Junior Aspire: 200 players, 191 goals and loads of fun

On Friday 12 May, more than 200 young hockey players travelled to Countesswells in Aberdeen for the National Junior Aspire Tournament. And what a great day they enjoyed!

This brand-new event in the Scottish Hockey calendar is aimed at S1/S2 pupils, predominantly state schools, to encourage wider participation in our sport. The 20 teams played 8-a-side, half-pitch matches using the ‘Eights’ rules.

Girls Tournament

The girls had two competitions, based on performances in regional tournaments. Both events produced great excitement with a total of 104 goals being scored in the 30 matches.

In a thrilling final, Cults Academy beat Boroughmuir High School 8-4 in a 12-goal classic!  It took three late goals for the Deeside team to seal the win against their talented Edinburgh opponents. Aberdeen Grammar School 1 were third ahead of Banchory Academy and Dingwall Academy 1.

In the ‘challenge’ event, McLaren High School only conceded one goal all day as they topped the table ahead of Albyn School, who won 4 of their 5 matches. Cults Academy 2 were third, ahead of Aberdeen Grammar 2, Mearns Academy and Dingwall 2.

Boys Tournament

The eight boys’ teams were split into two groups. Just like the girls, the crowd were treated to high-quality hockey, with 87 goals being scored in the 16 matches.

The two group winners met in the final, with an invincible Dingwall Academy team beating Grove Academy 5-1. Aberdeen Grammar School won the 3rd place play-off against Boroughmuir. Cults won a 5-goal thriller against Albyn 3-2 to finish fifth; and Banchory beat Mearns to finish seventh.

A Great Atmosphere

Tournament organiser, Jocelyn Low, was delighted with the great atmosphere at Countesswells; “It was fantastic to see so many children enjoying playing hockey against schools from around the country. Results didn’t seem to matter – they were all just having fun!  Thank you to all the coaches, umpires, players and parents for creating such a friendly, fun environment. We hope to make this an annual event.”

The appearance of Scottish Hockey’s mascot, Hamish the Hippo, proved very popular. Many selfies were taken!

Scottish Hockey really appreciates the support of Robert Gordon’s College in being such excellent hosts; Lorna Clyne for being our technical official; and to all the other volunteers who helped to make the day run so efficiently.

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top