How do the national Masters Championships work?

• What they are: the Hockey Australia Masters Championships are held every year between representative teams from each state and territory, over 9 to 12 days. Men's and women's championships usually run as separate events. They are sanctioned by Hockey Australia and administered by the Hockey Australia Masters Committee (HAMC).
• Age groups: contested in 5-year age groups where viable. HAMC confirms each year which age-based competitions run, and may adjust age groups that are not viable, or add a second division where an age group is oversubscribed.
• Format: teams play a pool, then Finals and Classification Matches.
• 2026 dates: Men's, Gold Coast, Queensland, 24 September to 10 October 2026. Women's, Adelaide, South Australia, 24 September to 3 October 2026.
• Medals: the top three teams in each age group receive gold, silver and bronze medals, up to 22 medals per team.

Sources: Hockey Australia Masters page, https://www.hockey.org.au/play/masters; event pages https://www.hockey.org.au/national-championship-events/2026-hockey-australia-men-s-masters-championships and https://www.hockey.org.au/national-championship-events/2026-hockey-australia-women-s-masters-championships; Tournament Regulations, https://cdn.sanity.io/files/a5i57b7j/production/fc7698484262da8869940ecbd55575c2becb7c23.pdf