Hi Folks,

Here's a press release from England concerning the upcoming IIHF In-Line Hockey World Championship. It's interesting to get another country's point of view on the event.

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International Ice Hockey Federation In-Line World Championships July 9-16, Kuopio, Finland.

Great Britain Bids To Defend World Championship Title

*Seven New faces for In-Line team*

The Great Britain team for July??s IIHF In-Line Hockey World Championships has been announced, with several new faces joining last year??s Division B World champions.

Great Britain In-Line Hockey Head Coach Mark Cavallin and Assistant Coaches Nick Crawley and Rob Coulstock include eight new players for the annual showpiece tournament to be held this year in Kuopio, Finland, where Team GB look to defend their title and challenge for promotion to join inline hockey??s elite group of eight nations.

??This year??s squad looks to be even better than last year's,? says Cavallin, ??We are very happy to have a good nucleus returning from last year's gold winning team combined with a good mix of new young and energetic players. There were so many players to choose from that we decided to take sixteen skaters instead of the fourteen we took last year.?

Four of last year??s championship team are not returning for 2005. This year??s team will feature two goalies making their GB debuts; James Tanner and Andy Assa. Aaron Shinwell also makes a return to the team in 2005 having played in 2003??s tournament. Cavallin also named five other new faces that will be making their first appearances for GB.

??We have two proven young goalies in Tanner and Assa who have significant experience in national and European competition," Cavallin said. "I??m also delighted to see some great young skaters making the cut this year in Karl Nematali, Stuart Brian, Mark Corfield, John Nash and Richie Hargreaves. They join an already strong lineup.?

Cavallin suggests that selecting the team for his third World Championship behind the bench was his hardest task yet, considering the depth of talent in the British game right now.

??Picking any national squad is difficult,? said Cavallin. ??However, every year in British In-Line hockey, there are more players to choose from that could legitimately crack the lineup. It is great to see so many young players with great skills, and the future looks very good for inline hockey in Great Britain.?

In July last year, Great Britain caused a sensation when they defeated favourites, Japan, on route to beating Brazil in the final of the Division B World Championships in Bad Tolz, Germany, to register their first World title at the International Ice Hockey Federation??s In-Line event. This year, Team GB looks to consolidate its position as the number-one nation outside of the world??s elite group, and in doing so prepare to make the step up to join the game??s giants. Those include defending A-Division champions Finland, and other great sides, such as the USA, Sweden and the Czech Republic, who can all call upon top professional athletes from the major ice and inline hockey leagues in the world.

Great Britain us the number-one seed of eight teams in the B tournament this year and will face Hungary, Australia and Portugal in the group stage before the knockout phase of the event begins. If GB wins its group, it will have the opportunity to playoff against the bottom-placed team (out of the USA, Germany, Slovakia and Slovenia), with the winners taking a place in the A Division for the remainder of the championships and next year??s tournament.

Under the guidance of Cavallin, the GB team will strive hard to repeat last year??s win and achieve whatever they can.

??The direction of this team has always been about giving back to those players dedicated to the sport,? admits Cavallin. ??It is difficult for senior players to stay dedicated to the sport because of a lack of finance in the game and other commitments. Regardless of the team??s achievements we want all players to finish this year??s tournament with a satisfying experience and a desire to play more hockey? Medals are just the icing on the cake.?

A DVD charting behind the scenes and game action from Great Britain??s games at last year??s tournament is also being released. To obtain a copy, email your inquiry to Dan Morris at mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>.

Line-up to represent Great Britain at the 2005 IIHF In-Line World Championships in Kuopio, Finland.:

Goaltenders
No. Player
1 James Tanner
30 Andy Assa

Skaters
4 Simon Hehir
6 Aaron Shinwell
7 Mike Newberry
8 Mark Corfield
9 Stuart Brian
10 Andy Skelding
11 Mark Thomas
12 Glenn Evans
14 Nick Burton
15 John Nash
16 John Dolan
18 Leigh Roberts
20 Jae Paxman
22 Andrew Sillitoe
37 Richie Hargreaves
00 Karl Nematali

Head Coach - Mark Cavallin
Assistant Coach - Nick Crawley
Assistant Coach - Rob Coulstock
PR - Dave Hawkins
Video - Dan Morris
Physiotherapist - Tim Margrett
Equipment Manager - John 'JC' Crawley

GB World Championship Schedule:
July 7, 2005: Great Britain v Portugal
July 11, 2005: GB v Australia
July 12, 2005: GB v Hungary
July 13, 2005: Playoffs
July 14, 2005: Knockout phase begins
July 16, 2005: Finals

You can follow all the action on the tournament Web site at <A HREF="http://www.inlinewc2005.fi" target="_new">http://www.inlinewc2005.fi</A> or check out the Great Britain team site at <A HREF="http://www.mensinline-teamgb.co.uk" target="_new">http://www.mensinline-teamgb.co.uk</A>.

Official Team GB Sponsors:
Hyper Hockey, Crazy Kennys, Specsavers & The Hockey Stop.
Sponsorship and merchandising opportunities are still available to support the team. For further information on the IIHF In-Line World Championships, e-mail mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>

Media Inquiries Accreditation requests for the tournament should be emailed to Johanna Riva at the tournament organising office at mailto:[email protected][email protected]</A>.

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Sincerely,

Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central