I Am Team GB brings hockey newbies and Olympians to the National Hockey Centre

IAMTEAMGB1I Am Team GB saw medal winning Olympians and sports fans come along to the National Hockey Centre in Glasgow on Saturday to give hockey a try. The day gave hundreds of people the opportunity to play at the iconic venue, with many ending the day by signing up for help to find a club. Over half of the attendees had never tried playing hockey before.

The legacy venue welcomed six Olympians fresh from Rio, including swimming silver medallist Daniel Wallace, double silver medal winning swimmer Duncan Scott and Glasgow-based Olympic swimmer Camilla Hattersley, and they were joined silver medal winning rower Karen Bennett along with fellow rowers Double Sculls finalist John Collins, and silver medallist Polly Swann.

I Am Team GB was held as part of the UK’s biggest ever sports day where thousands of venues up and down the country opened their doors for free, encouraging the nation to get out and get active and the chance to meet their Olympic heroes, who were trying out different sports themselves.

The Olympians at the National Hockey Centre took part in ‘Olympians versus kids’ hockey games, and it was a great experience for youngsters and Olympians alike. Olympic rower John Collins said, “I’ve never really played hockey before but it was great fun, even though we got battered by the kids. I never knew six-year olds were so good at hockey!”

Silver medallist rower Polly Swann agreed, “I love kids. It’s been so much fun meeting the kids here and then losing to them at hockey! The young kids playing hockey here are very talented and it’s been great meeting them.”

For the youngsters at the event meeting athletes was an inspiring experience. The Olympians spent a lot of time chatting to young fans, signing autographs and posing for pictures. Hannah Ritchie of Greenock Morton Hockey Club said, “I enjoyed meeting the Olympians so much, it was unbelievable. The medals are really heavy and it was really cool. I got my stick signed. It’s really amazing I never thought this would ever happen to me. I really enjoyed it.”

Youngster Hannah Baxter added, “They signed my t-shirt and my hockey stick, then I got to wear the silver medal. It was really heavy, I never expected it to be so heavy.”

IAMTEAMGB2

It was playing hockey that gave everyone a fun experience on the day. Double silver medal winning swimmer Duncan Scott said: “It was a great experience playing hockey against the kids. We initially didn’t go as hard as we could have gone then we found ourselves 8-5 down, so we really pushed our efforts. We still lost 10-9! It was a great atmosphere and I’d have loved that as a kid so it’s been superb.”

Olympic swimmer Camilla Hattersley added: “It’s really great to see all the kids here. This is something I’d have loved to be part of when I was younger so I hope I can help inspire young kids to get involved in sport, and enjoy it.

“I really enjoyed the hockey it was a lot of fun. I loved playing with the kids – they smashed us! They were a lot better than us and it was great to see them having fun, and I really enjoyed it as well.”

Silver medal-winning swimmer Dan Wallace agreed, “Today’s been great. To meet the kids and take part in another sport away from swimming and interact with the local kids here has been great. Meeting kids and speaking to them can hopefully have an impact them to try as many sports as they can.

“The hockey’s been great. It’s the first time I’ve played it in a very long time, I played a lot of sports when I was younger and hockey was one of them, I do enjoy it. We lost 10-9 to the kids, it was close. I gave it my all – it wasn’t good enough on the day! But it was so great to get out there. It was fun for me to just do a different sport because for ten years all I’ve done is swim, but to interact with the kids who were much better than me at hockey was great fun.”

No matter how old or young, experienced or beginner, I Am Team GB showed how easy it is to get involved with hockey. Anyone looking to find a club and take part can contact Scottish Hockey via email at [email protected] for help in finding a club.

IAMTEAMGB3

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top