England Hockey has promised to make the sport “more visible, relevant, and accessible” after launching new objectives and values earlier this month — now you can have your say on the sport’s plans.
The national governing body says its ‘Creating A Future For Our Game Together‘ strategy will “share the love of the game and bring new people into the sport in the future.”
In a five-year plan, England Hockey says the sport will be guided by five key objectives to lead positive change, growth, visible impact, as well as responsible leadership and creating “inspirational” international success.
The Hockey Paper will be tackling EH’s vision with chief executive Nick Pink and we want readers to have their say. You can put your questions to the CEO: Email us or share your view on our social media channels.
Among some of its initiatives, EH plans to support 120 talent clubs and 20 academies by 2026 to “provide frequent, high quality contact time.”
EH said: “We will develop a talent system aligned to our values which maximises individual potential and sets a new standard for equality, diversity and inclusion; something for us all to be proud of.”
It also stated that it would also leverage the England and GB programmes to align with the club game.
“We will achieve this by working more closely with the domestic game supporting clubs with a shared ambition of ‘semi-professionalisation’ whilst targeting specific areas of skill development in international programmes,” EH added.
Meanwhile, EH claimed it would double the number of 7-13 year olds in club activity and the vision with the number of state schools offering hockey by 2028.
“We want to nurture a love of hockey within a more diverse group of young players and communities to reflect society,” the strategy outlines.
England Hockey also promised to be the “central hub” for all hockey communications through improved visibility and coverage of national leagues; and promoting the sport, clubs, volunteers, coaches and umpires.
It said: “We know we need to take a step up in marketing and communications. So our communications will always have our purpose at their heart, sharing a love of the game, the physical and mental benefits to participants, the communities it builds and its impact beyond.”
What are England Hockey’s five objectives?
Lead Positive Change: to create and champion positive change within the community by broadening and widening the engagement of the sport and making it more ethnically and culturally diverse.
Meaningful Growth: to make sure that our sport thrives and grows into the future, we want to nurture a love of hockey within a more diverse group of young players and communities to reflect society.
Drive Visible Impact: to produce and release high-quality, engaging content that shares the love of the game, captures the passion, builds a deep connection and amplifies the voices of the hockey community with new and existing participants.
Responsible Leadership: to provide forward thinking, compassionate and inclusive leadership. Leadership that fosters trust within physically and psychologically safe environments and which puts players, the community and sustainability at heart of every decision.
Inspirational International Success: inspirational club and national teams delivering podium success in Europe and on the world stage, underpinned by a thriving talent system and domestic game.
Coupled with this, England Hockey has also launched four values: Collaborate Inclusively, Care for People and Places, Play with Spirit and Win with Grace, and Resilient in Everything We Do.
Pink said: “This is your sport, but we want to provide the support for you to develop your club and the sport in your community.”
