Canberra hockey young guns will get the chance to learn from Olympians in a new national competition after squads for the Canberra Chill were named on Tuesday.
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Former Hockeyroo Brooke Peris, cousin of former Olympic Games representative Nova Peris, will join the Chill women's squad alongside Anna Flanagan, Kalindi Commerford, Edwina Bone and Naomi Evans.
The men's team will be bolstered by former Kookaburra Glenn Turner and Australian goalkeeper Andrew Charter.
Their experience will help a new generation of Canberra players make their mark on the new Hockey One competition, which has been described as the sport's version of Twenty20 cricket and starts in September.
Hockey Australia development player Emily Robson is looking forward to a chance to pick up tips to help her take the next step in her career.
"Coming from a regional town [Townsville], I have never had the experience to play with the Hockeyroos before, so not only getting to play with them but also against them is absolutely incredible," Robson said.
"Playing alongside the best players in Canberra and also the Hockeyroos is hopefully an experience that will help take my hockey to the next level."
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Another young star and returning face is under 21s national goalkeeper Talei Forrest, who says she is excited to have plenty of elite experience to learn from.
"The knowledge that they provide will be awesome, and we have a really good chance of being in the top four," Forrest said.
Turner, a 2012 Olympian, will assist men's coach Peter Morgan. The squad includes several former Canberra Lakers players from the Australian Hockey League.
The new competition will replace the AHL this season after Hockey Australia officials decided to try to reinvent the sport.
It will bring a new home and away format to the season, with three double header games played in Canberra.
The games will be live streamed through Kayo sports, Australia's multi-sport streaming service, and grand finals will be broadcast on Fox Sports.
Jamie Hawke believes the new format is a big step towards enhancing the level of professionalism.
"Hockey has always thrived in Australia and hopefully this will be a big step forward for players and spectators," Hawke said.
The Chill will start training next month with the final squads to be cut to 20 players before the season opener against the Brisbane Blaze at the Lyneham Hockey Centre on September 29.
