared for the Games,” said Farr. “Knowing the kind of young talent we have in our region, I feel great about the kind of team we are going to enter into the competition.”

Tryouts for the Kelowna 2008 BC Summer Games Thompson-Okanagan zone team will take place at the Capital News Centre on Sunday, June 1 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Girls born in 1994 and 1995 are eligible to compete for one of 16 available spots on the team. n

turF talk

by Christine Ulmer

gaMes report • april 20, 2008

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Personal Best packages are now available to businesses and individuals in the Okanagan. Interested in supporting the personal best achievement of young athletes at the 2008 BC Summer Games? Contact Doug Manning 869-0575. Organizations interested in contributing to the Games should contact Joe Iafrancesco 878-3619.

2008 BC suMMer gaMes Field HoCkey players to BeneFit FroM new artiFiCial playing surFaCewww.kelowna2008.ca

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