The Irish senior panel has its first get-together of the season this weekend at Belfield, where coach Riet Kuper will begin preparations for the Olympic qualifier in Milton Keynes next March.
After tomorrow morning's weighing in session - no doubt eagerly anticipated by the players - the panel will train until Monday, during which time Kuper will have a chance to study the form of newcomers Avril Copeland, Cathy McKean, Jenny Osborne and Helen Cathcart. Copeland and McKean will be missing from Loreto's line-up against Pembroke Wanderers in tomorrow's Leinster Senior Cup first round tie, as will team-mate and fellow Irish panellist Caitriona O'Kelly.
Former Coleraine player-coach Caryn Bentley has been selected for the President's World XI which will play world champions Australia in Egypt next Wednesday as part of the International Hockey Federation's 75th anniversary celebrations, when the player of the year award will be announced. An honour indeed - except the South African international has to pay her own fare to Egypt ($1,000).
WORLD XI: Britta Becker, Natasha Keller, Heike Latzsch (Germany), Caryn Bentley, Pietie Coetzee (South Africa), Karen Brown (England), Tracey Fuchs (USA), Karina Masotta (Argentina), Clarinda Sinnige, Carole Thate, Dilliane van der Boogaard (Netherlands), Mandy Smith (New Zealand), Shelley Tate, Ilsa Coetzee (Zimbabwe), Robyn Matthews (New Zealand), Sita Gussein (India).
