Mumbai: Australian Dennis Meredith, a member of the FIH panel of Tournament Directors has been appointed Technical Director of the prestigious World Series Hockey that gets underway from December 15.

One of the most experienced tournament managers in the World of Hockey, Dennis has been responsible of global hockey events including multiple Olympic Games, Hockey World Cups, Champion Trophies, Commonwealth Games and Champions Challenges during his tenure with the FIH.

As Technical Director, Dennis will be responsible for all the “hockey” elements in World Series Hockey including the planning and structuring of all the technical aspects, implementation of the rules and regulations as per international standards, staffing and training of match officials, liaison with the technical committee, franchises, etc.

“I am proud to be associated with World Series Hockey and am looking forward to the inaugural multi city franchise-based League. My association with India has been ongoing since I first visited as an umpire in 1982 and since then have worked and overseen multiple large scale hockey projects here. The League has a lot to offer to the players and the hockey enthusiasts and I am extremely confident of its success” said Dennis.

Yannick Colaco, COO Nimbus Sport said, “World Series Hockey has already signed on the worlds best players and we are now pleased to welcome on board one of the worlds most accomplished tournament official, Dennis Meredith. The proven expertise that Dennis brings to the table is unparalleled and his appointment is in keeping with our commitment of delivering a world class event to hockey fans across the globe.”

A former Australian player, Dennis, switched over to officiating and had the honor of umpiring at multiple Olympics and World Cup matches, before being appointed as an Umpire’s Manager and technical delegate at FIH tournaments. As an Umpiring Development Officer for Asia, Dennis has made numerous trips to India and is familiar with Indian culture and the standard of the game in the country.

The WSH will be held from December 15, 2011 to January 22, 2012 and will involve 176 leading players — Indian and international — who will showcase their talent in 61 matches. It will be a multi-city franchise-based League with players being allocated to the teams based on the internationally accepted and practised ‘draft’ system.

The inaugural edition of the league will comprise eight teams with matches across as many cities, six of which are Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The remaining slots will go to two off Bhopal, Pune, Rourkela, Ranchi, Manipur, Lucknow and Kolkata.

Hockey players, for the first time, will have a global platform to exhibit their skills for which they will be financially rewarded. The legacy created by the planned upgrading of infrastructure across the country will benefit hockey for generations to come.

Some of the Indian stars who will be seen in action in this approximately US $2million League include Rajpal Singh, Sandeep Singh, Adrian D’Souza, Sardara Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Arjun Halappa, Diwakar Ram, Bharat Chetri, Dhananjay Mahadik, Shivendra Singh, Mandeep Antil, S.V. Sunil, Roshan Minz, William Xalxo and Prabodh Tirkey.

Pakistan`s Rehan Butt together with teammates Zeeshan Ashraf, Mudassar Ali, Tariq Aziz, Adnan Maqsood, Waseem Ahmad, Syed Imran Warsi and Shakeel Abbasi too, will take to the playing field.

The star studded line-up ensures the League will be vibrant and competitive, drawing the global spotlight on India.

Article Courtesy: Indian Sports News of Rakesh Kumar Jha