Bustin Travels to Russia for Olympic Qualifier
April 10, 2008 | Field Hockey
April 10, 2008
University of Louisville head field hockey coach Pam Bustin will travel to Kazan, Russia for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament April 19-27 as she continues her duties as an assistant coach for USA Field Hockey.
The United States is the highest ranked team in the tournament, standing at No. 11 in the latest world rankings. India follows closely at No. 13, the Netherlands Antilles (20), Russia (21), Belgium (28) and France round out the tournament field.
The winner of the Kazan Olympic Qualifier will earn one of the three remaining spots in the 2008 Beijing Olympics this coming August. The other two spots will be filled by the winners of the Azerbaijan (April 12-20 in Baku Azerbaijan) and Canada (April 26-May 4 in Victoria, Canada) Qualifying Tournaments.
The United States has not competed in the Olympics since the 1996 Atlanta Games. Bustin, a member of the 1996 Olympic team is looking forward to the opportunity to help guide the United States in a return appearance.
"It is a great honor and to be involved in the process of helping the United States achieve its goal of qualifying for the Olympics," said Bustin. "This is probably the best chance we've had to qualify since 2000."
USA Field Hockey head coach Lee Bodimeade selected Bustin as an assistant coach to help the team prepare for the 2006 World Cup tournament. The team qualified and competed well at the World Cup, and expects the same for the Olympics. Since then, Bustin has pulled double-duty, splitting time between her Louisville Cardinals and the US team.
In 2007, Bustin traveled to Brazil as USA Field Hockey earned a silver medal in the Pan American Games, losing to No. 2 Argentina in the gold medal match. Last week, the US team defeated the same Argentina team in 3 of 4 games at the Olympic Training Center in California. Also in June 2007, Bustin acted as the head coach at the AtaHolding Champions Challenge where she guided the team to a best-ever fourth place finish.
"This group of women has committed themselves to the process of becoming Olympians," said Bustin. "The work has been done and now the opportunity is here. I am proud play a small part in helping each of them achieve their dream, and to continue to advance our country's level of play and ranking in World Hockey."
World Hockey Olympic Qualifying Tournament
19-27 April 2008, Kazan (Russia)
Participating Teams:Belgium, France, India, Netherlands Antilles, Russia, USA
USA Match Schedule
April 19
11:00 a.m. USA v. Belgium
April 20
5:00 p.m. Russia v. USA
April 22
12:00 USA v. France
April 24
4:00 p.m. USA v. India
April 26
11:00 a.m. Netherlands Antilles v. USA
April 27
11:00 1 5th v. 6th
1:30 1 3rd v. 4th
13:00 1 1st v. 2nd
Fans can follow the action at http://www.worldhockey.org/vsite/vcontent/page/custom/0,8510,1181-186949-204171-44349-280434-custom-item,00.html
