Nicola wins GB Olympic call-up

Nicola White in action

LOCAL hockey player Nicola White gets her first taste of Olympic action next month.

The former pupil of Hulme Grammar School (pictured right) has been selected to compete for Great Britain under-21s in the Australia Youth Olympic Festival.

It is the first GB call-up for Nicola for the junior Olympics which take place in Sydney, where many of the venues will be the ones used in 2000 for the real thing.

And 20-year-old Nicola, who plays as a forward, views it as another important step towards her goal of full international honours.

Nicola, who also represents England under-21s, said: “This is my final year competing for the under-21s, so obviously the next step up is to play for the full England and Great Britain teams.

“And, looking further head, competing for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games is a realistic aim.”

Nicola, whose family lived in Shaw until recently moving to Littleborough, was introduced to hockey at Hulme Grammar and also played for Saddleworth Hockey Club.

Last season Nicola played for Poynton in the premier division of the Slazenger England Hockey League, the highest level of the domestic women’s game.

But due to problems travelling from Leicestershire’s Loughborough University, where she is studying for a sports science degree, back to Cheshire, Nicola is this season playing for the university hockey team.

Loughborough Students play in the second tier of the national league, but they are top of the table so Nicola, who is one of the division’s leading goalscorers, could soon be back in the top flight.

Nicola said: “A lot of the national performance centre events are based at Loughborough, which is convenient for me.

“I train once, sometimes twice a day, as well playing matches so it is quite a demanding schedule on top of studying for a degree.”

Though the hockey tournament in Sydney only lasts five days, Nicola and her team-mates will be spending nearly three weeks in Australia.

“Great Britain are the defending champions in this tournament so we have a lot to live up to,” she explained, adding that the hosts will be their main rivals.

The Australian Youth Olympic Festival features 11 Olympic sports - archery, canoe/kayak, diving, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, rowing, shooting, triathlon and beach volleyball.