HOCKEY Coffs Coast is preparing to honor one of its most respected former patrons.

The annual Bruce Barnier Memorial Coffs 9s Hockey Tournament is scheduled to be held over three days on March 4-6 at the Coffs Harbour Hockey Complex.

This year’s event will feature two divisions, mixed competitions, as well as a social night.

Teams from across the region will contest the annual pre-season competition as clubs prepare for the upcoming Hockey Coffs Coast winter season, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, 25 March.

The annual nine-a-side event honors the contributions made to the region’s hockey by the late Bruce Barnier.

Barnier was a life member of Hockey Coffs Coast, Southside Hockey Club, Hockey NSW, and the Coffs Harbour Sports Council.

Barnier was recognised for his contribution to hockey in Coffs Harbour by being awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000.

Former Hockey Coffs Coast president Joel Matthews said Bruce Barnier had not just made valuable contributions to the region’s hockey, but also the wider community.

“One of the highlights of Bruce’s work in Coffs Harbour was as a member of the Coffs Harbour City Council’s 2000 Olympic Games Committee, where he organised the Combined Schools’ Display to promote the Torch Relay and the concert that welcomed the Olympic Torch upon its arrival in Coffs Harbour,” he said.

“He also helped to organise the Groundswell campaign to establish the western fields of the Coffs Coast Sport and Leisure Park, and his ongoing liaison with the North Coast Academy of Sport ensured Coffs Harbour was well known in those ranks.

“As principal and then former principal of Sawtell Primary School he was very widely known within that community, however his other efforts as mentioned ensured he was widely known in the wider Coffs Harbour community,” said Joel.

 

By Aiden BURGESS