IMHT 2009 - Hong Kong

To round up the tournament the following will be uploaded to the Blog when I return to Plymouth later this week.

IMHT 2009 - The Final Whistle:
IMHT 2009 - The Official Pictures:
IMHT 2009 - Masters Over 40:
IMHT 2009 - Masters Over 45:
IMHT 2009 - Masters Over 50:
IMHT 2009 – Masters Over 55:
IMHT 2009 - The Umpires:

In the meantime I thought you’d like these photos:

"Cleanliness and hand washing is very important with Swine Flu about!"

 
 
 

This was a right old dragon I picked up when sufferring from 'heat exhaustion'!

 

 
 

"Thankfully not a typo!"

 

 
 
 

"You need to be careful in the park with the girls!"

 

 
 
 

"No, that's NOT an Umpire 'refuelling' after a game!"

 

 

 

“That’s how you ‘refuel’ after a game – way to go Tommo (well a very long way to go to finish that chicken)!”

 

 

 

“Trent is only thinking of his 2 months in Thailand after the IMHT but Tommo is concerned that his Aussie colleague isn’t concentrating on the game"

 

"Now Trent, this is what we in England call a ‘whistle’!”

 

 

 

 
 

IMHT 2009 – Day 8

Here we are, after 7 days of hockey and umpiring, the final and 8th day and the final games that will determine the final positions with 4 finals. Well strictly speaking 3 finals (Over 45, Over 50 and Over 55) and games that involved teams which would decide who was 1st and 2nd in the Over 40 round robin tournament. Oh, almost forgot to mention, in the midday sun the temperature reached 30C for the first time.

"Paddy limbers up for the big game later with some in-game stretches!"

First up for me it was a friendly at 12.30 p.m. with Brian Moore (Scotland). In the Masters Over 50s there are 6 teams but only the top 4 go into the semi-final plays off so this left the bottom 2 teams Malaysia and Singapore without a game.  In the Masters Over 55s, there was no 3rd v 4th play off after the semi-finals. So instead a friendly game was organised between Korea v Singapore, with no limit on age. For Korea there was the female Coach (who was very good, apparently an ex national hockey player and it showed) and the 4 guest Italians who turned up and helped make up the Korean numbers during the tournament as they were short.  There is no truth in the rumour that the Italians were Mafia but, hey, I didn't argue with them, especially the one they called 'The Don'!

Needless to say, as I had a game later in the day and given the stifling heat whilst running around, I made sure that I conserved my energy and kept hydrated with water and sports drink. The Singaporeans won 3-0 and everyone lived happily ever after, as far as I am aware.

"The secret to good umpiring is not Gatorade but it's better than Guinness between and during games and gives a more favourably impression to the players and spectators!"

Tommo meanwhile had the 2.30 p.m. Singapore v Hong Kong Over 40s game, which effectively was the 6th v 7th place play off as neither side had won or drawn any of their previous 5 games in that age group. Tommo and Scott Orth (Australia) were kept very busy, well when I say busy I mean busy for a half each as Hong Kong put 8 past Singapore who managed a consolation goal (ahhh).

"Tommo checks his feet are still there after his busy week of exertions - Yes! - that's them!"

And so it came to pass that in the final Over 40 game of the day I found myself umpiring Australia v Scotland with my New Zealand colleague Mike Ward. This game always had the potential to be very important and so it came to be due to earlier results in this group, whereby Australia found they had to had to win by 10 clear goals to win 1st place and become World Masters Over 40 Champions and pip New Zealand with England already in 3rd place and Scotland guaranteed 4th, unless of course Scotland beat Australia by 9 clear goals when they would be 3rd and England 4th. Whilst the Scots have improved over the tournament as a team there was no-one anticipating anything other than an Aussie win – it was just by how much!

The game started at 3.30 p.m. with the temperature now having fallen to only 28.9C (as recorded by the digital readout on the Hong Kong Jockey Race Course ). The match report will follow later as I round up the 4 groups, give you all the scores and final positions, over the next few days . . .

