WAIS Athletes Named in Hockeyroos Squad for Hawkes Bay

Published On: 26 March 2015

WAIS duo Ashleigh Nelson and Kathryn Slattery will line up for the Hockeyroos at the Hawkes Bay Tournament in New Zealand next month.

The Hockeyroos face matches against USA, China and India at the Festival, with the tournament following a warm up series against China in Sydney as the Australian women begin preparations for Olympic qualification.

Slattery featured in the Hockeyroos’ charge to the Champions Trophy final in December last year whilst Nelson was a member of the Australian team that snatched a dramatic penalty shootout win over England for Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow.

Both World Number three Argentina, and hosts New Zealand (ranked fourth) lie in wait for the Hockeyroos in the cross over stages of the Hawkes Bay Festival (April 11-19), which will prepare the Australians for World League in June, which is a qualification event for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The Hockeyroos have been draw in group B for the World League Semi Finals, and are paired with New Zealand, Belgium, India and Poland.

The Kookaburras have drawn India, Pakistan, Poland and France, in group A. The World League Semi Finals are hosted in Belgium.