playing for a country not of your origin

i´d like to argue my point here on this forum about my situation

im from ireland,i live in spain.

im 35
im not a highly skilled player but i play in many club tournements and i have been to calgary marseilles and sheffield.
i really enjoy playing the world champs


underwater hockey rules wont let me play for spain.

why i dissagree
i understand well the reason for this rule,strong teams like holland getting top players from south africa to play for them and possibly winning the wc.
it happens in football so much
we dont want to end up like football.
yes i understand that
but my original team is ireland,i dont think we are going to win the world championships in my generation.
i want to play for spain and ireland,as sometimes ireland cannot got to big compitions and i want to play in as many major tournaments as posible,i dont think spain are going to win the world championship in my generation either.
why am i (and many others being neglected) to play for the love of the sport
consequences
i dont play in top level,i become a fat bas..tard
the sport does´nt expand to its full capacity
and maybe it could be the difference in having 10 teams in the wc instead of 14 or 15.
afterall we are fighting our corner to stay alive against the giant cmas
well,i find us shooting ourselves in the foot in this small detail of the sport and its hypocritical

resultion

a new law to be made
that teams in b devision(except for top two in second devision) are allowed up to 2 players from another country to play(as long as they live in that country)
so with this law there is no way that these teams(playing with players form aother country) can progress into the first devision
hence we keep the interest in the sport and we keep the people playing for their own personel progression(and not to win the wc) in the wc.


please voice your opinion..

__________________
top of de mornin to yeh

I understand that we need citizenship rules, and lines must be drawn somewhere, but where did the aquachallenge citizenship rules originate?

The last version of the CMAS UWhockey rules had no mention of citizenship, were these general CMAS rules?? If so i'm thinking there were some differences right? I was under the impression it was something along the lines of produce a passport or evidence of residence for continous 2 years not four. There have been a handful of players over the years who have competed with different countires in various years, actually I can think of two I know, one 96 to 98, and another 98 to 2000, then a few more instances where there was a worlds between participation 2000 then 2006, and 98 to 2002 but the continous residency I don't think was a full 4 years.

Anyone?

__________________
An aquifer is a water bearing layer of rock or soil. Aquifers are separated by impermeable layers of rock or clay called an aquitard. Aquitard, however may sound a bit offensive to some, and therefore we will be changing the name to Aquachallenge.

I recall it being 3 years residency prior to 2006. At last World's in one of the meetings they added/amended the rules including a 3-year no-comp window (maybe World's only) for players with dual citizenship wishing to play for the second of their two countries. It's unfortunate that, while talk of an effort to grow our sport, limitations such as this exist.

I thought I also read that Aquachallenge wasn't going to discriminate and this in essence is discrimination. If someone has the luxury of dual citizenship, that should not preclude them from playing for either country in any tournament regardless of the duration between tournaments. And while were on it, if Lena and Tan invited me to the Love Tub and talked me into moving to Oz, and I actually did (5 weeks vacation huh?), then if I were good enough to make the team I should be able to play for them. Troll's have dreams too.

__________________
Just in case you weren't sure, it's official -- CMAS sucks.
Oh yeah, and now they're broke.

Hey Duck, shame you only have 2 weeks holiday/year! ;-)

Regarding the citizen rule, from what I have heard, the issue was discussed at a meeting in Sheffeld (although it is not clear to me what agreement, if any, was reached) and the WTD decided to use the wording from the CMAS equivalent rule. Apparently their comps are on a 4year basis (ala Olympics) and therefore the 3 year interval is not an issue.

Maybe Hendo can clarify/verify this.

Simon has told me that any issue we have with this rule can be discussed and sorted in Durban, but I think that's impractical as it could potentially mean that player who has trained and travelled for a comp does not get to play! And all Australians remember what a terrible thing that can be....

__________________
Off Half-Backs Rule

i just remember cause i played in sheffield for ireland then i couldnt go to bari to play with spain.

__________________
top of de mornin to yeh

I'd support a relaxation of residency rules that would allow players to play consecutive worlds for different countries with say a one year residency requirement. I think that if you move internationally for one year, you'd have to be reasonably serious about living in whatever country you've moved to and should be considered eligible for selection by the international hockey body (whatever it turns out to be called). Most of us would be most passionate about playing for the country of our origin but sometimes there are practical concerns that intervene such as training with your team. It seems a shame to eliminate absolutely dedicated hockey people from a least one worlds just because they've relocated internationally.

i'm of the opinion that if you want to switch countries, thats a pretty serious commitment. serious enough to stand down a comp in between. i know of many players that have played consecutive comps for different countries... i think it's a load of crap personally, i think theres plenty enough international competition to keep players happy especially in europe even if they arent playing euros and worlds.

i did post more but it was a bit serious and full of myself so this will be less inflammatory for now.

__________________
it's more polite on the grating than on the subs bench

i agree with liam ^^

So you're saying Liam and I could have played for Turkey in Bari?

That would have been, interesting.

__________________
It's not whether you win or lose - but whether I win or lose.

KEEP US HAPPY
like put us in the paddling pool and say,go on son you play in those competitions while we play in the real pool.

i think you have to be in the sitiuation to understand it fully,yes there are oodles of on going club competitions but none with the intensity and stature of euros and worlds,i'm not sayin my abilty is higher than club comps,some of them are real tough
but
im sure you have seen the opening ceromony of the worlds,its about the opportunity of playing against the best in the world.
and training for it

8 months hard training and focus,so you loose out on all that training also.

look at it on the growth of hockey
player A,(with our current rule) an average player goes to all the club games like you say liam and he's content with his small objectives,happy days lifes great,he stays playing like that and does'nt see far beyond it.
or
player b,(if rue was amended)average player goes to the worlds and becomes engulfed by the whole world class level,he becomes highly motivated internally for hockey,goes home starts a new club and trains up kids and begins expanding hockey in that country.
do you see what im getting at here, not just on an individual level,if we set strict boundries,there may be other consequences to pay.

the world is changing and humans are moving around more than ever,i think rules should be adjusted (in moderation)to suit our movements.

there are many reasons liam to provide as much oppurtunities to go for worlds instead of club comps

i have played in club comps and euros and worlds and there is no comparison.

apart from just being a load of crap liam
what other reasons would there be to deny a low level world class player to play for his original country or his country of living(remember both lower end teams)
i'd like to
hear your previous intentional post please.

__________________
top of de mornin to yeh