IMHT 2009 - Day 7

The penultimate day of the tournament and it’s all to play and sweat for in the heat. With not a cloud in the sky and the temperature still around 28C it seems even hotter today or perhaps that was down to all the added expectation as teams jockeyed for position in the round robin tournaments and final places in the play off tournaments.

First up, Umpire Tommo in the Over 55 Semi-final Play between Australia and v Korea at 10.30 a.m. No-one expected anything other than an Australian win and no-one had their expectations dashed (all the photographs are of Tommo).

Next up for me was Scotland v Singapore Over 50 at 12.30 p.m. (the hottest part of the day) in another expected mismatch, umpired with Mick Ward (New Zealand). As I had 2 games in a row today I was more that happy to have a quiet first half as the play was up my colleagues end; 4-0 was the half time score. Second half, I had the majority of the play and while Scotland took a little time to get going again they finally got into gear and it all ended in smiles, handshakes and 8-0 to Scotland.

With only 30 minutes to rest and re-hydrate, it was over to the adjoining Happy Valley pitch for Ireland v Singapore Over 40s with Australian Umpire John ‘Jockey’ Wallace. After a rest day Ireland were up for the game, having secured their 1st ever win at this level 2 days previously. They had even watched Singapore the previous day and they approached the game in a professional way. With Irish Tommo in goal at my end in the first half it was going to be an interesting game.

The Irish started slowly (it was very hot) and didn’t seem to get out of 1st gear. Their passing was poor and Singapore decided to take advantage. It took Ireland several minutes for them to even get the ball into the other half but not for and length of time. Singapore started to press the Irish defence more and more and eventually after a good passing move a ball hit into the circle from open play was deflected into the Irish net just in front of me. I awarded the goal as I felt it had gone in off the players stick but the Irish defence vehemently disagreed so I stopped time and consulted with Jockey who said it was off the stick and then the foot so I awarded a free hit. Whilst initially aggrieved, the Singapore players and Manager agreed after the game it was not a ‘goal’. Phew!

Maybe this was the wake up call they needed and Ireland started to play some better hockey and eventually they pressed the Singaporeans back and got the goal they were so desperately craved. Half time 1-0 to the Irish.


The second half was an almost exact repeat of the 1st half with poor play initially by the Irish, Singapore pressing the Irish defence and then another Singaporean ‘goal’ incident and an indignant Irish defence. It was my colleague turn to stop time and consult with me, as to whether the ball had gone over the back line, as the Irish claimed, prior to going in the net. After a discussion my colleague gave a long corner for a deflection off an Irish stick over the back line prior to it being played back into the field of play for the ‘goal’. Cue Singaporean indignation at having been denied their 2nd ‘goal’ of the game. After the game the Singapore Manager, who was clearly not a happy chappie, was very aggressive towards my colleague and matters started to get heated (even in the already hot day).


So after 2 games in one day I was more than happy to head off to the beer tent by the main pitch and have a drink, or 2, to cool down and unwind watching the last 2 games of the day, New Zealand v Scotland and Australia v England, both Over 40s.

IMHT 2009 – Day 6

After the ‘fun and games’ the previous day, a not altogether pleasant experience, I was looking forward to a more relaxed and stress free game and so it was when I umpired Malaysia v Singapore Over 50 with Brian Moore (Scotland). The Malaysian’s are a delightful team, with a few players who have wonderful sticks skills and never get excited about decisions; they may ask for a penalty stroke or a free hit but when you decline to give one they smile, say sorry for asking (often with a ‘Sir’ thrown in for good measure) and they move on. Some other teams could learn a lot from them! Singapore are also nice to umpire. No cards, no big decisions and a 4-0 lead at half time to Malaysia. The second half was like the first and Malaysia ran out winners 7-0.

Tommo umpired Scotland v Singapore Over 40 and the Ireland team where they watching in force, one to support their new Irish keeper but also to run their eye over Singapore who they play in their last game on Friday. Scotland went in at half time 4-0 up and clearly still wanting more but they failed to keep the tempo up and ended up with a 6-0 victory. After the game, the Irish felt that they stand a good chance against Singapore, who are a lacking any depth or quality in their squad and a poor forward line.

