Online voting for FIH Hockey Stars 2015 – the Player, Goalkeeper and Rising Star of the Year Awards – is now open at www.fih.ch/HockeyStars.
Five (5) male and five (5) female nominees have been selected for each award. These were selected by a panel consisting of the FIH Athletes' Committee, Continental Federation Presidents and FIH media personnel. All awards are based on performance at international events during the 2015 season, as well as the player's overall contribution to the sport.
Nominees are presented in no particular order.
The nominees for the 2015 Player of the Year Award are:
Women:
Alex Danson (GBR)
Delfina Merino (ARG)
Jodie Kenny(AUS)
Lidewij Welten (NED)
Mi-Hyun Park (KOR)
Men:
Robert van der Horst (NED)
John-John Dohmen (BEL)
Tobias Hauke (GER)
Chris Ciriello (AUS)
Mark Knowles (AUS)
The nominees for the 2015 Goalkeeper of the Year Award are:
Women:
Kristina Reynolds (GER)
Maddie Hinch (GBR)
Joyce Sombroek (NED)
Dongxiao Li (CHN)
Jang Soo Ji (KOR)
Men:
David Harte (IRL)
Jaap Stockmann (NED)
David Carter (CAN)
Andrew Charter (AUS)
Nicolas Jacobi (GER)
The nominees for the 2015 Rising Star of the Year Award are: (the Rising Star Award is for players under 23)
Women:
Lily Owsley (GBR)
Xan De Waard (NED)
Charlotte Stapenhorst (GER)
Rose Keddell (NZL)
Maria Verschoor (NED)
Men:
Christopher Ruhr (GER)
Blake Govers (AUS)
Akashdeep Singh (IND)
Shane O’Donoghue (IRL)
Sukhi Panesar (CAN)
Winners will be decided by the combined results of an online vote that is open to everyone and a peer vote from international athletes. Voting is open until 20 January 2016. Winners will be announced on 26 January 2016. Players will be presented with their awards in their respective home countries during the first quarter of 2016.
Speaking about the Awards, FIH President, Leandro Negre, said: “The ambition of the Hockey Revolution, our ten-year strategy for hockey, is to make it a global game that inspires the next generation. Our international players have a big role to play in making this ambition a reality. Hockey Stars allows the hockey community to celebrate these stars and provide recognition to the very best in international hockey. We invite our fans from around the world to vote on their Hockey Stars!”
Along with these three awards, the FIH will also be awarding a Coach of the Year and an Umpire of the Year Award as part of Hockey Stars 2015. These awards will be decided on by a peer vote and winners will be announced on 26 January as well.
The Umpire of the Year Award is new for 2015. It is also a result of the Hockey Revolution, as the increase in the degree of professionalism throughout hockey is a major goal of the strategy. Recognising the very best in international umpires is in-line with this goal.
The Coach of the Year Award for 2015 will see a slight change. Introduced in 2014, the Award was originally awarded to the best coach of a female or male international team. From now on, the Award will be given to the best female and male coach of an international team. Hockey is a very inclusive sport with equal numbers of male and female players and FIH is committed to ensuring this balance across all areas of the sport.
For more information please contact: Daniel Parker, FIH Communications Manager daniel.parker@fih.ch
