Three members from our Flyerz Section, Rob Crosse, Thomas Shaw and Brooke Lammas are currently representing Great Britain at the Special Olympics World Games 2023 in Berlin. The trio form part of the 10-strong Hockey ID squad at the games which is being held from 17–25 June.

This is the first time Hockey ID has been included in the event as a demonstration sport, making it extra special for those involved.

Wakefield representation in Berlin doesn’t end there: Ladies’ 5s and Flyerz coach, Lochlann Kaye, and Jayne Crosse who form part of the Team Special Olympics GB coaching and management team, Club President Helen Royan who has been selected to umpire and Norman Hughes, who as FIH Hockey ID Project Lead was one of the driving forces behind the sport’s inclusion, are also at the games.

The opening ceremony was held on Saturday night at Berlin’s iconic Olympic Stadium in front of over 50,000 people, with an atmosphere described as electric. Rob (accompanied by Lochlann) was specially selected as the water bearer for Team SOGB. This is an important role where each nation brings water from their country to be poured and mixed together in a giant cauldron. A truly once in a lifetime experience for them both.

13 mixed-gender teams from across the world are competing in classification and preliminary rounds being played from 18–22 June, followed by knockout rounds on 22 and 23 June. The finals and the award ceremony are scheduled for 24 June. Matches are played in a 6-a-side format, on half-sized hockey pitches with each game consisting of two 15-minute halves.

Following 1 win, 1 draw and 2 losses against tough opposition in classification, Great Britain got off to a great start in their first preliminary round match winning 6-0 against Pakistan. Next was a 4-1 loss against a strong Bulgarian opposition but the team bounced back with another incredible 6-0 victory, this time against Paraguay. Both Rob and Thomas have been on the scoresheet with 2 hattricks so far for Thomas. Keep up the great work!

Check out our social media channels where we’ll continue to share their progress for the remainder of the tournament.

If you’re interested in watching any of the action, live streaming and highlights can be found here. The match schedule can be found here.

Good Luck Rob, Thomas and Brooke, and all of Team SOGB – Wakefield are with you all the way!