Interesting Facts 7:
When I say facts, in this instance, I actually mean things I’ve heard in conversations I’ve had whilst hanging around the Hong Kong Football Club (HKFC) Bar so don’t quote me if you decide to move to Hong Kong.
1. You don’t ‘ask’ to join the HKFC Hockey Section, you are ‘invited’ to join (but if you’re a good hockey player then this isn’t a problem apparently)
2. The fee to join is HK$ 35,000 and a monthly subscription of about HK$ 1,200 but you do get to use all the facilities (e.g. Swimming Pool, Bars, Restaurants, Gym, etc., etc., ad infinitum)
3. If you are not a sports type person and don’t want to join any HKFC sports section, you can apply for membership at HK$ 3,500,000
4. However, you can ‘sell’ your membership on when you leave, subject to paying a percentage to the HKFC
5. You cannot use cash in the HKFC, it is all done on ‘chits’ or signing on a club card and then you are billed at the end of the month
6. All the competitors, umpires, officials and family have been guests at the club at no charge
7. We buy vouchers at reception and pay using these; a pint of lager is HK$ 30 (about £2.60); a burger & chips about HK$ 70 (£6.00)
8. Apparently quite a few years ago the Hong Kong Jockey Club asked the adjoining HKFC if it could buy it’s land as it wanted to extend its race course; in return they would build it all new facilities AND give it some money! Guess what – they said yes please!
9. It’s just the most amazing place.
10. We have been treated incredibly well by our hosts.

IMHT 2009 – Day 5

Another hot day (only 27C today) and 2 games to umpire today so not much time to keep cool. First up at 1.30 p.m. HK was England v Australia (Over 55). This was the final game in the round robin with both on 6 points and with the winner having the better semi-final draw England needed a win whilst Australia would be happy with a draw.

As one might imagine, no game between these 2 nations is every entirely without incident and this proved to be no different. A tight 1st half didn’t leave much in it and, apart from some friendly chats and a couple of green cards, it was fairly even. As the temperature rose off the pitch so did the tempo on it. The whistle tones got louder and longer and as the commitment of the players rose higher. An Australian defender got a stick in the face as he attempted to stop and England forward shooting on goal. With blood streaming from this accidental nose injury the Nurse was called into action; after a few minutes treatment on the pitch the player made his way off for further treatment (all players substituted after a Nurse, Coach or Physio being called on by an umpire leads to a 2 minute injury ban from returning to the field of play).

Then in the last 10 minutes it all reached boiling point. First the England forward (already on a green card) blatantly pushed over an Australian defender when attempting to tackle from behind in the circle (Yellow Card) closely followed by an Australian defender, who decided that the old ‘lumberjack tackle’ was just what was required when trying to stop the advancing England winger just inside the 23 (Yellow Card). Another stoppage for a split forehead for an England Player (the Nurse was being kept busy) gave the players a final chance to catch their breath in the stifling heat. But, there was to be a final twist when in the last minute the already Yellow Carded England player, who had returned after his suspension, deliberately broke down play at a self pass by Australia and he departed the pitch for the 2nd time. Final result 2-2, 3 Yellow Cards and 4 Green Cards – a quiet day at the office! If interested England won the Yellow Card game. The teams are expected to meet again in the final on Saturday.

Umpire Tommo had a 14.30 p.m. game, Singapore v New Zealand Over 50, which was a little one sided and then Irish Tommo played for Ireland v Hong Kong Over 40 and they secured their first win of the Tournament (3-2) and their first win at the International Masters (World Cup). Needless to say their celebrations were typically enthusiastic as they had no game the next day.

After a cooling shower and a chance to chill the 2nd game was England v Hong Kong (Over 45). England had won all their games so far and clearly wanted to continue in the same vein. A tense opening period had a penalty stroke for England turned down by myself and several close calls as England went close but failed to score. Eventually they got the stroke they deserved when the Hong Kong defender stopped the ball on the line with his legs. Once the 1st goal was scored the final result was in no doubt and England duly won easily and thankfully only 3 Green Cards.

