Record number of teams at 2024 Ford NHC

This year we will see a record number of teams compete at the Ford National Hockey Championships held in Palmerston North. The tournament, which is the nation’s top domestic competition, commences on Sunday 15th September and runs through until Saturday 21st September.

The eight men’s and women’s teams have been confirmed to contest the top spots.

The men’s Challenge Shield will be played for between Otago, Waikato, Wellington, Northland, Canterbury, North Harbour, Manawatu and Auckland while the women’s K Cup which celebrates it’s 100th year, will see Auckland, Manawatu, Hawkes Bay, Otago, North Harbour, Canterbury, Wellington and Waikato compete.

Women’s defending champions Auckland will look to repeat their success last year having beaten North Harbour 2-1. On the men's side, Otago will look to seal three-in-a-row in the Challenge Shield having triumphed in 2022 and beaten Canterbury last year 2-1. 

There is also a second tier made up of four pools for both the Men & Women with representative teams from every corner of Aotearoa.

Domestic Events Coordinator Lisa Williamson says, “This is our last HNZ tournament on the calendar and I am really excited to see some high performance hockey and to see who comes out on top.” 

Tier 1 Men:

·      Otago

·      Waikato

·      Wellington

·      Northland

·      Canterbury

·      North Harbour

·      Manawatu

·      Auckland

Tier 1 Women:

·      Auckland

·      Manawatu

·      Hawkes Bay

·      Otago

·      North Harbour

·      Canterbury

·      Wellington

·      Waikato

Tier 2 Men:

Pool A

·      Hawkes Bay

·      Tasman Districts

·      Waikato Bears

·      NZ Defence Force

·      Northland

Pool B

·      Canterbury Beavers

·      Counties Manukau

·      Bay of Plenty

·      Manawatu Rams

·      Wairarapa

Pool C

·      Tauranga

·      Wellington

·      Taranaki

·      Manawatu Mavericks

·      Wanganui

Pool D

·      North Harbour Wolves

·      South Canterbury

·      Auckland

·      Horowhenua

Tier 2 Women:

Pool A

·      North Harbour Hawks

·      Wellington

·      NZ Defence Force

·      Wanganui

Pool B

·      Canterbury Barracudas

·      Waikato Wildcats

·      Tauranga

Pool C

·      Southland

·      Northland

·      Auckland

Pool D

·      Taranaki

·      Counties Manukau

·      Manawatu White

Full draw can be found here.