SO YOU WANT TO BE A BLUE TONGUE!!
So do many other hockey players around the world. We receive hundreds of emails a month of players thinking it would be great to play in Australia during the Northern Hemisphere summer....and their right!!!
Who wouldn't want to spend 5 months living in Australia's premier holiday destination www.goldcoast.com.au , living in perfect sunshine, experiencing a beach and surfing culture, and a fantastic nightlife with thousands upon thousands of international and Aussie tourists.
So do many other hockey players around the world. We receive hundreds of emails a month of players thinking it would be great to play in Australia during the Northern Hemisphere summer....and their right!!!
Who wouldn't want to spend 5 months living in Australia's premier holiday destination www.goldcoast.com.au , living in perfect sunshine, experiencing a beach and surfing culture, and a fantastic nightlife with thousands upon thousands of international and Aussie tourists.
Unfortunately when it comes to the Bartercard Gold Coast Blue Tongues only 6 overseas players (imports) get chosen to play each year in the www.theaihl.com.au (Australian Ice Hockey League), and 4 are allowed to play per game. We generally sign 4 guaranteed import spots by the 1st of January each year, and we leave 2 import spots to try out for before the season. The decision on the guaranteed import players is based on the applications we receive up to 1st January. Part of our decision making process is players experience on hockeydb.com and eliteprospects.com and other reasons for selection include personal referrals from people we know.
For Australian and New Zealand residents and citizens the task of joining the Blue Tongues is a little easier with over 12 spots to try out for each year.
Here is a list of some of our guaranteed imports over the last few years:
The Blue Tongues for the most part do not offer financial assistance for players on the team. In certain circumstances we may offer subsidisation for certain expenses for certain import players that we offer a guaranteed contract to.
The time commitment required by imports is an arrival by April, later arrival by negotiation depending on your playoff commitments, however a definite is our imports must be here until the end of the first week of September.
As we always say to those players whom we do not offer a guaranteed contract to, yet make the trip to the Gold Coast to try out we say upfront your reason for coming to the greatest place in the world, the Gold Coast, firstly is to have a great time holidaying here meeting new
people and friends, finding part time or full time work in hospitality, retail, construction etc. , and playing in our local Gold Coast Hockey League, which is a competitive, non-contact, weekly competition amongst 4-6 teams with opportunity to meet good friends and share a beer and sausage on the barbie afterwards........and then making the Blue Tongues and playing in the AIHL is a BONUS!!!
Our tryouts/trainings for Blue Tongues start in March, and run to the middle of April with a couple of inter squad games on the first two weekends in April. Our season for the Blue Tongues usually start's towards the end of April.
If you are selected to play for the Blue Tongues and based on last year the team plays 24 games in the AIHL, 12 home and 12 away. All away travel is by airplane to cities all around Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, and Newcastle.
As mentioned previously we also have a local Gold Coast Senior A league, non contact hockey, fun rivalry amongst 4-6 teams and important to promote ice hockey on the Gold Coast, and all the Blue Tongue players play in the local league and spread out evenly amongst the teams.
The cost to play in the local league including registration and one game a week is approximately $600 for the six months. Imports who receive guaranteed contracts do not pay to play in the local league. The local Gold Coast league also starts at the beginning of April and ends the first week of September.
We can assist in finding you an apartment which can cost you between $150-$275 per week with six weeks rent/bond required, depending on whether you are living on the beach or not, and whether sharing with a two bedroom unit or having a one bedroom apartment. This assistance in finding accommodation is regardless of whether you make the Blue Tongues or not. Employment is up to yourselves, the Gold Coast is the tourist capital of Australia so hospitality work is here, retail, construction work etc. Imports who make the Blue Tongues will be given extra assistance in finding employment, if required.
We certainly welcome everyone’s interest for next season April-Sept 2011, both to play for the Blue Tongues, and if unsuccessful, then to stay and holiday on the Gold Coast and play in our local Gold Coast Hockey League.
Feel free to reply by email with your interest and any questions you may have, and do include a brief history of where you play and have played.
The time commitment required by imports is an arrival by April, later arrival by negotiation depending on your playoff commitments, however a definite is our imports must be here until the end of the first week of September.
As we always say to those players whom we do not offer a guaranteed contract to, yet make the trip to the Gold Coast to try out we say upfront your reason for coming to the greatest place in the world, the Gold Coast, firstly is to have a great time holidaying here meeting new
people and friends, finding part time or full time work in hospitality, retail, construction etc. , and playing in our local Gold Coast Hockey League, which is a competitive, non-contact, weekly competition amongst 4-6 teams with opportunity to meet good friends and share a beer and sausage on the barbie afterwards........and then making the Blue Tongues and playing in the AIHL is a BONUS!!!
Our tryouts/trainings for Blue Tongues start in March, and run to the middle of April with a couple of inter squad games on the first two weekends in April. Our season for the Blue Tongues usually start's towards the end of April.
If you are selected to play for the Blue Tongues and based on last year the team plays 24 games in the AIHL, 12 home and 12 away. All away travel is by airplane to cities all around Australia, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, and Newcastle.As mentioned previously we also have a local Gold Coast Senior A league, non contact hockey, fun rivalry amongst 4-6 teams and important to promote ice hockey on the Gold Coast, and all the Blue Tongue players play in the local league and spread out evenly amongst the teams.
The cost to play in the local league including registration and one game a week is approximately $600 for the six months. Imports who receive guaranteed contracts do not pay to play in the local league. The local Gold Coast league also starts at the beginning of April and ends the first week of September.
We can assist in finding you an apartment which can cost you between $150-$275 per week with six weeks rent/bond required, depending on whether you are living on the beach or not, and whether sharing with a two bedroom unit or having a one bedroom apartment. This assistance in finding accommodation is regardless of whether you make the Blue Tongues or not. Employment is up to yourselves, the Gold Coast is the tourist capital of Australia so hospitality work is here, retail, construction work etc. Imports who make the Blue Tongues will be given extra assistance in finding employment, if required.
We certainly welcome everyone’s interest for next season April-Sept 2011, both to play for the Blue Tongues, and if unsuccessful, then to stay and holiday on the Gold Coast and play in our local Gold Coast Hockey League.
Feel free to reply by email with your interest and any questions you may have, and do include a brief history of where you play and have played.
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