Media Release 28th June 2011
British Inline Hockey Team Beat Hungary & Gain Promotion to Division A at 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships
On Saturday 25th June, the Great Britain Inline Hockey team beat their Hungarian rivals 3-2 and gained promotion to the elite Division A Pool of the IIHF World Championships in the Czech Republic. The Division A Pool consists of the top 8 teams in the world including current world champions Czech Republic, USA, Canada, Sweden, Slovenia, Finland, Germany and now Great Britain.
The team was coached by Andrew Sillitoe, a Performance and Leadership Coach from Tunbridge Wells who competed in 11 World Inline Hockey Championships for GB and as a semi pro Ice Hockey Player before retiring in 2008.
Great Britain has come along way since first competing in the World Championships in 1998 where the team lost every game and were relegated from the tournament for 2 years. Undeterred, the British team undertook a risky campaign to ensure their future success by recruiting and training young players between the ages of 10 and 14. The Great British team returned to the International scene in 2001 where they greatly improved their ranking in the tournament. However, the British team have struggled against their international competitors including Austria, Hungary and Australia, who knocked the team out of the 2010 Championships.
Under the direction of Head Coach Andrew Sillitoe, the GB team improved their game and overall fitness by recruiting Peter Dale, a hockey specific fitness coach from America. “I wanted only the fittest, strongest, most committed and talented players on the team, to do that we had to invest in the right people and start our training even earlier in the season”, says Sillitoe.
Sillitoe’s investment in the youth development programme and aggressive fitness strategy has certainly paid off and the Great British Inline Hockey team, which has an average age of 23, are competing for their country against the best professional players in the world. Commenting on this Sillitoe says, “Our ultimate goal for next year is to stay in the A Pool, as we will be playing against professional players and we are an amateur team. The team will have a short break before returning to training in October.”
For more information on the British Inline Hockey team visit www.gbhockey.net. For interviews and press enquiries, contact Paschal Tesha at Hype 360 paschal@hype-360.com 07966 475678.
