HOCKEY
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Hockey players from across the ditch have flocked to Dubbo this week, for the first leg of their Australian tour.
Twenty-eight students from Te Kauwhata College, south of Auckland, New Zealand, arrived on Tuesday, and will spend the week seeing the sights of Dubbo, living with local families and putting our junior representative teams to the test.
Year 11 co-ordinator at St John's College, Ms Jo Hornby, helped co-ordinate the Dubbo leg of the tour, and said the students have a busy schedule.
"While they're here they'll be going to the zoo as well as to the [Old Dubbo] Gaol and they'll also be playing hockey against our hockey teams on the Wednesday and Thursday afternoons," she said.
The teams - one girl's and one boy's - will be playing against Dubbo's under -15s and under-18s men's and women's sides, at Pioneer Park from 4pm on Wednesday and Thursday.
"It's practice games against our rep teams which will be good."
School holidays see the Dubbo sides a bit below their usual strength, but Ms Hornby said with the home-ground advantage, she's hopeful the local sides can rack up some wins against their guests from across the ditch.
"Our hockey teams aren't at their usual strength because there's a couple of kids away," she said.
"[But] I'm hoping that we'll have them - you've got to go for the local team. Come along and cheer."
On Thursday afternoon, the local and New Zealand players will also be treated to a skills session by Hockey NSW Regional Coaching Co-ordinator Kate Pullbrook, who said it would be nice for the Dubbo students, who normally have to travel long distances for competition, to have "someone coming to them".
"It'll be really good to get the kids to discuss differences [in the game], because they're different styles of playing," she said.
"It'll probably push them [the Dubbo and New Zealand players] out of their element a bit."
Ms Hornby said the trip would benefit the young players from both countries.
"They're from a small country town in New Zealand so it's good for the students to meet others that are a similar age group and find out about each other's country," she said.
"They've offered that if we want to organise a trip to New Zealand, they'll welcome us. As their teacher said to me, "if you guys ever want to come across the ditch, you're welcome"."
The New Zealand students are in Dubbo until Friday, when they'll head to Tamworth for more hockey, then take a break at the Gold Coast, before returning home to Te Kauwhata in time for the next school term.