Wales’ women’s hockey squad are preparing to welcome sports fans from across Europe to Cardiff this weekend for the Women’s EuroHockey Championship II.
Top hockey teams will compete in the Welsh capital from tomorrow to next Saturday as the major sporting tournament gets underway.
The tournament will see eight European teams, including Wales, contesting to be crowned champions.
These teams include Italy, Belarus, France, Poland, Russia, Austria, and Ukraine.
The tournament kicks off tomorrow at the Sport Wales National Centre , with Wales taking on Austria at 6pm in the final match of the day.
Hockey Wales hopes hosting such a high-profile tournament will prove to be invaluable for hockey in Wales, as well as providing an excellent showcase of elite-level women’s sport.
With a mixture of players who have a wealth of experience and more than 100 caps to newcomers, Wales is determined to take each game as it comes but build on their performance and progress.
The squad of 18 players, sponsored by D&G Office Interiors, was announced last month and Wales are hopeful of building on previous performances, after May saw Wales beat Scotland for the first time in 12 years and January saw the squad travel to Malaysia to compete after they qualified for World League 2.
With players working in an incredible range of careers – from PE teachers to students and physiotherapists – preparation can be different from player to player.
Captain Abi Welsford, a PE teacher in Bridgend , said: “We’ve had a good run of results coming into the tournament. We’re used to the surroundings and we know the ins and outs.”
Abi, 36, who lives in Cardiff, said she was looking forward to taking advantage of the tournament being on home soil and seeing a few more familiar faces in the crowd than usual.
Aiming for the team to do its best, Abi added: “We don’t really look beyond the next game and what we’ve got to do there.”
Sophie Clayton, 25, from Newport, has been a dentist for two years after completing her five-year course at Cardiff University.
She said: “We’re just excited to see what happens. I can’t play hockey for the rest of my life so I definitely take all the opportunities I can.”
Chemistry student Eloise “Ellie” Laity, 23, got into hockey because her mother used to play, so she started playing for Cardiff and Vale and then Penarth Ladies before heading to Welsh trials.
She admits she missed five exams in January, with her university’s permission, so she could play with the squad in Malaysia – so is yet to graduate.
She said there’s a few players in the same position, so they’re juggling training and revising before they sit exams this summer.
“It’s fine”, she said. “I did miss graduating with everyone.
“I’m not the first girl to have missed it in the squad. But it’s not every day you can play for your country!”
Head coach Kevin Johnson, who has been in the role for two years and brought him with a wealth of experience after working with England Hockey and GB Hockey, has watched the squad develop under his command.
He said: “We’re obviously very excited about the tournament coming up but more because we have continued to grow as a team and I think we’re ready to go about our business and continue our good run of form. You go into most games just trying to improve on what was done before.”
Dan Clement, head of performance at Hockey Wales, said: “Having the European Championships on home soil in Cardiff is a big thing for us in Wales as it gives the Welsh public the opportunity to watch international hockey first hand.
“The progress of our women’s side has been great to watch and is testament to the hard work of the management group and players as they continue to push what is possible in terms of success.
“Playing on home soil in a major championships will be a first for them and an opportunity that does not come along very often and we are really looking forward to the week as we focus our attention to performing in front of a packed passionate crowd and putting the squad in the best possible position for Commonwealth Games qualification.”
Tickets can be bought here , with a promotion code of Wales20.
Here’s a quick intro to the Wales squad:
Abi Welsford (Captain)
Abi plays midfield, plays for Swansea City, is a PE teacher and has 136 caps.
Leah Wilkinson (Vice Captain)
Leah plays defender or screen, plays for Holcombe, works as a history and politics teacher and also has 136 caps.
Rose Thomas
Rose plays as goalkeeper for Wales, plays her club hockey with Wimbledon HC and has 45 caps for Wales.
Ella Jackson
Ella also plays as goalkeeper for Wales, while playing her club hockey for Buckingham HC, while working as a physiotherapist assistant. She has 14 caps.
Beth Bingham
Beth plays as screen, with her current club being Loughborough. She is studying sport and exercise science, and has 52 caps.
Sarah Jones
Sarah plays midfield, plays for Holcombe, works as a project co-ordinator at British Tennis, and has 81 caps.
Danielle Jordan
Danielle plays midfield for Wales, and plays for Buckingham. She is a graduate sports coach and has 61 caps.
Eloise (Ellie) Laity
Ellie plays forward, and her club is Clifton Robinsons. She is a chemistry student and has 24 caps.
Jo Westwood
Jo plays defence and scream, while playing her club hockey for Swansea City. She works for a financial planning organisation and is studying to become an advisor.
She has 80 caps.
Hannah Cozens
Hannah plays midfield, is studying sports science and geography, plays for Loughborough and has 28 caps.
Lisa Daley
Lisa plays forward, is a participation co-ordinator at the University of Bristol, plays for Swansea City, and has 37 caps.
Natasha Marke-Jones
Natasha plays attacking midfield, while she has 69 caps and plays for Swansea City.
Phoebe Richards
Phoebe plays forward, while playing for Buckingham. She works as a human factors ergonomist, and has 80 caps.
Sian French
Sian plays midfield, plays for Bowdon Hightown, works as a physiotherapist, and has 82 caps.
Tina Evans
Tina plays in defence, and is a senior IT consultant while also playing for the University of Birmingham.
She has 102 caps.
Xenna Hughes
Xenna plays at number 21.
Emily Rowlands
Emily plays in defence, and works as a physiotherapist. She also plays for Loughborough, and has five caps for Wales.
Sophie Clayton
Sophie plays at number six, is a dentist and lives in Cardiff.