The qualifying road to the 2016 Rio Olympics was laid out this week with Ireland’s men set to travel to Lancaster, Pennsylvania in February 2015 for round two of the World League.
The League is the International Hockey Federation’s method of finding its 12 qualifiers for the Games over the course of four rounds of competition.
By virtue of Ireland’s elevation into the top 16 in the world in the past year, the good news is they get to skip the first round of the competition.
And they will be confident of making it through the second phase after a relatively friendly draw.
Three sides will progress to round three. Ireland are top seeds with Canada and USA – whom Ireland have beaten all nine times they have met – the only other sides guaranteed to be in Lancaster, with four lower-ranked sides qualifying from round one.
First time
It will be the first time Ireland will play in the US since 1989 Intercontinental Cup.
For head coach Andrew Meredith, the location of the tournament will also be seen as the lesser of three evils weather-wise.
They avoid a trip to the stifling humidity of Singapore and the late summer heat in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the wake of the European Championships, Meredith was also worried his side might be forced to play this round of the competition in late 2014.
With an expensive trip to Malaysia for the Champions Challenge I in April on the horizon, this would have made the budget extremely tight to spread over two long-haul tournaments.
But with the competition early in a new year’s budget, it should make planning more manageable.
On the home front, the men’s national indoor championships has a forlorn look to it with just three clubs taking part – reigning champions Railway Union, NICS and hosts Queen’s University.
