field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

HC Rotterdam Hockey Club Rotterdam, commonly known as Rotterdam is a Dutch field hockey club based in Rotterdam, South Holland. It was founded on 16 September 1925. The first men's team competes on the highest level of the Dutch field hockey league, which is c ...

Queensland Blades The Queensland Blades are a men's Australian field hockey team, representing Queensland in the Australian Hockey League. The Blades have been the most successful team to play in recent years. Their home ground is the State Hockey Centre at Col ...

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)AHL Webpage
was Australia's premier national domestic

...

. He has been the captain of the

Australia men's national field hockey team The Australia men's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras) is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at six straight Summer Olympic Games (1 ...

the Kookaburras since 2014. He won a gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

, the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

, the 2005 and 2012 Champions Trophy.

Personal

Mark Knowles is from Rockhampton, Queensland. He lives in Brisbane with his wife, Kelly (sister of Australian Hockey teammate,

Jamie Dwyer Jamie Dwyer (born 12 March 1979) is an Australian field hockey player. He currently plays for YMCC Coastal City Hockey Club in the Melville Toyota League in Perth, Western Australia. He also played for the Queensland Blades in the Australian ...

) and their two sons.

Field hockey

Knowles played professional hockey in 2008 and 2011 in the Netherlands for

HC Rotterdam Hockey Club Rotterdam, commonly known as Rotterdam is a Dutch field hockey club based in Rotterdam, South Holland. It was founded on 16 September 1925. The first men's team competes on the highest level of the Dutch field hockey league, which is c ...

. He plays for the

Queensland Blades The Queensland Blades are a men's Australian field hockey team, representing Queensland in the Australian Hockey League. The Blades have been the most successful team to play in recent years. Their home ground is the State Hockey Centre at Col ...

in the

Australian Hockey League The Australian Hockey League (AHL)AHL Webpage
was Australia's premier national domestic

...

. In 2010, he played in the final game of the season for his team.

National team

Knowles is the captain of the

Australia men's national field hockey team The Australia men's national field hockey team (nicknamed the Kookaburras) is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at six straight Summer Olympic Games (1 ...

. In 2006, he represented Australia at the Azlan Shah tournament in Malaysia. He competed in the 2007 Champions Trophy competition for Australia. In December 2007, he was a member of the Kookaburras squad that competed in the Dutch Series in Canberra. In January 2008, he was a member of the senior national team that competed at the Five Nations men's hockey tournament in South Africa. He was a member of the 2009 Champions Trophy winning team, playing in the gold medal match against Germany that Australia won by a score of 5–3. New national team coach

Ric Charlesworth Richard Ian Charlesworth AO (born 6 February 1952) is an Australian sports coach and former politician. He played first-class cricket for Western Australia and international field hockey for the Kookaburras (the Australian national team), winn ...

named him, a returning member, and fourteen total new players who had few than 10 national team caps to the squad before in April 2009 in a bid to ready the team for the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

. He was a member of the national team in 2010. That year, he was a member of the team that finished first at the

Hockey Champions Trophy The Hockey Champions Trophy (HCT) was an international field hockey tournament held by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). History Founded in 1978 by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan and the Pakistan Hockey Federation, it featured the wor ...

. Because of other commitments, he could not compete at the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May 2011. In December 2011, he was named as one of twenty-eight players to be on the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Australian men's national training squad. This squad will be narrowed in June 2012. He trained with the team from 18 January to mid-March in

Perth, Western Australia Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. In February during the training camp, he played in a four nations test series with the teams being the Kookaburras, Australia A Squad, the Netherlands and Argentina. He is one of several Queensland based players likely to play in a three-game test series to be played in

Cairns, Queensland Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

from 22 to 25 June against the New Zealand's Black Stickss. Final Olympic section will occur several days before this test and his inclusion in the series will be contingent upon being selected.

Recognition

In the

2005 Australia Day Honours The 2005 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2005 by the Governor General of Australia, Michael Jeffrey. The Austra ...

Knowles was awarded a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(OAM). In 2007, Knowles was honoured by being named the Young Player of the Year by the International Hockey Federation. In 2015, Knowles was honoured by being named the 2014 World Player of the Year, following on from his performances at the 2014 Hockey World Cup, by the International Hockey Federation. He has been the Kookaburras captain since 2014. Knowles was the

Australian flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a r ...

bearer at the

2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony The opening ceremony for the 2018 Commonwealth Games took place on the evening of Wednesday 4 April in the Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast. As mandated by the Commonwealth Games Charter, the proceedings of the ceremony combined the formal opening ...

on 4 April 2018. He was also a baton runner during the Rockhampton leg of the

Queen's Baton Relay The Queen's Baton Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingha ...

on 23 March 2018 in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.

References

External links

* * (2006, 2010) * (2014) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Mark 1984 births Olympic field hockey players of Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Field hockey players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup players 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup players 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup players Field hockey players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Field hockey players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportspeople from Rockhampton Olympic medalists in field hockey Australian male field hockey players Living people Sportsmen from Queensland Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey HC Rotterdam players Australian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate field hockey players Hockey India League players Men's Hoofdklasse Hockey players