As Emily Chalker is currently in the midst of preparations for her 250th Hockeyroos game, which will be the team's first of the 2021 Olympics, her hometown of Crookwell has commemorated her name and achievements in sport.
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The Crookwell Memorial Oval Building was renamed the Emily Chalker Sports Venue following a unanimous vote of the Upper Lachlan Shire Council at its most recent meeting on July 15.
"A town couldn't ask for a better ambassador than Emily Chalker," council general manager, Colleen Worthy, said.
"On the hockey pitch she has played 249 games and scored 84 goals, and with the 2021 Olympics around the corner... her third Olympics mind you... that's only going to grow."
"But off the field she has maintained strong links with the community and frequently references her home town with affection. Last Christmas she recorded water safety commercials for Council and she recently helped out the Crookwell Green Devils in their quest for the title of Australia's Best Beanie.
"She is widely regarded as one of the friendliest and most approachable players in the game and brings nothing but credit to her family and community."
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The Hockeyroos, currently fourth in the world rankings, are scheduled to open their Olympic campaign tomorrow, July 25, against Spain, which is seventh.
When Chalker takes to the field in Australian colours, it will be for the 250th time in a long career which began a decade ago.
When she was first selected for Australian duties, Chalker was among a group of four players, identified by then-coach Adam Commens, who would take the team forward.
"[Chalker] is not dissimilar to (Olympic gold medallist) Jacqui Pereira in terms of energy but we will have to wait and see if she has the same goalscoring ability, which would be nice if she did," Commens said to the West Australian in 2011.
"She has already shown she can score goals in our training environment and hopefully she can also be a prolific scorer at international level in the future."
With 84 goals from her 249 games, Chalker has more than proven her goalscoring ability on the field, which she has combined with a huge hockey IQ to become one of Australia's most influential players.
The Hockeyroos will take on Spain from 11am tomorrow, July 25. The team's full Olympic schedule is listed below, with finals to begin on Monday, August 2:
- Sunday, July 25: Hockeyroos v Spain
- Monday, July 26: Hockeyroos v China
- Wednesday, July 28: Japan v Hockeyroos
- Thursday, July 29: New Zealand v Hockeyroos
- Saturday, July 31: Argentina v Hockeyroos
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