The Black Sticks are preparing for the possibility they'll head into the Tokyo Olympics having not played an international match for more than 16 months.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Like all New Zealand's confirmed and aspiring Olympic athletes, the national women's hockey side were full steam ahead for the event still set to start in July.
However, border closures and other ongoing impacts of Covid-19 meant the prospect of international fixtures between now and then was very much up in the air for a team who last played at the top level in March last year.
Black Sticks coach Graham Shaw said the only current real option was matches against Australia, likely in June, which would be welcome for both New Zealand sides given the calibre of their counterparts across the ditch.
But that was very much dependent on the highly scrutinised trans-Tasman bubble, as well as other factors, and Shaw said any games ahead of their Olympic opener were no guarantee.
"We're working off probably four different programs through May, June and July and one of them certainly would require us going straight into the Tokyo Village [without having played international matches].
"We have also got a few pre-Olympic matches planned in the village but where the problem is, is each sport and each team is only allowed in five days before their actual first game.
"It's a difficult one to travel all the way to Tokyo, and then try play a game the day or day after you arrive ... how that's going to look right now, there's just still a lot of uncertainties."
That uncertainty was a key reason for women's and men's North versus South series' to be played in Hamilton next month.
The three-match series on 17, 18 and 20 April would not only give the country's best players highly competitive matches, it would act as a primary part of the selection process for the eventual Olympic squads.
With the teams needing to be announced by June 8, Shaw said the inter-island fixtures meant the selectors would at least have matches of good quality to use when making their choices.
"We are playing a few inter-squad games, games against a few boys teams [but] this is another opportunity for them to put their hand up for selection.
"There's not many opportunities where we can really test people, particularly in a pressurised environment where people need to perform back-to-back and these games provide that.
"This is very much a selection tournament and people will be trying to put their hands up to put themselves contention."
Meanwhile Shaw said they were pleased to hear New Zealand's Olympians would be able to get an early Covid-19 vaccination before heading to Japan.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins all-but confirmed the Olympic athletes would fall into a national significance category as part of the vaccine rollout.
Shaw said the news would remove some anxiety for the Black Sticks players around contracting the virus and potentially being ruled out of the games.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee won't make vaccination compulsory, despite calls from some experts that they should.
Shaw said the issue would "definitely be a discussion" but noted the group had only just started that conversation.
"At the end of the day, it's the person's choice whether they want to get the vaccine or not.
"What that looks like if athletes decide they don't want to get it, we're still not 100 per cent sure. I'm sure High Performance New Zealand aren't even sure exactly what that looks like.
"There are things we just have to work through because obviously it's every individual's choice whether they want to get the vaccine or not.
"These are very unusual circumstances that we haven't came across before. There's still conversations to be had but the pleasing thing is the option is available and that's a huge bonus for us."