A few beers, after all the tournament games were over for the day, with the Irish Team in the Sportsmans Bar took the edge off the earlier unpleasantness and helped the day end on a more positive note.

Interesting Facts 6:
The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC, traditional Chinese: 香港賽馬會) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, founded in 1884 to promote horse racing. It was granted Royal Charter and renamed to "The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club" (英皇御准香港賽馬會) in 1959. The name of the institution was reverted to its original name in 1996 due to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997.
It is a non-profit organisation providing horse racing, sporting and betting entertainment in Hong Kong. It holds a government-granted monopoly in providing betting on horse racing, the Mark Six lottery, and fixed odds betting on overseas football events; no other legalised betting is allowed in Hong Kong. The organization is the largest taxpayer in Hong Kong, as well as the largest private donor of charity funds, contributing an average of over HK$1 billion (approximately £ 83 million) annually over the past ten years. The HKJC also provides dining, social and recreation facilities to its approximately 20,000 members.

http://www.hkjc.com/english/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Jockey_Club

IMHT 2009 – Day 4

Although it started out a little overcast, the cloud soon disappeared and the sun shone as hot and as brightly as before. It almost reminds you of a British Summer – well a summer like we used to have when ‘I were a lad’!

Pictures are of Tommo playing for Ireland Over 40 v New Zealand Over 40.

Tommo (or ‘Irish Tommo’ as he is now rather affectionately called by the Irish squad) got his second game for Ireland Over 40’s. It was against England Over 40’s so an interesting match up considering Irish Tommo has already played over 50 times for various England Masters teams. With a 2.30 p.m. start the temperature on the pitch matched the temperature off it. After a fairly even and uneventful first 10 minutes, England undercut a shot that Irish Tommo palmed away for a long corner. After a few English penalty corners, a save by Irish Tommo deflected off the check of an Irish defender into the path of an England player who scored; 1-0. Sustained English pressure followed by Irish Tommo repelling all with some excellent saves with his pads, gloves and stick to the appreciation and applause of the crowd and umpires watching from the sidelines.

The second half began with some English forays but Ireland caught England unawares with a counter attack and from open play the Irish equalised. Needless to say this was wildly cheered from off the pitch but this only seemed to inflamed the English who pressed forward but it was Ireland who got a penalty corner. A hard shot from the Irish was saved by the English keeper but the ball popped up into the air and the Irish forward played the ball high into the net. Cue wild Irish celebrations and cheers from the crowd but the Irish party was ended prematurely as the New Zealand umpire ruled the attacker played the ball above his shoulder. Needless to say this was a crucial decision and the Irish were not best pleased, especially when the English went up the other end and scored almost straight away.

Now the temperature was red hot and tempers started to fray. An English player had to be substituted to be treated for blood streaming from a wound above his left ear as the tackles were going in thick and fast. Once the attending Nurse had stemmed the blood flow and was satisfied the player was OK he rejoined the play, only to cynically take out the Irish player who he felt had injured him, resulting in a 5 minute Yellow Card. Now down to 10 men, England seemed to click better and in quick succession slotted 2 goals away to make the score 4-1, before the suspended player returned. In truth England were the better side and deserved the 3 goal win but the Irish, to their credit, refused to blame the goal that never was and applauded the English team off the pitch at then end of the game. Irish Tommo has clearly now become an honorary Irishman and no doubt his saves and play will pass into Irish hockey legend.

With only 30 minutes between games, Irish Tommo had to become Umpire Tommo to join me for the Malaysia v Scotland Over 50’s game. As 4.30 p.m. approaches, the stadium falls into shade on one side so I let Umpire Tommo take this in order that he could try and cool down after sweltering in the borrowed Irish goalkeeping kit. Suggestions that he actually umpire in it by his colleagues were politely declined! Suffice to say the game was a competitive match with the Scottish coming out on top with no Yellow Cards. The highlight of the game was the gift of a small bottle of Macallan Whisky from the Scottish Team before the game. Now that is how you get umpires onside!

