June 2025 Newsletter
AISC June Newsletter Update
Message From The President
We came, we competed, and we represented with pride.
Unfortunately, we were unlucky not to bring home a trophy; however, extremely proud of the way our teams competed and fought at the recent NZIHC Tournament in Hamilton.
The Men's A section, being an eight-team format, found us in a tough pool; firstly, facing Bay of Plenty, whom we overcame in a penalty shoot-out, and then our next challenge was against our old foe, Wellington. After being one-nil down, we came back 1-1 almost immediately, only to be pipped at the post in the final minutes to go down 2-1. Even though we successfully overcame Christchurch in our next match, this meant we were second in our pool, leaving us to play for third and fourth against Central Districts, whom we overcame with an impressive 6-1 display.
Our Men's B team and Women's team were represented with some very young talent who we hope to see shining through in the next few years.
Congratulations to Waikato on hosting a very successful and enjoyable tournament.
Thank you to the players and management for their efforts over the weekend. Also, for the way you all represented our club with pride and integrity.
Thank you to the supporters who came to encourage our teams.
Congratulations to our following players who were selected for the NZIHC Tournament Teams and MVP Awards
Men’s A
Prashant Patel
Jai Fitzwalter
Raanik Patel
Deelan Patel
Men’s B
Rohan Patel
Ronit Patel
Jaishaan Dayal
Vijay Patel
Women’s
Maiah Rama
Sharnia Dahya
Pratika Patel
MVP Awards
AISC Men’s A - Keshan Narsai
AISC Men’s B - Ronit Patel
AISC Women - Zeta Pancha
Premier Intercity
Our Men’s team participated in the playoffs for 7th and 8th and were victorious over Hibiscus Dairy Flat in a close encounter, 4-3. This ended their intercity campaign on a high note, out of 13 teams. Some brilliant goals from Stephen Jenness (one firing home a reverse stick shot from an acute angle just off the baseline) and Oscar Nation (who did a solo dribble from the attacking 25 and then slammed the ball into the back of the net) were on display. Also, some fine keeping by Luke Elmes at the other end.
Our boys - Dom Dixon (Current Black Sticks Captain) & Benji Culhane just competed in the Nations Cup in Kuala Lumpur. The team had a successful campaign, coming away as 2025 Men’s Nations Cup Champions. This is a fantastic achievement, especially coming away as back-to-back winners for 2024 and 2025, not a small accomplishment. Well Done, Team!
It has been noted that most, if not all, of our teams have been doing well over the last few weeks. Well done and keep it up till the end of the season.
After attending a recent AHA presidential meeting, it was advised that there has been an increase in umpire abuse, and this needs to be addressed by all clubs, including ours.
Please remind your players that any abuse will not be tolerated, and points will be deducted from teams. As stipulated in Rule 26.5, this also applies to the team’s supporters on the sidelines. Also, a reminder that the dugout is only for the players and management. Additional emotions are not helpful in this area.
We also recently received a reminder that there are no dogs (other than service dogs) allowed to be brought to the turfs; this applies to all turf facilities across Auckland.
U16 trials - Read more
National Under 18 Women’s Tournament at North Harbour from 29 June - 5 July
National Under 18 Men’s Tournament at Timaru from 29 June - 5 July
NHC Tournament 14 - 20 September
Please see the link to register your interest, be great to get many of us to the trials.
Boys’ Secondary Tournament Rankin Cup is being hosted at Lloyd Elsmore Park this year, 25 - 30 August
Girls’ Secondary Tournament Federation Cup Wellington - 25 - 30 August
Both of these events are streamed on hockeynz.tv
Let’s keep the momentum rolling. I look forward to seeing you all at the turf.
Thanks,
Raj Pancha
President
Post NZIHC Tournament Update
Our teams recently competed in the NZIHC Tournament held over King's Birthday, hosted by Waikato Indians Sports Club. Though our teams did not walk away with any silverware, our teams played extremely well, also providing an opportunity to some of our young up-and-coming players to play in their first tournament.
Men's A Team Report
Deelan Patel, Blair Tarrant (Coach), Akeel Patel, Aarun Patel, Raanik Patel, Kieren Chhiba, Armani Punga, Miten Patel, Jai Fitzwalter, Stephen Jenness (Coach).
Keshan Narsai, Jaiden Gosha, Arjun Pancha, Yash Khushal, Prasant Patel, Jayden Dhaya, Yash Patel, Prabh Chahal
Our A team finished 3rd at the NZI Hockey Championship over King's Birthday Weekend in Hamilton.
Game 1 v BOP resulting in a 1-1 draw at full time. Saw the boys prevail 4-2 in the Shoot Out.
With a tight turnaround around the Boys were back playing Wellington late Saturday evening, an evenly poised match-up with Wellington securing a 2-1 win in the final minutes of the match.
Sunday saw our boys play Christchurch a tight game with both team having their chances, with an attacking penalty corner at full time, the boys converted to win 2-1.
With 2nd place secured in the pool, the final match was against Central Districts for 3rd & 4th placing. This was probably the best match played, and the boys ultimately won 6-1 and finished in 3rd place.
