FAQs

FAQs

• Which grade should my child be in?  See our Junior Hockey Grades information here. Canterbury Hockey has a useful overview here.
• What day is Funsticks? Funsticks this year will be held on a Monday night at 4 - 5 pm on the small turf at Foster Park. 
• Where and when are Junior Hockey Games played? Games on a Friday evening are played between 4:00pm - 6:00pm at Nunweek Park and Nga Puna Wai. Saturday games can range from 8:00am - 12:00pm. These are played at a range of venues which may include Nunweek Park, Nga Puna Wai, Rangi Ruru, St Margarets, Rangiora, Wycola Park, Cathedral Grammer or other satellite venues depending on the grade.
• Which grades offer a Friday night option?  Mini Sticks (Years 3-4) and Kiwi Sticks (Years 5-6) a Friday night option. Friday night teams will be dependent on numbers.

• What happens if I can’t train on the day my team is listed to train? We do try our very best to accommodate all preferences. However, if this happens, we can arrange another team you can train with on a different day but still play in the team you are listed in. We are flexible to work out an option that best suits you. Flexibility is appreciated however given turf space is limited.

• If I’m on a waitlist how will I know if a place is available? We will contact you via email if a place becomes available in a team.
• What happens if my team doesn’t have a coach listed when they are announced? We rely on volunteers and parents. We are working our hardest to organise a solution but we will be calling on parents and caregivers to assist us. 

• What if I can’t make the Junior Club day:  Please register with us anyway! The Junior Club day is simply a chance to meet people and have a go if you are new to hockey.

Gear:

• What gear do I need?  Hockey stick, mouthguard, shin pads, clean-soled soft shoes. Year 3-8 players require club socks and shorts. The club  supplies playing tops. (No mouthguard and shin pads – no game or practice)
• Where can I buy hockey gear? You can buy gear from Just Hockey. Just Hockey also stocks Waikirikiri merchandise – these options are optional.

Why are competitions graded?

• There are over 230 teams that participate in the Canterbury Hockey Junior Program.  Canterbury Hockey wish for the competitions to be meaningful, this means that games are competitive and even, nothing is gained when the games have a large goal difference.
• The competition structure is graded, therefore, if the teams are also graded the chances of even games is more likely.  Every 5 weeks, the team results and grades are reviewed, which can result in your team changing grade and even venue.  Canterbury Hockey accepts feedback from the Club Secretaries with regards to how teams are tracking, so we will ask the coaches for feedback on how the team is going.