The Kenya Hockey Union Master Hockey tournament is set to return this weekend at City Park after a long break since the last tournament was held back in 2019 before the pandemic struck the country. A tournament series was surveyed to best suit the master’s hockey level with a possibility to participate in international masters tournaments but it was evident that Kenya does not have a critical mass of different age groups for the Masters’ event. Due to this, only two categories comprising Ladies and Men will be available for now until such a time when each category can have different age groups.
Teams are invited to participate in tournament series 1 which will begin on Saturday 9th July and end on Sunday 10th July. Eligibility of playing in the tournament will depend on gender and it will be as follows:
- Men should be over 40 years of age as of 1st January 2022 i.e. they should be born on or before 31st December 1981
- Ladies should be over 35 years of age as of 1st January 2022 i.e. they should be born on or before 31st December 1987
The maximum number of individuals of the opposite gender on a mixed-gender team is five (5), and only three (3) can be on the field at any given time.
Registration of players
The following will be the regulations for registering players for the tournament:
- For the season, a team may register as many players as they like.
- The annual registration cost for each player should be Kshs 1000.
- A maximum of Eighteen (18) players, inclusive of two (2) goalkeepers, shall be entered for a specific Masters tournament.
Tournament Rules and Regulations
The tournament will be played in a Round Robin format with one pool. The top four teams will qualify for semis and finals. Duration for the matches will be 15 minutes for each half with a break of two minutes between them.
Cards used for the tournament will be as follows:
- A green card will cost a penalty of one minute
- A yellow card will cost a penalty of three minutes.
Apart from these changes, the tournament will be conducted in accordance with the FIH Rules of Hockey. Each team will also be required to submit a signed WMH code of conduct form. Teams that have registered will participate in the draw, and those teams will also receive information about the tournament.
The participating teams will receive points for participating in the tournament series as well as separate points for performance, in addition to the trophies and medals that will be given to deserving teams during the competition. These will be gained through participation in the succeeding tournament series, and the team with the most points at the conclusion of all Masters Tournament Series for the season will be declared the winner.
