Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting EHF Office Brussels, Belgium
13th & 14th December 2013
Present:
Marijke Fleuren (President), Carola Meyer, Mika Rihtilä, Jorge Alcover, Inez Cooper, Bjorn Isberg, Walter Kapounek, Angus Kirkland, Simon Mason, Ludmila Pastorova, Gianni Rossi
Apologies for Absence:
Leonardas Caikauskas
In Attendance:
Gerry Ralph, Chair, Development Projects Committee
Jane Brennan, EHF Administration Officer
Siobhan Madeley, Communications Manager
Norman Hughes, Development & Education Manager
Dariusz Kurc, Competitions Manager
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Minutes:
The Minutes of the meeting held on 20th & 21st September in Brussels, were signed by the President as a true record.
President’s Welcome:
The President welcomed everyone to the final meeting of 2013, in particular a special welcome to Norman Hughes and Gerry Ralph, who will have the floor for the morning when presenting reports from the Development Co-Ordination Committee.
The Committee met yesterday, Siobhan Madeley and Yamila Conill met with Infostrada at the same time and several other smaller meetings took place.
Over the past three months we have all been working very hard on various different subjects. Not a lot of hockey took place apart from EHL Rounds in Barcelona and Lille, both of which were excellent tournaments which will result in what is sure to be an interesting KO16 and Finals in Oranje Zwart in 2014.
Two FIH tournaments took place – the Junior World Cup in India which is still ongoing with two interesting semi-finals coming up – Holland v Germany and then Malaysia v France.
France had an excellent result in their defeat of Belgium – which is a good signal in Europe that we have yet another Nation significantly improving.
The World League took place in Argentina, congratulations to Holland particularly in their last match v Australia which was a fantastic game of hockey. The results of many of the matches in this tournament were very close with penalty shoot outs etc – yet another example of the closing of the performance gap.
Of course we look forward to plenty of hockey coming up in early 2014, starting with the EuroHockey Indoor Championships for men Austria, who will also be celebrating the Centenary of their Federation.
We are looking forward to this as well as all our other Indoor Nations and Clubs tournaments which will take place at various venues across Europe.
Following on from that at Easter we look forward to the KO16 in Oranje Zwarte, but before that Hockey India League will take place, with Bjorn Isberg as TD.
The President also wished to congratulate Bjorn on his appointment as TO for the World Cup.
In November the FIH announced their new calendar with top tournaments 2015-2018 – which will have some consequences for our tournaments and is something we will need to discuss.
The President went on to talk about the EU Sport Forum which she attended in October with the Director General. This took place in Vilnius and many items were discussed including the dual careers of the majority of athletes, good governance, international relations.
The President also attended a second conference in Vilnius on the subject of gender balance in sport. She noted that it was very interesting to see that nearly all the higher bodies of sport were represented by men.
She noted that it is also the responsibility of women to become more involved – which is something she would like to improve within the EHF and our Member Associations.
She went on to report that the Director General has been very busy exploring the area of television, and he will come back on this tomorrow in his report.
The President reported that we have gone out to ask for declarations of interest to host the EuroHockey Championships in 2017 and have received three declarations of interest thus far – again this will be reported on in greater detail later in the meeting.
She wished to note our thanks to Musco Lighting for the gifts of Lights which have been installed in Hoogeveen (NED) and Vilnius (LTU).
Finally she reported that the Office Bearers had met at the end of November in the EHF offices.
Matters Arising
The question of passports for EHF tournaments was addressed once again, it was agreed that it should be discussed at the meeting of the Competitions Committee – Outdoor as to whether Club Competitions will also require passports.
The Committee are asked report on their thoughts to the EB in March.
Development Projects Committee Report
Carola Meyer, Norman Hughes and Gerry Ralph presented a report from the Development Projects Committee
Gerry outlined once again for the Board the 3-tier approach that the committee has taken focusing on supporting nations who can grow to 5,000 members in the next 8 years.
Plans for 2014 include:
Support youth development
Support facility development
Support Hockey 4 All
Support the focus on clubs
The whole approach comprises of key leaders/coaches, clubs/players and infrastructure/facility base.
