JUNE LONG WEEKEND CARNIVAL
The June Long Weekend Carnival provides fantastic development opportunities for junior players in Canberra and regional areas through New South Wales and Victoria. The June Long Weekend Carnival is a great initiative as it provides pathways for junior players to develop their skills in hockey and move towards potentially playing in National Championships for their respective states. The Carnival also allows juniors to socialise with other hockey players from a number of different associations.
2024 JUNE LONG WEEKEND CARNIVAL DETAILS
ABOUT
The 2024 June Long Weekend Carnival is open to all hockey associations and provides an opportunity for participants to further develop their skills and compete against teams in the ACT, NSW and VIC regions. The carnival aims to develop quality competition to aspiring juniors in the under 14 and 16 age divisions, and provide participation opportunities to under 12s.
DATES & TIMES
Saturday 8th - Monday 10th June, 2024
First matches will commence at 9am each day. Games will be played under lights if/when required.
TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS & DOCUMENTS
2024 TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS
MANAGER & UMPIRE BRIEFING NOTES
MIKE McDERMID SHIELD 2023
UMPIRE COMMITMENTS
VENUES
Carter, Powell & Watt Fields (U14s & U16s) - Synthetic
National Hockey Centre, 196 Mouat St, Lyneham ACT 2602
MAP - NATIONAL HOCKEY CENTRE, LYNEHAM
Kjar & Taylor Fields (U14s & U16s) - Synthetic
Tuggeranong Hockey Park, 288 Soward Way, Greenway ACT 2900
MAP - TUGGERANONG HOCKEY PARK, GREENWAY
Southwell Park Fields (All U12s) - Grass
Thurbon Rd, Lyneham ACT 2602 (behind the National Hockey Centre)
MAP - SOUTHWELL PARK GRASS FIELDS, LYNEHAM
Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Sports Complex
209 Environa Dr, Environa NSW 2620
ENTRY FEES
Grass divisions (U12) - $550
Turf divisions (U14 & U16) - $650
(Additional $200 per team for the provision of a Hockey ACT appointed umpire)
FORMAT
Match duration is 2 x 25 minute halves, 3 minute half time, 7 minutes between games.
Each team is guaranteed a minimum of 5 matches during the carnival. Finals for all divisions will be played on Monday 10 June, 2024.
*Please Note - U12 games will now be played on full field, as per Tournament Regulations (see below).
DIVISIONS
Under 12 Boys & Girls – Division 1 & 2
Under 14 Boys & Girls – Division 1 & 2
Under 16 Boys & Girls – Division 1 & 2
*N/B: Divisions may change depending on team entries and requirements.
PLAYER ELIGIBILITY
The age group in which a player is eligible to play shall be determined by their age on the 31st December in the year preceding the tournament.
I.e. If an athlete wishes to play in the under 16 division in 2024, the athlete must be under the age of 16 on the 31st December of 2024.
TOURNAMENT RULES
A full listing of the 2024 rules can be found in the 2024 Tournament Regulations. This is a separate document which all associations, team officials and those involved with the carnival should read, and have an understanding of.
HOW TO ENTER
Nominate your team here: https://www.hockeyact.org.au/events/register/228196
UMPIRES
*Please note that if you intend to nominate the same umpire for several teams the draw may have clashes with umpire duties. In this instance it is the responsibility of the nominating Association (you) to ensure an additional umpire is available to fill the commitment.
If You intend to pay the extra $200 per team for Hockey ACT to supply an umpire, please indicate in the team nomination form and pay the applicable fee ($200 incl GST).
By completing the Umpire Nomination Form, You acknowledge that both You and your umpire are familiar with the current FIH Rules of Hockey and that both have read the Tournament Regulations for 2022 and agree to abide by them. Further, completing the Team Registration and Umpire Nomination Forms also suggest that You and every member of your team (including Officials) have read, understood, and signed Hockey Australia’s Code of Conduct.
POINT OF CONTACT
For all further information regarding the 2024 June Long Weekend Carnival please contact communications@hockeyact.org.au or via phone (02) 6189 0570 (business hours only).
Thank you!
HISTORY OF THE JUNE LONG WEEKEND CARNIVAL
The June Long Weekend Carnival originally began in the 1970s as a Girls Hockey Tournament. The Carnival was designed specifically for girls to compensate for the fact that players preparing for National Championships could only play short (20 minute) games in Sunday Regional Carnivals. While these restricted times were deemed necessary, they denied local players the opportunity to experience longer representative hockey matches. Official records show that the June Long Weekend Girls Hockey Tournament was established by 1981, but officially began in the 1970 when the Canberra Girls Hockey Association (CGHS) Committee members sought to attract higher levels of competition for Canberra players. In 1981, it was recorded that 15 teams from 5 Associations participated.
The Carnival struggled through its early days, with minor interest from towns and cities around Canberra. The first tournament only attracted three teams from Colac in Victoria, however, the weather was too wet and cold for the tournament to be deemed enjoyable meaning that the team from Colac did not return the following year.
As time went on, the Carnival started to grow and its three-day setup started to appeal to a number of teams. In the second year, teams from Campbelltown, Parramatta, Wagga Wagga, and Bathurst entered the tournament with interest spreading and teams as far as Taree, Newcastle, and the NSW North Shore participating in the years that followed. As popularity of the Tournament grew, as many as 70 teams were entered to compete.
During the first years of the Carnival, hockey games were played on grass fields at Kaleen (as synthetic turf at Lyneham was unavailable at the time). Up to 10 fields were used and Wallington Caravan was the control centre, which allowed officials to communicate across all fields and to ensure that all matches were running on-time and to schedule. All local ACT clubs helped out during the carnival and were to operate the canteen as well as assist in any event organisation during the 3-day Carnival. Each day started at a chilly 7:30am, as the volunteers ran long cables out and placed loudspeaker stands for the public address system in what was often described as foggy and freezing weather conditions, so that games could start at 9am.
The June Long Weekend has changed drastically since its early beginnings, with some of the major changes including the running of the Tournament, the divisions, the playing of hockey games on synthetic turfs. Probably the major change implemented in 2013 was the inclusion of boy’s teams in the Carnival. Today a high number of teams from various Associations participate in the June Long Weekend Carnival, of which the same of teams return each year to compete again. Bathurst has particularly been a great supporter of the Carnival, especially in its early years, where Bathurst brought well-prepared teams who took home the Mike McDermid Shield on eleven occasions.