BRISBANE HOST WOMEN'S PREMIER LEAGUE

The 2011 Queensland Women’s Premier League and State Open Championships will be hosted at the State Hockey Centre in Brisbane over this Queen’s Birthday long weekend.

The talent on show will include new Hockeyroos recruit Marnie Hudson, Hockeyroos Development players Renee Ashton, Amy Korner and Sally O’Toole, as well as Australian Under 21 players Alyssa Kerr, Emily Burrows and Kandice Olivieri.

From the two competitions, the 2011 Queensland’s Under 21 Women’s Squad, Queensland Country Women’s Squad and Queensland Development Squad will be selected.

State selectors will also be eager to see how upcoming Queensland talent match-up to OAMPS Queensland Scorchers open women’s players, who have just wrapped-up competition in the 2011 Australian Hockey League.

Brisbane won the 2010 Premier League hosted by Townsville, after defeating Toowoomba in extra time in the grand final.

In 2011, two teams from Brisbane and teams from the Gold Coast, Cairns, Toowoomba, Townsville, Ipswich and Mackay will contest the Premier League.

Two teams from Ipswich and teams from Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Tweed Border, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, Mount Isa, Maryborough, Gladstone and Warwick will contest the 2011 State Open Championship.

Matches will be played from 8am through to 7.15pm timeslots on Saturday and Sunday. Finals on Monday will be played through to the Premier League final, to be held at 1.30pm.

The winner of the 2011 State Open Championship will be promoted to compete in the 2012 Premier League, and the bottom ranked team of the 2011 Premier League will be demoted to compete in the 2012 State Open Championship.

In May this year, Cairns defeated Brisbane to win the 2011 Queensland Men’s Premier League for the first time in nine years.