Women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy I (Hamburg, Germany) – March 29 to April 1, 2024
KHC Dragons will hope they can land gold for a second successive year in the women’s EuroHockey Club Trophy I as Hamburg’s Club an der Alster welcomes the competition to the city.
They are one of eight teams looking for glory along with picking up extra EHL ranking points, knowing that how they do could earn their respective countries an extra ticket to the Euro Hockey League in the 2024/25 season.
That is because of the expansion of EHL Women from eight to 12 teams, adding extra impetus to this highly competitive competition.
Dragons are in Pool A along with MSC Sumchanka (4th in 2023), Rotweiss Wettingen (5th in 2023) and SK Slavia Prague from Czechia).
The Belgian side’s line-up features a nice blend with Red Panther Delphine Marien linking up with Argentine star Jimena Cedrés, Dutch captain Valerie Magis and a Uruguayan duo Teresa Viana and Manuela Vilar de Valle.
They know Sumchanka well having won against them in both 2022 (2-1) and 2023 (7-0) and will be aware of their big schedule already this year. They make up the bulk of the Ukranian national team with many playing indoor international and club competition as well as Olympic qualifiers and the Hockey 5s World Cup.
Ace striker Karyna Leonova is one to look out for up front while captain Yevheniia Moroz captains the side.
Wettingen are another busy side having also played in the Euro indoors where Flurina Steffen finished as the goalkeeper of the tournament in the Club Cup in Alanya.
Sister Tamara (captain) and Elena Trösch add to the experience while they also have five teenagers forming part of a fresh-faced panel.
Slavia, meanwhile, are another side with a lot of EuroHockey know-how with most of the panel playing in multiple club competitions of this magnitude and they were one of the winners in Challenge I in Alanya last year.
Nikol Babická leads the side while the likes of Natálie Hájková and Magdalena Šmidová are exciting youngsters on the way up.
In Pool B, hosts Club an der Alster is a star-studded line-up will be going all out for glory with England’s Surbiton, Italy’s Butterfly Roma and Scotland’s Watsonians standing in their way in Pool B.
Alster’s Kira Horn was part of the 2022 Amsterdam side that won the EHL and she is joined by German international team mates Emma Davidsmeyer, Hanna Granitzki, Viki Huse and Anne Schröder.
Add in Scottish player Laura Swanson and Spanish goalie Linda Cobano and they have a wide range of strengths.
Surbiton’s line-up has a large number of players who were part of their lengthy reign as English champions, only missing out last year to East Grinstead after a decade as number one.
Giselle Ansley is central to the defence while ex-Wales and GB player Leah Wilkinson brings so much influence to the table. Izzy Petter and Sarah Evans add extra fire to their forward moves while Amy Costello’s drag-flicking is a key feature.
Watsonians are making their debut at this level having won Challenge I in Alanya last year to earn promotion. They since debuted in the indoor top tier – also in Alanya – where they ended in ninth place.
Goalkeeper Lucy Camlin is a vital figure as are key goalscorer Sarah Jamieson and Mairi Drummond.
For Butterfly Roma, they were national champions in Italy last season but have endured a tough start to the 2024 phase of the outdoor season with four successive defeats putting them in trouble in their domestic league.
For each member of their panel, this event will be a European debut so it will be a big experience for the side, especially with six teenagers in the line-up.
The tournament begins on Friday morning with the group stages running until Sunday with the top side in each group advancing to the final on Monday, second going into the third place playoff; third in each group battles for fifth and fourth will playoff for seventh with each position counting for European points.
** Follow all the live scores throughout the weekend on: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/333
Pool A: HC Rotweiss Wettingen (Switzerland), KHC Dragons (Belgium), MSC Sumchanka (Ukraine), SK Slavia Prague (Czechia)
Pool B: Butterfly Roma (Italy), Der Club an der Alster (Germany), Surbiton (England), Watsonians (Scotland)
