2026 U18 National Tournaments

Dates: Sunday 5th - Saturday 11th July

Locations: Tauranga (Boys); Palmerston North (Girls)


We are delighted to announce that Hockey Whanganui will attempt to enter teams for the 2026 U18 national tournaments for the first time in several years. Please find all the key eligibility trial and selection info below.


Eligibility: 

  • To be eligible to play in the National Under 18 Association Tournaments, the players must be under the age of 18 years old as at 1st January of the year in which the tournament is played and must be over the age of 15 years old as at 1st January of the year in which the tournament is played. 
  • (eg. A player whose 18th birthday is on or after 1st January is eligible, a player whose 18th birthday is before 1st January is ineligible).
  • Players must make themselves available for their home association (whichever association their club/school team is affiliated to) before attempting to play for another association as a guest player. Players may trial for other associations, but must play for their home association if selected.


Trials:

  • There will be two trial dates for boys and girls, held on different days to help with access. To be eligible for selection players must attend at least one of the trial dates. Trials will be held at the McDonalds Whanganui Hockey Stadium in Gonville, Whanganui (address below).
  • First Trial: Sunday 1 March, Boys 10AM-11:45AM, Girls NOON-1:45PM.
  • Second Trial: Friday 6 March, Boys and Girls 4:30PM-6PM.


Selection Criteria:

We expect successful trialists will display the following personal qualities summarized with the acronym PROUD:

  • Positivity: Be upbeat and contribute towards a supportive team environment.
  • Respectful: Conduct themselves in an upright manner on and off the field.
  • Organized: Make themselves available and know their roles on the field.
  • Utility: Can play in a variety of roles and offer a range of tactical abilities.
  • Determined: Possess a never-say-die attitude and a desire to improve.


Aside from assessing these personal attributes the selectors will also take into account past performance of players, their potential to improve and overall squad balance when making their decisions. Final selections will be made by the coaching team and Hockey Whanganui.