Hockey

Convenor: Subhas Nathan | Article by: Kanan Packrisamy

MEMBERS’ CUP A BIG HIT ON THE PADANG

The current state of affairs has made it hard for sports lovers to enjoy their usual fare. The Hockey Section is no different and we have tried our hand at a variety of things including fitness programs for all, online quiz night, training in small groups on multiple small pitches and on Sengkang’s international Astros, 4v4 competitions trials on indoor and outdoor - we even played one league match in that format - and recently we started offering a Box HIIT class every Wednesday. We were getting by but something was still missing; what we all were craving for was more competition. There’s nothing like a good old tournament or league to tingle your senses and make you feel alive. Example: the “Numbers Cup” – a hockey event originally mooted by our then-convenor, Intekhab Khan, that divides Section Members into 10 teams based on the last digit of their SCC membership number. This was played annually before the Hockey Section’s AGM and Awards night. The “Numbers’ Cup” eventually got a name change to “Members’ Cup” but we continued to stay true to the concept of team division. In April, with 4v4 league competition looming for indoor and outdoor, many players would still miss competition as only a few can play the 4v4. Thus we wanted to do something that would be welcoming for all Section Members. So we reintroduced the “Members’ Cup”, though now as a 12-week competition. We divided ourselves into 10 teams based on the last digit number and gave each team themed names born out of all things Singapore or based on the road names or icons near our historical clubhouse: Zoological Zero, Oriental One, Temasek Two, Tembusu Three, Farquhar Four, Fullerton Five, St Andrew’s Six, Sheares Seven, Expo Eight and Nanyang Nine. We had a few considerations to address before rolling out the competition. We could only play 4v4; we were allotted 16 pax per training day on the Padang; and we secured Mondays and Wednesdays from 5.30 to 7pm on the Padang so each day we could play 2 games of 4v4. Now, how to decide who plays? We decided that priority will be given to players who have played the least regardless of gender and if there are two players on the same number, then the older player gets the nod. With that out of the way, we figured a novel format. After the four teams are decided for each match day by a secret formula, the selected players will play the match which are 1 hour long as they would any other 4v4 match. We got Singapore Hockey Federation umpires to officiate to add more professionalism to our endeavour. Depending on the results, players will earn points for their respective teams and themselves. So, just like the F1, we have team standing and player standing. The Cup however will go to the

Members Cup League Table after three rounds. team with the most points. Since we were into keeping records, we also tracked top scorers and got the umpires to choose their best three players per game for each of the games they umpired. We got through three rounds at the time of writing and we await to continue when we can. A total of 113 goals have been scored. A total of 30 players have turned up to play in the six matches over two weeks. Weekly reports were posted on our Hockey notice boards and this captured the imagination of the Section and many pockets of the same are looking forward to the next round of exciting games. For the record, Oriental One leads the table on 26 points, having four more than St Andrew’s Six and 12 more than third-placed Farquhar Four. Zoological Zero prop up the table in 10th spot with a solitary point. On the individual player table, Durai Shanmugam sneaked to the top of the table by one point from second-placed Kanan Packrisamy and Selina Thuraisingham. Things are fairly even though as all 30 players who have competed are separated by a meagre eight points. With 4-points for a win, things can change very quickly if you pick up back-to-back wins; Gurveer Singh raced up to the top of the goal scorers’ charts with two more than Veit Frederik Kepler and Janice Tan. It is noteworthy that we have 24 different goal scorers. Finally, Prem Singh leads the MVP standings on 6 points, one more than Gurveer and three more than Abigail Rhodes. We hope that we will be able to play again and complete what looks like an exciting Members’ Cup tournament.

From left: Top Scorer Gurveer Singh tries to get past stalwart Kanan Packrisamy; Prem Singh gets past Veit Frederik Kepler to the top of the MVP ranking.