Hockey: If proof were needed of the commitment required for involvement in international hockey these days, a look at the Irish Hockey Association's website (www.hockey.ie) provides it.
The site is advertising for a senior women's manager, which leads to the presumption that Annette Fortune has stepped down from her post after the European finals in Barcelona.
And in seeking a manager for next year's Olympic qualifiers the notice reads: "A significant time commitment will be required ... including five weekends at Dublin-based training sessions up to December 2003, and six weeks' travel with the team to overseas venues between January and March 2004."
The body is also seeking applicants who, preferably, have "previous experience of team management at National or Interprovincial level", and can handle communication, budgeting and reporting. Not asking much then.
Fortune's club team, Genesis, fell victim to Old Alexandra's scoring power on Saturday, losing 6-1, with Anya Bowers helping herself to a hat-trick, but the day's most significant result came from Serpentine Avenue where two goals from Cathy McKean ended Pembroke Wanderers' unbeaten run over Loreto, giving her team their first league victory since April 2001. Emily MacNicholas had given Pembroke a first-half lead.
The individual performance of the day was produced by Hermes' Connacht senior player Aoife Mitchell who scored five goals against Three Rock in a 9-1 win.
A 3-0 victory over UCD suggests Corinthian are capable of improving on their sixth-place finish last season while Railway Union will be encouraged by their 2-0 win over Trinity.
It's four wins out of four for Pegasus and Randalstown in Ulster after wins over Ards and Ballyclare, but Ballymoney's perfect start to the season was ended by Coleraine who took a point in a 2-2 draw. Susie Martin scored twice in a 3-1 win for Pegasus over Ards while Pamela Orr and Shauna Parkhill scored two apiece in Randalstown's 4-1 victory over Ballyclare.
