Ken Maplesden: General Manager of the Hockey Network discusses the Ford National Hockey Championship
September 13, 2024 • 6 mins
The Ford National Hockey Championship hits Palmerston North from 15th–21st September 2024.
The competition is tiered across the men’s and women’s competitions with 'two tiers' in each competition - crowing the National champions.
D'Arcy catches up with GM of the Hockey Network Ken Maplesden to preview the week's action.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildegrave from newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Is the season to be Hockey? Ken Mapleston joins us
now on the All Sport Breakfast is the GM Hockey
Network as we look forward to well, it's going to
be a big week of hockey, Ken, welcome to the show.
Pretty exciting times for everyone concerned.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, absolutely, and thanks so much for having us on.
And here we kick off on tomorrow with the Ford
National Hockey Championships hosted down in the Marvelos Parmister North
at Hockey MANU two. So yeah, really exciting times for us.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
So this starts tomorrow, it runs through till the following Saturday.
That's a reasonable size event when it comes to who's competing,
how big, how many people, how many officials, what kind
of logistical I'd say nightmare, but logistical deal is this
for you at hockey?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yeah, Well it's a really big tournament this year. We've
got forty eight teams, which is a record number, living
up on last year. So while it works as both
genders netting and we have a tiered structure, so eight
teams and a tier one all fighting. It out for
the Challenge Shield for the men and the K Cup
for the women and Tier two group of teams playing
(01:19):
up hoping to get promoted into Tier one for the
year after. And look, a real special note is that
this is actually the one hundredth year of the K
Cup that the women will be competing for, so a
real special occasion.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Amazing has been going for so long and it's so
well attended. So plainly you've still got huge traction when
it comes to hockey here.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Yeah, we do it really. Then we went back to
a few years ago. We used to have a regional
model kind of a like a super rugby type thing.
We've gone back to the old associations, old rivalries and
coming out and you know, people competing back at that
level and Heince the Russian relegation and the tiers. So
really great to have the likes of Auckland and Canterbury
(02:00):
and Wellington fighting out against White of the Upper and
one or two in the Hawk's Bay. So yeah, a
fantistic celebration pockey across the weekend. Yeah, there'll be thousands
of people swarming to Parmesan North to enjoy it. So yeah,
looking forward to the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Ken you talk of tears. How does that promotion relegation work.
Is it all directly based on what happened in the
last national championships? How does that structure unwind?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Basically, it's these eighteens and east of the top tiers
and they were put in there. So we've been running
the new structure for the last three years, kind of
post COVID, and it was kind of an application basis
based on the strength of their associations around the country
and the luck since then. If you finished last and
a tier you go down, and if you win the
(02:49):
woman the Tier two you get to go up and
have a crack at the big boys or girls the
year after. So this year we've got north On men
for the first time competing at Tier one level and
Hawk's Bay unfortunately got relegated last year, so they'll be
tend to fight their way back up to the into
the tier this year. They're exciting and on both sides
(03:10):
of things, we've got in the women's side Aukland they'll
be looking to defend their title they won last year
and Kitty Kiddies are in Hamilton and on the men's side,
Otago are two time defending champions actually, so having not
won I think it was eighty or ninety years, they've
gone back to back, so they'll be looking for a
three people, which is pretty exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
And people can't get to Palms North, but they're pretty
keen to watch the Ford National Hockey Championships. They're live stream,
they must be How else can we clap out papers
on my ken?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah? Absolutely thereas there's we've set up. We've got our
own hockey TV channel now called Hockey Villain TV, where
we've got or three there'll be three fields, gun or
three pitchers going full noise for all seven days and
there's live stream of every single game by a new
kind of AI camera technology. So you jump onto Hockey
(04:01):
New Villain TV, google it in there and you'll be
able to see any of the games that you wish
across the the seven days.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Very fancy. Indeed, tell us about the center where you're playing,
how big? How many turfts have you got? An action?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
So there's there's two the home of Hockey Manuer two
and we're using a third facility facility just like all nearby,
which is fantastic. So it's nice and closer within about
ten minutes of each other at Messi University is the
third pitch, so all the games are being kind of
(04:37):
centered in the middle of town there except actually on
the on the Monday, we're taking three games down to
live in so that Horror fan NOLLA, who are coming
back to the National Championships for the first time in
many years, can play a game at home in front
of their their local fans and supporters.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Before we go, let's talk about a favoritism. Who do
you like? Keen Madilson joins us. He's their gym of
the Hockey Network, Hockey end Z. Who are the runaways?
Who are the ones that you think are going to
do really well? Not the showing any bias in your position,
you couldn't, but but who do we like?
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Oh? Look, absolutely no bias at all. From in the
men's side, you know, Otago being two times defending champions
and Blair Terrence backing up from the Olympic Games. Go well,
but I think Cannabury will likely be the team to
beat with Sam Lane and Charlie Morrison and George Jennison
in their ranks. I think in the women's side it's
a really probably a pretty open field. The Aukland team
(05:29):
will go well again with Grace A Hanlon and gold
and Rebecca Baker a young kind of up and coming star.
