Storms cause match cancellations at Under 15 Championships
Published Sun 16 Apr 2023
Unseasonal weather conditions in the Top End have forced several matches to be cancelled in the opening two days of the Hockey Australia U15 Championships in Darwin.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain have impacted three matches in the first day and a half of competition.
A further match was also cancelled due to an injury to a player in the preceding game that required an ambulance to attend, causing a 45 minute delay.
Of the 32 matches scheduled from the start of the event up to 6.00pm local time today (Day 2 of the Championships), the following fixtures have been affected:
QLD Gold v SA (Boys)
Match cancelled after an injury to a player in the previous game that caused a 45 minute delay.
WA Black v NSW Blues (Boys)
The surface was deemed unplayable due to the volume of water and bubbling on the pitch from heavy rainfall, subsequently forcing the match to be called off.
NT vs NSW Blue (Girls)
Cancelled due to lightning.
WA Black v SA (Girls)
Match called off at half time due to lightning strikes in the area. South Australia led 1-0 at the time and due to the match reaching half time, the result stands.
The cancellation or calling off of matches were determined based on the extreme weather policy outlined in the Tournament Regulations and communicated to all team managers prior to the championships.
While Hockey Australia understands and appreciates the frustrations caused by these disruptions, the safety of players, staff and officials is the highest priority.
Adding to the logistical challenges is the tightness of the schedule with a total of 24 teams competing across the Girls and Boys competitions. This sees matches run back-to-back across two pitches from 7.30am until 8.30pm.
Similar circumstances also occurred in the recent Australian U21 Championships where matches were cancelled due to inclement weather.
Catch every match of the 2023 Australian U15 Hockey Championships LIVE on LIVEHockey.
