LOCAL HOCKEY player Nicola White describes 2015 as being a massively important year, both for herself and the national teams.
The 27-year-old, who began her playing days at Saddleworth Hockey Club, is determined to be part of the England and Great Britain teams.
Great Britain has qualifiers for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and England hosts the Euro Hockey Championships.
“It is going to be an exciting and important year, both for me and the teams as our funding is reliant on Olympic qualification,” she explained.
After winning a silver for England in the Commonwealth Games last summer, White was surprisingly dropped for the end-of-year Champions Trophy in Argentina.
White, who has a combined total of 137 caps for England and Great Britain, “I was sad to miss out and do not intend to be left out again.
“Danny Kerry (England coach) gave me an explanation as to why he left me out, and my job is to prove a point.”
White, whose grandmother lives in Dobcross, is pleased with her form for new-club Holcombe in the premier division of the Investec Women’s Hockey League. They are currently mid-table having won promotion last season.
She also last month helped Holcombe win promotion from division two to one in the Maxi Fives Indoor League, a five-a-side competition.
White is off with Great Britain to play Spain next week in Valencia to get a feel of the host city for the Olympic qualifiers when they must finish in the top four to get through to Brazil.
“There are other routes to Rio if we don’t reach the semi finals, but it will be more difficult to qualify in those ways,” she explained.
Great Britain also has internationals in matches in March against Germany, Chile and Ireland at Bisham Abbey.
Then after the Olympic qualifiers, White transfers from Great Britain back to England for the Euro’s which are being staged in London’s Queen Elizabeth Park, venue for the Olympics.
White has also been surprised and delighted to be placed seventh in a list of almost 1,500 British Olympic Paralympics athletes who made most public appearances after London 2012 as she made 80 visits to schools and other community events including hosting hockey master classes.
She said: “It could well have been even more as I had been getting about 10 requests each week, and it was impossible to do them all because of training and playing commitments.
“Pre-London, I would never have imagined standing in front of a school assembly and giving a talk, but I never bat an eye lid now and really enjoy it.”
White says is it great for hockey that three of the top 10 places were occupied by her international team mates as Alex Danson was number one and Hannah McLeod placed 10th.
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