Mark Pearson will be earning his 150th international cap when the national men's field hockey team participates in the eighth annual Men's Champions Challenge in Kuantan, Malaysia.
The 26-year-old forward from Tsawwassen made his national team debut in 2005 against Scotland. He played for Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and helped his country win silver at the 2011 Pan American Games. Teammate Ben Martin will be earning his 50th cap during the Malaysia trip.
"Having guys achieve milestones like 150 or 50 caps is significant and shows their quality and commitment to the program and there's no doubt both Mark and Ben contribute a great deal both on and off the pitch," explains Canadian head coach Anthony Farry.
"Both these guys embody leadership in different ways and I'm hopeful they will be around the group for some time yet."
Canada finished sixth at the 2012 Champions Challenge in Argentina, and has since exposed more than 20 new athletes to senior level international hockey. Canada looks to top its 2012 result at this year's competition in Malaysia, where world ranking points will be on the line.
Canada is coming off a fifth place finish at the 23rd Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh last month - its best finish ever at that tournament.
"This is a well balanced team," added Farry. "We have made a couple of changes from the Azlan Shah Cup squad with some of our overseas players returning to the group and this will add a bit of experience."
Meanwhile, Sara McManus continues her promising career as a member of the senior women's national team with a series of matches in Great Britain against England and Wales, starting on Sunday.
The 20-year-old defender from Tsawwassen already has 52 international caps to her credit since her senior team debut in 2010. She also is a prominent member of the UBC Thunderbirds, majoring in kinesiology at the Point Grey Campus. The series, which will be held in England, will serve as an important test for the Canadian women as they prepare for key competitions later this year.
In facing England, Canada will be taking on a team ranked number three in the world and which is in the final stages of preparation
for the World Cup this summer "Against teams like England, you have no place to hide and this kind of exposure will test both our on-field and off-field systems," says women's national team head coach Ian Rutledge.
Canada will play four consecutive matches against England before three more games against Wales.