Special mention to Stephen Jenness and Blair Tarrant for leading the boys over the weekend.
Deelan Patel
Men’s A Team Manager
Men's B Team Report
Deepak Lala (Assistant Manager), Vijay Patel (Co-Captain, Assistant Coach), Rohan Patel, Krrish Patel, Jayden McKenzie, Anesh Jeram, Vinesh Patel, Divyesh Patel (Co-Captain), Nikhil Govind, Hitesh Patel (Manager)
Prashant Patel, Jaishaan Dayal, Dhariyan Dayal, Ronit Patel (Vice-Captain), Remy Lala, Sanjay Soma (Player- Coach), Nikeel Davison, Amriesh Lala
The AISC B team was a good, balanced mixture of Prem Reserve, Division 1, Division 3 and Youth Players drawn from AISC’s development resources. The team selected did not have a lot of time to prepare and ready themselves for a very competitive tournament, but performed admirably with guts.
The B section was a round robin structure of 5 teams, with the most points winning the trophy.
The opening match against PISC B was a solid performance for the first time this group had played together, and resulted in a dominant performance with AISC prevailing 6-1.
The second match saw us pitted against Waikato B - a much more experienced and battle-hardened group of players (ex-premier 1 and ex-NHL level players) who, despite being 2-nil down early on, went on to win the match 4-2. Our lads performed with vigour, but Waikato’s aerial balls and attacking circle work outwitted our players despite the many chances that our young side created. A lesson was learnt from some older heads of hockey.
Match 3 against North Harbour (who had won both of their first 2 matches) was a strong game by both sides, with AISC scoring first. Our side played against a team with older heads. The match was locked up at 3-3 late in the game and it looked to be heading for a draw until North Harbour took the lead with a deft reverse deflection inside the circle from a hit outside the 25-yard line which hit the high part of the back of the goal netting, much to our pain. Unfortunately, this result meant that we were out of contention for the B Section Trophy.
Our final match was against Wellington B. If we could score a win with a 2-goal difference, we could earn a bonus point win and come away with 2nd place in the B section.
Unfortunately, the match was evenly contested and ended up 2 – 2 at full time, meaning a penalty shootout had to take place to find a winner.
WISC went first and scored 1-0. The other 9 shootouts were either saved by the keeper or missed the goal, which gave WISC the win. The game was on a razor's edge, and unfortunately, it didn’t go our way this time.
It was an invaluable experience for both the players, coaches and management, bringing together a group of individuals to form a competitive unit. Some with lots of years of experience and some with hardly any but loads of enthusiasm and hunger. Each individual has grown as a person and a hockey player over this weekend. Long may it continue.
Ultimately, we ended up in 4th place. It was a privilege to look after such a talented group of individuals with passion and who took pride in wearing the AISC logo in every match.
These players will form the future of AISC, and we look forward to their progression up the hockey ranks.
Lastly, thanks to Sanjay Soma, Vijay Patel, Hitesh Patel and Deepak Lala for their tireless efforts for NZIHC and unwavering commitment to AISC.
Women’s Team Report
Terensha Fernandes, Prashila Puna (Manager/Player), Maya Patel, Khai Parsotam (Assistant Head Coach), Mudraa Patel, Pritika Patel, Jenisha Patel, Chhaya Naran, Dhanika Patel, Maiah Rama, Raj Pancha (Head Coach)
Sharnia Dahya, Anisha Patel, Zeta Pancha, Alisha Bhana, Yashani Bhana, Chaniqa Pancha, Priya Kesha
After a couple of training sessions, the girls headed down SH 1 for the NZHIC tournament. The ladies had a tough draw with two games a day on Saturday and Sunday and no game on Monday. The young team started well against Wellington, and the game ended in a draw, but with all our practice, we won on shootouts. The next game was against North Harbour; we put in a strong performance in the first half but were unable to keep it up and ended up losing by a significant margin. After an early night, the ladies came out fighting on Sunday morning, but the strength and physicality of BOP were too much for us. We went into our last game fighting, but a couple of quick goals from PISC, we were not able to play ourselves back into the match.
Not the result we were hoping for, and we ended the tournament in 4th position.
There is a lot of potential in the team; they are young, and this is something we hope to build on over the next few years.
Thank you to all our supporters for making the trip down south and cheering us on.
We will be back next year, looking to build on things in Palmy.
Prashila Puna
Women’s Team Manager
AISC To Host 2027 NZIHC Tournament
Palmerston North is to host NZIHC in 2026, and AISC will be hosting the competition in 2027.
We would like to make this a memorable event, and AISC is looking for volunteers to form a group and start the ball rolling so we can have an unforgettable 2027 NZIHC. To give us the best possible opportunity to make it one for the history books, we need your input. A two-year preparation timeframe will give us the best chance to achieve this. We want to front-foot our organisation and planning of event management, catering experience, marketing of this event as far and as wide as possible, and to maximise sponsorship packages. Please put your hand up now to be part of this fun, exciting and rewarding event.
Please email: secretary@aisc.org.nz to let us know you’re interested!