But I think actually the Home the Home in Manua
two got Meghan Hull the vantage Black Sticks women's captain
and Steph Dickens are very experienced in their ranks, so
I think they'll be looking to go well.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Also, get suned away eight o'clock tomorrow morning. That's the
Ford National Hockey Championship. Get amongst watch it on the
new flash AI TV coverage and on that Ken. Always
a pleasure mate, great to catch up again. You have
a fantastic weeks.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Thanks so much, DARPin.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
listened live to News Talk set be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Wildegrave from newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Is the season to be Hockey? Ken Mapleston joins us
now on the All Sport Breakfast is the GM Hockey
Network as we look forward to well, it's going to
be a big week of hockey, Ken, welcome to the show.
Pretty exciting times for everyone concerned.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, absolutely, and thanks so much for having us on.
And here we kick off on tomorrow with the Ford
National Hockey Championships hosted down in the Marvelos Parmister North
at Hockey MANU two. So yeah, really exciting times for us.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
So this starts tomorrow, it runs through till the following Saturday.
That's a reasonable size event when it comes to who's competing,
how big, how many people, how many officials, what kind
of logistical I'd say nightmare, but logistical deal is this
for you at hockey?
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Yeah, Well it's a really big tournament this year. We've
got forty eight teams, which is a record number, living
up on last year. So while it works as both
genders netting and we have a tiered structure, so eight
teams and a tier one all fighting. It out for
the Challenge Shield for the men and the K Cup
for the women and Tier two group of teams playing
(01:19):
up hoping to get promoted into Tier one for the
year after. And look, a real special note is that
this is actually the one hundredth year of the K
Cup that the women will be competing for, so a
real special occasion.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Amazing has been going for so long and it's so
well attended. So plainly you've still got huge traction when
it comes to hockey here.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Yeah, we do it really. Then we went back to
a few years ago. We used to have a regional
model kind of a like a super rugby type thing.
We've gone back to the old associations, old rivalries and
coming out and you know, people competing back at that
level and Heince the Russian relegation and the tiers. So
really great to have the likes of Auckland and Canterbury
(02:00):
and Wellington fighting out against White of the Upper and
one or two in the Hawk's Bay. So yeah, a
fantistic celebration pockey across the weekend. Yeah, there'll be thousands
of people swarming to Parmesan North to enjoy it. So yeah,
looking forward to the opportunity.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Ken you talk of tears. How does that promotion relegation work.
Is it all directly based on what happened in the
last national championships? How does that structure unwind?
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Basically, it's these eighteens and east of the top tiers
and they were put in there. So we've been running
the new structure for the last three years, kind of
post COVID, and it was kind of an application basis
based on the strength of their associations around the country
and the luck since then. If you finished last and
a tier you go down, and if you win the
(02:49):
woman the Tier two you get to go up and
have a crack at the big boys or girls the
year after. So this year we've got north On men
for the first time competing at Tier one level and
Hawk's Bay unfortunately got relegated last year, so they'll be
tend to fight their way back up to the into
the tier this year. They're exciting and on both sides
(03:10):
of things, we've got in the women's side Aukland they'll
be looking to defend their title they won last year
and Kitty Kiddies are in Hamilton and on the men's side,
Otago are two time defending champions actually, so having not
won I think it was eighty or ninety years, they've
gone back to back, so they'll be looking for a
three people, which is pretty exciting.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
And people can't get to Palms North, but they're pretty
keen to watch the Ford National Hockey Championships. They're live stream,
they must be How else can we clap out papers
on my ken?
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah? Absolutely thereas there's we've set up. We've got our
own hockey TV channel now called Hockey Villain TV, where
we've got or three there'll be three fields, gun or
three pitchers going full noise for all seven days and
there's live stream of every single game by a new
kind of AI camera technology. So you jump onto Hockey
(04:01):
New Villain TV, google it in there and you'll be
able to see any of the games that you wish
across the the seven days.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Very fancy. Indeed, tell us about the center where you're playing,
how big? How many turfts have you got? An action?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
So there's there's two the home of Hockey Manuer two
and we're using a third facility facility just like all nearby,
which is fantastic. So it's nice and closer within about
ten minutes of each other at Messi University is the
third pitch, so all the games are being kind of
(04:37):
centered in the middle of town there except actually on
the on the Monday, we're taking three games down to
live in so that Horror fan NOLLA, who are coming
back to the National Championships for the first time in
many years, can play a game at home in front
of their their local fans and supporters.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Before we go, let's talk about a favoritism. Who do
you like? Keen Madilson joins us. He's their gym of
the Hockey Network, Hockey end Z. Who are the runaways?
Who are the ones that you think are going to
do really well? Not the showing any bias in your position,
you couldn't, but but who do we like?
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Oh? Look, absolutely no bias at all. From in the
men's side, you know, Otago being two times defending champions
and Blair Terrence backing up from the Olympic Games. Go well,
but I think Cannabury will likely be the team to
beat with Sam Lane and Charlie Morrison and George Jennison
in their ranks. I think in the women's side it's
a really probably a pretty open field. The Aukland team
(05:29):
will go well again with Grace A Hanlon and gold
and Rebecca Baker a young kind of up and coming star.
But I think actually the Home the Home in Manua
two got Meghan Hull the vantage Black Sticks women's captain
and Steph Dickens are very experienced in their ranks, so
I think they'll be looking to go well.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Also, get suned away eight o'clock tomorrow morning. That's the
Ford National Hockey Championship. Get amongst watch it on the
new flash AI TV coverage and on that Ken. Always
a pleasure mate, great to catch up again. You have
a fantastic weeks.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Thanks so much, DARPin.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave,
listened live to News Talk set be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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