Tonga off to Oceania Hockey5s Tournament this week

Nuku'alofa, Tonga

By Eleanor Gee

Tonga’s hockey team, with coach Hiko Fungavaka (left standing) ready for the Oceania Hockey5s Tournament in Rockhampton, Australia. 31 August 2019.

Tonga’s hockey team has been training hard in preparation for the upcoming Oceania Hockey5s Tournament [2],where they will take on other Pacific countries in Rockhampton, Australia, from 4-8 September.

The tournament also includes an Olympic qualifying match which will see New Zealand and Australia battle it out for a place in Tokyo next year.

Tonga's team of 18 players are aged 16 to 30 years and live all over Tongatapu, including Halonga, Houma, Tatakamotonga, Puke, Vaini, Nuku’alofa and other areas.

Tonga’s coach, Hiko Fungavaka said they are looking forward to the tournament where Tonga will be ranked.

“We have been training three times a week in Halonga, on a grass field, and in Nuku’alofa, at the Tonga High School old tennis court.”

Hiko said that since the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea, Tonga Hockey has been taking part in the Oceania competition, held every two years.

“We didn’t take part in the recent Pacific Games in Samoa because hockey was not part of the games as Samoa does not have a hockey pitch.”

Challenges

Although training has been going well, Hiko said they are challenged with a number of things.

“The skills of our players are still very low but their spirit to play is high. We need support for the players.”

Another issue is not having a proper hockey pitch.

“A challenge right now for us is there is no hockey pitch. We are training on the grass. The hockey pitch used for competition is a ‘carpet’. It is an [artificial] turf and the ball runs beautifully on it.”

He said having a hockey pitch would make it much easier for the players as training on grass and concrete is a bit complicated.

“We were expecting a hockey pitch here in Tonga when it was thought the [Pacific] games would be hosted here. It is in the Master Plan that there will be a hockey pitch but it hasn’t been built.”

The future could be bright for hockey players, however, if plans for a multipurpose field goes ahead.

“I am working with the Ministry of Internal Affairs towards a multipurpose field that can cater to three sports.”

Hiko said depending on the type of sports played, they could easily adjust the surface to suit.

The hockey team leave for Australia on 3 September.

Tonga Hockey team:

Women