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Culley named to national squad vying for Olympic berth

Rossland’s Thea Culley was one of 18 athletes named to the Canadian Women’s National Field Hockey Team

Rossland’s Thea Culley was one of 18 athletes named to the Canadian Women’s National Field Hockey Team which will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico to compete in Hockey World League 1, Sept. 11-14, 2014.

World League is a multi-round, multi-nation tournament, which in the end serves as a Rio 2016 Olympic qualifier.

It will be yet another international cap for the Rossland Secondary School graduate.

Culley’s 115 caps are the most of any player on the roster and a valuable resource when tackling the biggest challenge of the season for the Canadian squad.

“This upcoming World League 1 is the most important event for our program in 2014 due to the very nature at what is at stake,” says Women’s National Team head coach Ian Rutledge.

In addition to the five continental qualifiers for the Olympic Games (one of which will be the winner of the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games), two teams will also qualify through the World League competition, bringing the total to seven teams.

Olympic qualification happens after the third round of World League, but only the winner of World League 1 advances to the second round.

Canada will be competing against Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru in the first round of World League in Mexico in September.

“The team is well prepared, given that we have just come of the Commonwealth Games and the after glow of a very intense preparation period,” adds Rutledge.

“We have spent the past two weeks honing technical aspects of our game and I am looking forward to spending the first week of our tour to Mexico in a training camp like environment, refining our off-field environment as well as our on-field play.”

The first test for Canada will be on Sept. 11 vs. Guatemala. They will then take on Mexico on Sept. 13, and Peru on Sept. 14.