European indoor club hockey returns to Skierniewice for a second successive year with Poland’s Start Brzeziny hosting the women’s Club Trophy having won the Challenge I on their home court a year ago.
They are in a group with Welsh side Penarth, Lithuania’s Šiauliai Ginstrektė-Akademija and Austria’s HC Wiener Neudorf while Pool B features France’s Cambrai, Slovakia’s KPH Rača and HK Zelina who all played each other a year ago. Their group is completed by Dutch newcomers Pinoké.
** To follow the fixtures and scores all weekend, go to: https://eurohockey.altiusrt.com/competitions/327
Women’s EuroHockey Indoor Club Trophy (Skierniewice, Poland)
Pool A
KS Hokej Start Brzeziny (Poland – pictured above)
Promoted last year from the Challenge – also hosted in Skierniewice – KS Hokej Start Brzeziny always aims for the highest spot in the national championships.
They are multiple Polish both indoor and outdoor champions, packed with Polish National Team players. This team is a mix of international experience and young energy.
Experienced players like Monika Polewczak, who has already played through three seasons in the German Bundesliga, creates the perfect environment for younger players.
She lines up with Paula Sławińska and Anna Gabara who all were selected for the FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Oman where they won bronze as well as in the EuroHockey Indoor Championship in Berlin where they landed silver.
Later in 2024, KS Hokej Start Brzeziny will also host EuroHockey Club Challenge II for the very first time.
Penarth Ladies HC (Wales)
The 2023 Welsh champions are looking forward to a new experience with 11 of their panel of 12 facing into their first indoor campaign although most have played in numerous outdoor Euro competitions over the past number of years.
The club did contest the Challenge competition four times in succession between 2004 and 2007 and are back in action on this stage after they took over the national mantle from Swansea.
“It is a huge positive to have represented Wales on behalf of the club at an international level,” said Lottie Bates, who captains side told the Cardiffian.
“We hope to be role model to young players in the club and to attract new players to the club for both indoor and outdoor competitions.”
To prepare for the challenge the team have competed in a number of indoor tournaments and have squeezed in indoor training sessions alongside outdoor training and league games.
Šiauliai Ginstrektė-Akademija (Lithuania)
The club was founded 31 years ago in Šiauliai and have since won the Lithuanian title 24 times and the women’s team has been participating in the European club championships since 1995.
The club has 8 players in the Lithuanian national team. Among them, Karolina Raulinaitytė, Rugilė Daukantaitė and Samanta Jakovleva have international experience in Italy; Dovilė Kuklienė in Belgium and Donata Grigienė in Holland.
In the team, there is also a beautiful dynasty in Lithuanian field hockey – Grigienė’s mother played hockey and was Lithuanian national team leader while her daughter also plays, making three generations of players. Grigienė is also the coach of the Siauliai “Ginstrekte” men’s team and her side played many fixtures against men’s teams in preparation for this event.
Coach Vaidotas Vaičeliūnas has been a working coach for 36 years and doubles as the Lithuania national team coach.
HC Wiener Neudorf (AUT)
Wiener Neudorf won the state championship title in 2023 after a 17-year break, ending the wait an 18th national title in Austria and they backed it up by, this year, qualifying for the Final Four once again.
Wiener Neudorf is a team that consists almost entirely of self-made players. The European Cup is a premiere for many players and they are of course looking forward to it. With Marianne Pultar you have a player who celebrated the most wonderful national team appearance at the European Indoor Championships.
Coach Christian Sedy was one of the most dangerous attackers in Austria during his playing days. He has been responsible for the team since 2015 and is convinced that he can play a good role in the European Cup. However, they have little information about the opponents, except for the team from Bratislava, whom they have played against several times.
As for who is favourites for the tournament, Sedy says form on the day will be crucial. But you certainly have to reckon with the home team along with Cambrai and also the team from the Netherlands, hdm.
Pool B
Cambrai (France)
Franch side Cambrai come into the competition as the 2023 national champions but just missed out on repeating the feat early in February when they were undone 5-4 by IF Lambersart in the championship final.
Key to their charge will be the likes of Agustina Arista and Axelle Wiart who combined for over 20 goals this season while Charlotte Durachta is another vital cog in their machine.
Nine of last year’s panel is still available this season when they finished in fifth place overall when hosting the Trophy.
HK Zelina (Croatia)
HK Zelina’s quarter of international players will look to make an impact after they helped their nation to win bronze at the EuroHockey Championship II in Ireland earlier this month.
Petra Hrupec, Lucija Buzjack, Luicja Nizek and Tea Andričič were all involved in that success. They are part of a very young panel with each player aged 22 or under but they have plenty of experience with four of the side going into their fourth indoor campaign.
They finished seventh in Cambrai a year ago, falling 6-3 to the hosts in their last game of the competition, as well as a 3-0 loss to KPH Rača, setting up some nice rematches this weekend in Pool B. The year before, Zelina won Challenge I on their home court.
KPH Rača (Slovakia)
One of the more experienced sides involved this weekend, a number of their panel are facing into their sixth successive European indoor club competition. Among them is Daniela Sutovska who was named goalkeeper of the tournament last year in Cambrai as well as in Challenge I in 2019.
Team mates Sarlota Medvikova, Barbora Pucherova, Natalia Fondrkova and Dominika Chebenova all have similar experience for a club who are frequent flyers on this stage. Under the KPH banner, they have played in Europe 15 times indoor since 2000 with sixth place in the Trophy their strongest output.
Pinoké (Netherlands)
The Dutch winners in 2023 are looking forward to a first ever women’s European campaign for the club, hot on the heels of their men making a similar statement in the outdoor Euro Hockey League.
They missed out on the Hoofdklasse playoffs this time when they finished in third place in the region with 14 points from 10 outings.
Teenager Sophie Thoolen was chief among their goal-getters as was Amber Ezechiels; Hockey 5s World Cup winners Kiki Gunneman and Lana Kalse are named in their long-list for the competition while Elin van Erk – a World Cup indoor winner – is probably the biggest name player in the competition.
