Report by the Stingrays Captain Steven Hughes
Second tournament of the year completed.
Canberra hosted their first tournament for the newly formed Australian Unicycle Hockey League (AUHL) over the weekend.
Teams that took part in the competition were the Canberra Bushrangers, SWS Wombats, NBUC Stingrays, NBUC Riptides, North Canberra Roos, Newtown Zombies, and SWS Vikings.
Though only the second tournament of the year, it was clear from first bully off that all teams had improved since the competition a month before.
The previous tournament winners, South-West Sydney Wombats, found themselves with many tough games as teams aimed up in an attempt to shut down their players. They played well to grind out enough wins to take second place.
The Stingrays from the Northern Beaches managed to pull their team together after seventh spot in the previous tournament. Focusing their aggression on winning games instead of fighting with each other on court, they managed to keep it together to take third place.
The clear stars of the tournament were the South-West Sydney Vikings who despite fielding a four man side pillaged their way to tournament champions. Through skilled passing and excellent court coverage they shut out enough opposing teams to take the top spot.
It was great to see that many teams outside of the top three managed draws with teams on the podium. This showed that the level of unicycle hockey in Australia is improving rapidly with many teams dedicating more time to team practice and skills sessions. This recent improvement in Australian hockey is most likely due to the newly formed AUHL.
The next unicycle hockey tournament will be hosted by the Northern Beaches Unicycle Club on June 9th in Sydney.
All spectators are welcome.