GOROKE hockey player Clare Robertson will represent Australia in a tournament in the Netherlands later this year.
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Robertson has been selected for the Australian Women’s Master over 50s side to compete at the European Cup Championship.
The first match is on August 11, with final matches being played on August 19.
Robertson has been playing hockey for 40 years.
Her mother introduced her to the game when she was 10.
This is her first time representing Australia.
Robertson was an emergency for the Australian team in 2016 at the Masters World Cup in Canberra.
Robertson will travel to Europe with the Australian team a week before the championships to allow them four to five days of training.
“There is a real core team who have been playing together for a while,” she said.
“I’m like the new kid on the block.”
Robertson said she received her mandatory training schedule on Thursday, which requires her to train six days a week on strength, power, fitness and skills.
“Of course I have to get there injury-free,” she said.
Robertson plays in the midfield for the West Wimmera Brolgas in the Naracoorte Hockey Association.
Her achievements in the sport include playing for the Victorian side when she was a teenager and playing for the South Australian Masters side.
Robertson said the game had changed a lot since her younger years.
“It’s a much faster game now. A big reason for that is because we are playing on turf,” she said.
Robertson said she hoped she would earn selection to the national team.
“Coaches select by watching you play in tournaments and then they call you up. Players come from all over Australia,” she said.
Robertson said the fitness level of the players was amazing.
“In today’s society, it is said everyone is unfit or overweight – but you look at these women who are over 50 and they can run around like they are young,” Robertson said.
“They are fierce competitors.
“I watched women over 65 play and it really is a credit to them.
“I looked at them and thought, ‘I hope I can run around like that at that age’.”