A Tauranga hockey player will join the team of local athletes who will represent the region at the London Olympic Games next month.

Andy Hayward, who has been playing hockey since his days in primary school, has been named in the New Zealand men's hockey team.

Also selected as a back-up goalkeeper is Hamish McGregor, who played for the Mount Maunganui premier men's team before moving to Auckland earlier this year to train with the Black Sticks.

The New Zealand women's Olympic hockey team will be named on Friday, June 15.

The men's team, selected by the New Zealand Olympic Committee, includes four three-time Olympians and nine players who will make their second appearance at an Olympics.
Three of the team – striker Phil Burrows, midfielder Ryan Archibald and defender and captain Dean Couzins – have amassed more than 250 caps for their country, while defender Blair Hopping is just one off that mark with 249 caps.
Another two team members – Simon Child and Shea McAleese – have more than 150 caps in the black strip, while five others have more than 100 matches under their belt.
New Zealand Olympic Committee secretary general Kereyn Smith says she is proud to have announced the squad.

'It's an experienced team and an exciting one too.

'Put the team together and you've got significant Olympic Games experience, not to mention international caps.”

Black Sticks men's coach Shane McLeod says deciding on the final 16 was tough.
'In the end it came down to getting the balance right in the midfield and the flexibility of players to slot into a number of positions.

'It's incredibly hard for those who missed out.”
High Performance Sport New Zealand chief executive Alex Baumann says his organisation has been delighted to help the men's team prepare for the London Olympics.

'We've put in more than $1.1 million in funding this year into the team's high performance programme.”
While New Zealand has fielded a men's hockey team at the majority of Olympic Games since Melbourne 1956, New Zealand has won just one Olympic hockey medal – gold against Australia in 1976 at Montreal, where the sport was played for the first time on artificial turf.
The New Zealand teams both open their respective tournaments in London, with the men taking on South Korea on July 30.