Batho, David Ashley

BORN 4 JANUARY 1973 in Queanbeyan, Australia, David Batho was a homegrown 182cm (6'0') forward who began skating at 8 and hockey at 10, the same year he represented his state in the inaugural President's Cup U13 championships in Adelaide (now the Ginsberg Trophy). He repeated that in 1984 in Perth, then once more in 1985 in Canberra, along with the inaugural Defris U15 national. The forward often played above his age level to find good competition. In 1986, he played both Defris and Tange U18 tournaments, still only 13 years-old.

In 1987, the Holder High student won a Canadian Airlines scholarship through the national ice hockey association as a result of a written application and his performance in the Tange Trophy U18 tournament in Melbourne. It enabled him to train and play with the Winnipeg Raiders in Canada for a fortnight. [1] Batho cut the trip from three weeks so that he could play in the New South Wales U15 Bantam League grand final with the Colts, which he captained. The Colts won, and the forward also competed in the Defris U15 tournament, and the local U21 competition.

By 1991, most of the Canberra Knights Canadian imports had retired, although other teams continued to invest heavily in overseas “stars.” Under the leadership of captain-coach Dean Pollock, the Knights gradually transitioned to using local ACT youngsters, many of whom had been playing at the Phillip rink since its opening. From 1992, Batho played with the Canberra Knights in the East Coast Super League. In 1998, he helped win the ACT's only Goodall Cup. The Canberran became captain of the Knights for the inaugural season of the Australian Ice Hockey League in 2000, and continued to play until 2009, averaging about 0.6 points per game.

In 1988, Batho debuted for Australia in the Asian Oceanic U18 Ice Hockey Championship in Bendigo, Australia, coached by Dave Bernhardsen. He returned in 1990 at Seoul, Korea. He represented Australia in five senior World Championships — 1993, 94, 96, 2000 and 03 — winning the Bronze Medal in Iceland (2000).