Premier Team Update
Our Premier Team are starting to hit their straps! We would love to see our fellow members come down and support them in their campaign.
See below and coming games, any changes in times or venues will be notified via our social media platforms.
Date 28th June
Time 1 pm
Location Avondale
Versus Roskill Eden
Date 5th July
Time 1 pm
Location Avondale
Versus University
Date 12th July
Time 1 pm
Location Avondale
Versus Howick Pak
2025 Hockey Fees Update
A big thank you to our members who have paid their fees; it is much appreciated. Fees are now officially overdue; we are now halfway through the season, and would appreciate those who have not paid to make prompt payment, please.
Moving forward, the Executive Team will be exploring a new process to help streamline registrations and the collection of fees. The cost of the AHA fees is a tremendous cost to our club each year, and being a non-profit body, your prompt payment eases the stress on our operation, enabling us to provide the facilities and resources required to support our players and coaches.
To provide further insight into the importance of fee payment, all clubs received the following letter from the Auckland Hockey Association regarding the 2025 Season Fees.
This is the payment schedule for Clubs to pay AHA for registering their teams.
Payment Schedule
All fees must be paid in full by the following due dates:
Premier and Reserves- Teams
10% by 14 March 2025
50% by 1 April 2025
40% by 1 May 2025
Senior Teams
10% by 1 April 2025
50% by 15 May 2025
40% by 15 June 2025
Youth Teams
10% by 1 April 2025
50% by 15 May 2025
40% by 15 June 2025
Junior Teams
In full by 15 April 2025
Late Payment Fees: Please note that payments not received by Auckland Hockey by the final due date will incur a 5% late payment fee on the outstanding balance. If the outstanding balance remains unpaid 2 weeks after the final due date, the club's highest graded team will be docked 1 competition point for each week that the fees remain outstanding.
If you have yet to pay your fees, please make a payment to the AISC Bank Account now using the account number and reference.
Auckland Indian Sports Club (INC) trading as AISC
ASB 12 3066 0072350 00
Please enter grade and full first and last name in the reference fields.
85th Jubilee Book Update
The committee led by Nuggin Lala, comprising Vinod Patel, Jayanti Keshaw and Deepak Lala, have made great progress on the book and has completed the request from the publishers regarding all final checks, i.e. corrections of name spellings on photos, errors, etc These have all now been completed and returned. The next job for the publishers to enact is to index the publication, which will assist the reader to better understand the context. I am not clear as to how long this process will take, perhaps around 4 weeks to complete. We are still waiting for the front cover design of our book, which the publishers have stated that they will produce and present back to us soon. The back cover will consist of a photo of the old Victoria Street, Gandhi Hall. Vinod Patel has commissioned an artist he knows to draw /sketch for us what the actual hall looked like, just the building itself. We thought it was relevant to show everyone that the club used it for a lot of international team gatherings, club meetings/functions, indoor practices and of course for our 1986 Silver Jubilee (50th year). Hence, we will endeavour to place this picture on the back cover of our book. The last stage of the publication is the printing process. Once this is completed, AISC will host a book launch, which will be promoted via our website, newsletter and social media platforms.
Our Jubilee Book would not be possible without the support of our donors and sponsors.
There were also considerable donations and sponsorship from our members and supporters:
Vijay and Jayna Lala
Nuggin Lala
Ashok Parbhu - CAL ISUZU
Amrat and Kamla Ranchhod
Bharat Parbhoo
Vasant and Kanta Lala
Bhiku and Seelha Keshaw
Roshan Nauhria - NAUHRIA PRECAST LIMITED
Magan Soma and Family
Chandu and Bhanu Daji
Narshi Gosha
Sunil Bhana
Thakor and Raman Parbhu
Asis Chunilal Patel
Dilip and Sharda Parbhu
Babu and Luxmi Bhana
Late Ramesh (Ronnie) Nathoo
Jagdish C Patel
Raman and Mohan Ganda
Mahesh Patel - FENCHURCH
Kanu Chottu Patel
Uttam and Champa Patel
Jayanti Keshaw
Chandu Patel
Parsottam Manga and Family
Prakash Bhana
Ella Mehta
Vinod Soma
Rama Pancha
Vinod B. Patel
Deepak N. Lala
Nuggin Lala
AISC Life Member – Jubilee Book Co-ordinator
Strategic Plan Update
The survey results from close to 100 respondents have been received by AISC and Sport Auckland, and a working group has been formed to analyse these. Sport Auckland is facilitating the process, and a draft strategic plan will be formed. From the survey, there were many varied and sometimes interesting opinions, all of which we hope to incorporate into the plan. We will update members as the working group delves further into the results and curates the draft plan in the coming months, but in the meantime, please contact Vijay Patel below with any queries you may have.
Vijay Patel
Governance Director
AISC Events Calendar
We would love to see you at some of the upcoming events.
2025 AISC Senior Prize Giving – TBC
AISC Club Day at Avondale College, 28th June 2025, bring your family and friends down and come support our senior teams playing.
This wraps up our June update. Should you have any questions or queries, please feel free to reach out to any of our Executive team or contact us at info@aisc.org.nz
Regards
AISC Executive Team