NZ women's sports coverage rises with success in Olympics and T20 World Cup
The dominance of New Zealand's female athletes at the Paris Olympics, alongside the White Ferns' unexpected success at last year's T20 World Cup, has helped lift coverage of women's sport in New Zealand to a level that sports leaders hope will be the new norm.
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Otago Daily Times
12 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Four from Otago in Black Sticks
Finn Ward. Photos: supplied Otago still has a solid presence in the latest Black Sticks men's squad. Hockey New Zealand yesterday announced the squad for the Oceania Cup in Darwin next month. Otago players Benji Culhane, Malachi Buschl and brothers Finn and Patrick Ward have kept their places after helping New Zealand win the Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur in June. Finn Ward made his debut at that tournament, while brother Patrick was initially there as a travelling reserve but got a chance to play as the Black Sticks thumped Pakistan 6-2 in the final. Two players will be on debut at the Oceania Cup. Matthew Ruetsch is a Swiss-born goalkeeper, and Bradley Rothwell is a defender from Whakatane. Both the newcomers played for the Mavericks in the new Premier Hockey League last year. Patrick Ward. It will be the 13th edition of the Oceania Cup with tests on September 4, 6 and 7. Usually, the three-test series determines automatic qualification for the FIH Hockey World Cup. The twist this time is that the Black Sticks have already secured a 2026 World Cup spot thanks to Australia's earlier qualification through the Pro League, meaning both teams will compete at the pinnacle event next year regardless of the outcome in Darwin. Nevertheless, it will be a valuable opportunity for world No 10 New Zealand to see how they fare against the world No 5 Australians. Black Sticks Oceania Cup squad Benji Culhane, Brad Read, Bradley Rothwell, Charlie Morrison, Dane Lett, Dom Dixon, Dylan Thomas, George Baker, Finn Ward, Isaac Houlbrooke, Joe Morrison, Malachi Buschl, Matthew Ruetsch, Patrick Ward, Sam Hiha, Sam Lane, Scott Boyde, Sean Findlay, Simon Yorston.
Otago Daily Times
36 minutes ago
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Hollands named CEO
Former Black Sticks player Michelle Hollands has been appointed chief executive of Hockey New Zealand. Hollands (nee Turner) earned 99 caps for the Black Sticks and played at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the Hockey World Cup. She has spent the past two decades as a business owner as well as holding executive leadership roles across the sport, commercial and regional development sectors, and has worked with several New Zealand sports organisations as a consultant. Hollands replaces former chief executive Anthony Crummy, who stood down in March to prioritise his health after dealing with the ongoing symptoms of a head injury. — Allied Media
1News
11 hours ago
- 1News
'Red alert' — mouthguards to flash warning at Rugby World Cup
Mouthguards that flash red to signal a player needs checking for a head injury will be used by the Black Ferns and all other teams at the women's Rugby World Cup before being introduced to all top-flight rugby. According to figures from World Rugby, every player set to feature at the World Cup, which will be hosted by England from August 22 to September 27, has signed up to have one fitted by 3D intraoral scan. So-called "smart" mouthguards have been in use since 2023. The earlier generations sent a signal to a pitch-side laptop monitored by a doctor when it reached a certain lineal and rotational threshold. The markers were 75G of force for men and 65G for women, and 4500 radians per second squared. As it stood, such impacts led to the player going off the field for a 12-minute head injury assessment (HIA) once play had stopped. ADVERTISEMENT The newest generation to be used at the World Cup and beyond would send data as before but would be combined with a transparent mouthguard that would flash red instantly, with referees then advised to stop play. According to The Times, the mouthguards were not mandatory, but the World Rugby chief medical officer believed everyone should wear one and the number of men's players using them would inevitably rise. The mouthguards have recently been trialled in Major League Rugby and the World Under-20 Championship. Dr Éanna Falvey, chief medical officer at World Rugby, said there had been some resistance to the initiative particularly from men. "We've had players who decided that they don't like the fact that it's a Bluetooth device, we've had players that feel it's uncomfortable, we've had players who don't want to know," he said. 'The women's leagues and teams and competitions, I don't know the reason for it, but they're much more likely to collaborate, they're much more accepting and excited about opportunities in technology. 'We have full opt-in for the World Cup now. There are two people wearing braces so they physically can't wear it, but, other than that, we're full opt-in.' There have been issues with smart mouthguards sending false signals, including during the recent Super Rugby Pacific season. The Times reported that World Rugby data suggested that concussion rates were similar in women's rugby to the men's game, ALthough 'head acceleration' events wee 'significantly less likely' with women.
