WOMEN'S HOCKEY:IT WAS a long time in the planning and its format had to be fine-tuned before being accepted by all the branches, but, finally, the Irish Hockey League (IHL) starts up this weekend. Its purpose is to both boost the profile of the sport in Ireland and raise the standard of play.
While the league might never have had universal support, the majority of those involved in the game, not least the previous and current women's coaches, Riet Kuper and Gene Muller, believed its introduction was essential if the quality of club hockey was to be improved and players given the chance to compete more regularly against the country's top sides.
To that end, the top 12 clubs in Ireland, divided in to two pools of six, will battle it out over five weekends to earn a place in the semi-finals, with the winners then meeting in a televised final where the prize will be the national title and a place in Europe.
Between them Hermes (four) and Pegasus (seven) have won the last 11 Club Championships, the IHL's predecessor.
Hermes are in a pool with Munster champions Cork Harlequins, Leinster rivals UCD and Pembroke Wanderers and Ulster sides Ballymoney and Armagh. They open their campaign on Sunday at Belfield against the students, coached by former Hermes stalwart Mary Logue.
One of the weekend's more intriguing ties is the meeting of Pegasus and Railway Union in Belfast. While Pegasus defeats are rare enough at any venue they're close to unheard of at home. But Railway, with a perfect start to their Leinster League campaign, will be hopeful of testing the Ulster champions on Sunday.
Several new rules will make their debut, including the "auto-pass" (where the taker of a free hit can "pass" to herself), and matches will be broken in to quarters, with a short time-out in each half. Bonus points can also be won by teams scoring more than or conceding fewer than two goals.
IRISH HOCKEY LEAGUE - Pool A:Pegasus, Railway Union, Church of Ireland, Randalstown, Loreto, Belfast Harlequins. Pool B: UCD, Hermes, Ballymoney, Cork Harlequins, Pembroke Wanderers, Armagh.
Round One - Pool A - Tomorrow:Church of Ireland v Randalstown, Garryduff, 2.0. Sunday: Loreto v Belfast Harlequins, Loreto Beaufort, 3pm; Pegasus v Railway Union, UUJ, 4pm. Pool B - Tomorrow: Ballymoney v Cork Harlequins, Joey Dunlop Centre, 2.30; Pembroke Wanderers v Armagh, Serpentine Avenue, 2.30. Sunday: UCD v Hermes, Belfield, 2pm.
LEINSTER LEAGUE - Division One - Tomorrow:Old Alexandra v Glenanne, Milltown, 4.15; Trinity v Bray, Santry, 12.30.