Interesting Facts 5:
As is tradition the umpires are given tops to umpire in at major tournaments. For this tournament we are resplendent in ‘Salmon Pink’, which thankfully does not clash with any team colours. We have been given 2 tops, as we may do 2 games in a day and also because of the heat (hence ‘perspiration’ issues may arise). Of course, this gives the players an ideal opportunity to make some ‘witty’ jokes at our expense. All I can say, and do in response, is that, “I’m comfortable with my sexuality!”

IMHT 2009 – Day 3

Today was not only HOT it was very HOT. It may have been 28C (again) but there was a clear blue sky, NO wind, and humid conditions, as the water evaporated from the pitch after it was watered. In the heat of the day it felt a lot worse than 28C.

"A view from our room on the 13th floor of the South Pacific Hotel, between the skyscrapers of HK. The tennis courts on the white building are not part of the HKFC; apparently there is an indoor golf driving range in there also! On the green building behind this you might see the HKFC Tennis Courts on the 3rd floor of the Club with the outdoor pool to the left where the palm trees are. Finally, note the Health & Safety nightmare of the bamboo scaffolding, which is everywhere in HK on building sites, even on the top of skyscrapers that are being built – often 50 floors or more. HK has 12 of the tallest 20 buildings in the world!"

Tommo umpired Australia v Korea Over 55s at 10.30 a.m. in the burning early morning heat. The Korean Captain, who is apparently the ex National Coach of Korea and ex-player in the National Team, is undoubtedly the best player in this age group at the tournament. His stick and ball control and his dribbling were amazing and he scored the second Korean goal, which was just breathtaking. However, he didn’t have the same quality of players around him and Australia eventually ran out 8-2 winners after leading 2-0 at half time.

Thankfully by the time my game came around at 4.00 p.m. the sun was starting to fall behind the hills surrounding Hong Kong and whilst the temperature was 25C it was more manageable. Australia v Singapore Over 40’s was expected to be an easy game for Australia and so it proved to be in the early stages. The game was progressing nicely with Australia going 2-0 up by half time but in the second half things got tenser and Singapore started to fall apart with their discipline also slipping. A green card awarded by me to the Singapore right back, a Dutchman standing about 6ft 4in tall (he though we were going to ‘talk’ about it but clearly seemed very disappointed when I didn’t), was followed about 2 minutes later when he bellowed “unbelievable” at the top of his voice after my colleague awarded a penalty corner against them. Shortly afterwards an Aussie departed the field after he bulldozed a Singapore player from behind. With the score 5-1 towards the end of the game and Australia seeming happy enough with the score, a rare Singapore attack with a reverse stick sweep from the left wing outside the 25 saw the ball beat the defender and keeper for the forward to slot home from a foot. A huge cheer from the crowd said it all and it ended 5-2 to Australia.

In case you thought this was a bunch of old guys running around having a laugh in the fading days of their hockey career then you would be very wrong. Some of these players were full internationals, many with numerous caps. In the first game the Ireland Over 40 goalkeeper dislocated his shoulder and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance; he can’t play for 3 weeks. As they didn’t have a reserve keeper one of their centre backs Jamie Aitken went on goal and they lost 3-0 to Australia. Although Jamie went in goal for the second game he had decided he preferred to play outfield and so Tommo was called upon to play (with the permission of Geoff Hollis the Umpire Manager). No doubt, at some point in his past Tommo has some Irish ancestry; I’m not sure knowing me counts but he won his first Irish Cap v New Zealand losing 3-0 (it’s OK, we can’t blame Tommo for that – it would have been much worse had he not been playing).

Click this link if you want to know what internal club facilities are at the HKFC http://www.hkfc.com.hk/floorplan.asp

Interesting Facts 4:
During the competition each of the 3 pitches in use has the following allocated/provided for each day of the competition:
> 1 crate of bottled water per team (24 bottles)
> A cold box (they call it a chilly bin) full of ice to put the bottled water in per team.
> A bucket of chilled water and towels so they can use these to cool players down by placing them on their head or round their necks when players exit the field of play.
> A Nurse in case of injury (e.g. cuts, bruises, concussion, heat exhaustion, etc.) and believe me they have all been busy every day!
> A defibrillator (so far not used thankfully)!