The Australian Indoor Hockey Festival will return to Wollongong next year, it was announced on Thursday.
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The region - which has produced the likes of international stars, Casey Sablowski, Kieran and Blake Govers and Flynn Ogilvie, as well Austrailan indoor representatives like Heath Ogilvie and Emma McLeish - will host the event starting on January 4, a major pathway to the 2022 Indoor World Cup.
It includes the open, under 21, 18, 15 and 13 years age divisions, all played at the Unanderra facility.
It comes as Wollongong was also announced as the venue for the Masters Indoor Challenge, the women's tournament starting on November 29 and the men's on December 6.
"We are delighted to partner with Destination Wollongong and the Illawarra Hockey Stadium to confirm Wollongong as the host venue for these two exciting Indoor Hockey events," Hockey Australia chief executive Matt Favier said.
"Wollongong and the greater Illawarra region is a true hockey heartland with numerous past and present national players hailing from the area, so it's a fitting location for these events.
"Australia achieved our best-ever results at the 2018 Indoor Hockey World Cup and the Australian Indoor Hockey Festival will be a key pathway towards the 2022 Indoor Hockey World Cup.
"The Indoor Masters Challenge was held for the first time late last year, aiding preparation before our Australian teams which participated for the first time at the Masters Indoor World Cup in Hong Kong in February with great results and we're excited for another edition."
Wollongong has hosted the 2016 and 2017 national indoor championships, with NSW the reigning champions in the men's and women's open divisions after this year's competition at Goulburn.
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