A spot in Paris is on the line for the Black Sticks men and women as they head to Oman and India respectively for their Olympic qualification tournaments next month.
Muscat and Ranchi host eight-team tournaments, where the top three teams will secure an Olympic berth.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals automatically earn their spot, while the bronze-medal match decides the final team.
The Black Sticks men, ranked 11th in the world, have Canada (17th), Chile (22nd) and old foes Germany (5th) in their pool. Great Britain, Pakistan, Malaysia and China are in the other pool.
The New Zealand women (9th) face India (6th), the United States (15th) and Italy (19th) with Germany, Japan, Chile and Czechia in the other pool.
Both Black Sticks sides will be heading into their tournaments well prepared.
The women are coming off a two-test series, followed by three friendlies, against the US. The test series was tied one apiece, but the Black Sticks won all three friendlies.
The New Zealand women will also have a stopover in Malaysia on the way to India for two warm-up games.
The Black Sticks men have also completed a successful friendly series against Korea and Malaysia, winning all eight of their games and hitting the back of the net 29 times, providing them with confidence heading into Oman.
Men’s head coach Greg Nicol is pleased by what he has seen from his team over the past two weeks.
"We had some impressive performances across the December series which made selection highly competitive.
"We have prepared well for the challenge ahead, and with the team playing well, we are hopefully hitting our straps at the right time."
Black Sticks women’s coach Phil Burrows is equally pleased with his side’s results.
"It’s good to get wins under our belt, especially against one of the teams we’ll be competing against for a spot in Paris," Burrows said.
"I’m confident that we will be ready for the tournament in India and I know this group of players is highly motivated to show what they can do."
The Black Sticks women’s opening game is against Italy on January 14, and the men start their tournament against Chile on January 16.
Black Sticks
The squads
Women: Sam Child, Hannah Cotter, Casey Crowley, Tarryn Davey, Frances Davies, Steph Dickins, Katie Doar, Hannah Gravenall, Megan Hull (co-captain), Alia Jaques, Julia King, Olivia Merry (co-captain), Grace O’Hanlon, Hope Ralph, Brooke Roberts, Olivia Shannon, Liz Thompson, Rose Tynan. Travelling reserves: Anna Willocks, Kaitlin Cotter.
Men: Scott Boyde, Dom Dixon, Sean Findlay, Leon Hayward, Sam Hiha, Isaac Houlbrooke, Hugo Inglis, Sam Lane, Dane Lett, Charlie Morrison, Joe Morrison, Hayden Phillips, Kane Russell, Aidan Sarikaya, Jake Smith, Blair Tarrant, Nic Woods (captain), Simon Yorston. Travelling reserves: Malachi Buschl, George Baker.
