The Women’s Irish National Team will jet Sofia, Bulgaria to compete in the 2011 IIHF World Women’s Championship Division V from the 14th March to the 20th March 2011.
A number of tryouts have already been held in both the Odyssey Arena in Belfast and the ‘Point on Ice’, an outdoor ice rink at the O2 arena in Dublin. From these tryouts, a long list has been chosen by Head Coach Vytautas Lukosevicius.
He had the extremely tough job of bringing a record total of 54 ladies willing to play for the Women’s Irish National Team down to just twenty players and five goalkeepers who have made the long list that is to be finalised in the coming weeks.
Speaking to www.iiha.org this week, Head Coach Vytautas Lukosevicius said, ‘In my eyes this is the Women’s Irish National Team, the girls know how hard they have to work to make the final draft, which is 16 players and 2 goalkeepers; it’s up to them now’.
The team had an on-ice training session last Sunday morning at the outdoor rink at the o2 Arena in Dublin which was followed by a tough, to say the last, off ice training session.
The team will next take to the ice at the Odyssey arena in Belfast on Sunday 16th January for another training session, where Head Coach Lukosevicius will be putting the players through their paces as they each battle it out to secure a place on the national team.
The IIHA have warmly welcomed the record number of ladies interested in playing for the National Team and realise the tough job Vytautas has in finalising his team.
The coaching and management staff of the Women’s Irish National team would like to thank Mark Bowes and his staff in the rink at the O2 Arena, Dublin for making ice time available. They would also like to thank the staff of the Belfast Giants and the Odyssey Arena for helping to accommodate them with ice time throughout the season.
They would also like to thank Felda Fitness in Dundalk for allowing the team to partake in fitness classes and the use of gym’s facilities as part of the team’s fitness preparations for the Championships.
Lastly, the Women and U18 Irish National Teams are holding a joint table quiz on Friday, 28th January 2011 at 8:30 pm in Byrne’s Pub, Dublin Road, Dundalk, Co. Louth. All monies raised will got o supporting both teams for their upcoming World Championships.