The London 2012 Olympic Hockey competition schedule has been confirmed today, revealing when teams will play each other in the preliminary rounds of the men's and women's tournaments.
The first match at the Riverbank Arena will see New Zealands women take on Australia on 29 July, while the New Zealand mens team will be starting their tournament against South Korea on 30 July.
Debbie Jevans, Director of Sport at the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'The Riverbank Arena is set to stage exciting world-class sport during the Olympic Games. The Visa International Invitational Hockey Tournament helped us test the venue and we will continue to work with the International Hockey Federation to fine-tune our plans before the first Olympic match takes place on the distinctive blue and pink pitches.'
Competition format
The 12 teams in each tournament have been divided into two pools of six based on world rankings, and each team will play every other team in their pool. The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners of those matches going head-to-head for the gold medal. The other teams in the two groups play each other to determine final placings.
New Zealand Womens Draw
29 Jul- NZL vs. AUS
31 Jul- NZL vs. RUS
02 Aug- NZL vs. ARG
04 Aug- NZL vs. USA
06 Aug- NZL vs. GER
New Zealand Mens Draw
30 Jul- NZL vs. KOR
01 Aug- NZL vs. IND
03 Aug- NZL vs. NED
05 Aug- NZL vs. BEL
07 Aug- NZL vs. GER
Visit http://www.london2012.com/hockey/ for complete schedule.
