2021 Australian Country Hockey Championships to be hosted in Cairns

Cairns will host the 2021 Australian Country Hockey Championships, with Hockey Australia and the City of Albany agreeing to defer hosting of the tournament to August 2022.

Both Hockey Australia and the City of Albany agreed to the delay, with the decision giving participants from across Australia the best chance to attend the 2022 event. By delaying the event in Albany by a further 12 months, this provides further event planning and preparation, particularly important given recent COVID-19 impacts and disruptions.

Hockey Australia will continue to work with the City of Albany to prepare the venue, officials and volunteers in time for August 2022. Specific dates for the 2022 edition will be announced at the appropriate time.

Western Australian Country teams will be announced at the end of the CBH Group Country Championships, which will be live-streamed to viewers around the country through The West.com.au.

Following Hockey Australia's official announcement regarding the change in hosting location, Hockey WA will shortly publish expressions of interests for players and officials for the 2021 Championships.

The full media release about the 2021 Australian Country Hockey Championships, from Hockey Australia, follows.

Hockey Australia, in conjunction with Tourism and Events Queensland, is delighted to announce this year’s Australian Country Hockey Championships will be held in Cairns.

The 2021 Championships, to run from 7-14 August 2021, will take place in far north Queensland as the best regional hockey talent comes together for a week of competition.

Hockey Australia GM - Commercial, Communications and Events, Tim Cherry said Cairns and Tourism and Events Queensland have shown a real eagerness and appetite to host the event.

“Allowing the Australian Country Championships to be played in Cairns this year is a fantastic outcome for all involved,” said Cherry.

“Tourism and Events Queensland have thrown their hand up to host this year’s championships and we know Cairns will do a fantastic job in welcoming the participants and providing them with a great experience both on and off the field.”

“We thank TEQ for their support and their enthusiasm to make sure this event is a success, particularly after all national championships in 2020 were cancelled due to COVID.

“Importantly, this announcement gives all of the teams plus family and friends sufficient time to organise their travel, accommodation and entertainment plans.”

Member for Cairns and Assistant Tourism Minister Michael Healy said the tournament would be played at the Cairns Hockey Fields.

“This will bring hundreds of players, support team members and spectators to Cairns, staying 5,700 visitor nights and delivering $1.2m for the Palaszczuk Government’s Far North economic recovery plan,” Mr Healy said.

“Cairns has good facilities at the Lake Street precinct and perfect weather in August for championship hockey.

“I know the Far North’s hockey community will also be looking forward to seeing Australia’s elite regional players in action.”

Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the Australian Country Hockey Championships had been secured by the Palaszczuk Government’s North Queensland Events Recovery Package.

“With the global pandemic keeping our international border firmly shut, we know how important destination sporting events are to communities like Cairns who relied on overseas visitors,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“The feedback we’ve had from industry roundtables is tourism operators are eager to host events that help bridge the dips in the traditional visitor cycle.

“Hockey’s Australian Country Championships do exactly that.

“Far North Queensland has great sporting infrastructure for competitions and the first-class visitor experiences players and spectators are keen to explore.

“This is a win for hockey and helps Cairns’ tourism operators manage the region’s visitor cycles.”

The Australian Country Hockey Championships is an annual open age tournament featuring the best male and female players from regional associations. The year’s event will consist of 14 teams (seven men’s and seven women’s teams).

The Western Australian city of Albany will host the 2022 edition.