Youth 2014
1. Youth Panel will support and help delivery of
G Hockey in Belgium in August
U12 Festival in France in April
Wheelchair Hockey demonstration in Prague in January
2. The EHF will support Youth Festivals in France (for U12) and Italy
3. The EHF will support Youth competitions including regional U16 tournaments in the Balkan area.
4. Hockey 5s Camps will also be supported in a regional capacity involving 2-3 nations – region is yet to be confirmed.
Hockey 4 All 2014
In addition to the G Hockey event in Belgium in August, and the Wheelchair Hockey demonstration in Prague, there will also be a disability hockey event in London in April.
Clubs 2014
This year a new 3 tier approach has been used with separate competitions for:
Clubs with 500+ members
Clubs with 300+ members
Clubs with less than 300 members
The Executive Board suggested reviewing the numbers in the club categories after this year’s competition.
NA Grants 2014
Focus for 2014/15 on those NA’s who commit to targeting 5,000 members in next 4-6 years
The Executive Board asked that more details be provided regarding the progress of the various grant applications in the coming weeks/months.
Pitches/Facilities and Kit 2014
Pitches – we target relocating 2 – 3 second hand pitches in 2014, 9 countries are currently on a waiting list to receive 2nd hand pitches.
The Executive Board noted that it is only possible to assist National Associations with 2nd hand pitches when they do not have any outstanding debts to the EHF.
Equipment – this will be linked to youth growth.
The Board approved the plans for 2014
Hockey4All
The Board suggested if we could consider 5 a side for G-Hockey rather than 6, Norman noted that this would be very challenging on half pitch.
The President asked Norman to discuss the possibilities with the organisers for the tournament in Antwerp, bearing in mind that it is important not to introduce new rules too quickly for the players.
Priorities for Committee for the next period (Dec 2013 – Feb 2014):
Contact new committee and finalise details for first meeting
Consolidate and study entries to EHF Club of the Year 2013
Consolidate and study applications from NAs for grant support 2014/15
Finalise demonstration event with ICEWH (Wheelchair hockey)
Progress ParaHockey 2013 events
Link with EHF Youth Panel re 2014 actions
Remind top NAs and contractors re second hand pitches 2014
Link with Sportways and finalise 2014 details
Study annual reports and make final payments to NAs re grants 2013
Education Committee Report
Ludmila Pastorová presented a report from the Education Committee
Coaching:
2013 Level 1 Seminar
EHF Level 1 seminar pilot took place in Sofia 18-20 October 2013
21 delegates attend from 4 nations
12 pass competence tests and achieve EHF Level 1 status
Conductors Carel vd Staak, Tomislav Jamicic,Norman Hughes.
Assessors Carel vd Staak,Tomislav Jamicic,Norman Hughes,Antonio Antonov
All delegate files lodged with EHF HQ for future reference
FIH sent feedback/evaluation to assist the FIH Academy development
TCP webinars
Received 4 webinars and a quality High Level seminar at EuroNations
October – Herman Kruis – Player profiling – 15 delegates link via Fuze.
Dec – Michel Kinnen – Defence at turnovers
Nov – Roger Newcombe – Goalkeeping workshop postponed until March 2014
International training camps experience patchy – something coaching group will work hard to improve in 2014
C4E group
Received 4 webinars
Club exchange programme worked OK at Breda Push but is an area that needs more work in 2014. Coaching group has revised the delivery by focusing their club training workshop at Breda Push in August 2014
Sportways Lab
2 young coaches sent to December lab to receive training from Sportways
Mateusz Grochal and Danny Berry then report to EC Coaching re design of workshop for Caravans/Festivals and Hockey 5s
Coaching Plans for 2014
TCP group 2 – 6 coaches (+7 in G1)
• 1 High Level seminar at WC14
• 4 webinars planned
• International training camps.
The Committee were aware that this did not work as well as expected in 2013 as the announcement was only made in March, which meant the programme did not start until June, however in 2014 this will not be an issue.
C4E group 2 – 15 coaches
• 4 webinars planned
• Breda Push HC weekend Aug 2014
SNG –
• EHF Level 1 Greece – Nov 2014 (follow up)
• EHF GK Workshop – Balkan Zone
• EHF Indoor Workshop – Turkey (Balkan Zone)
The Board approved the plans for 2014
The President asked for more detailed reports on how the webinars work – with the possibility of using one involving members of the Executive Board.
Norman noted that they have been very well received with on average about 15 delegates online from TCP and C4E. It is a very cost effective method for showing videos and sharing idea.
He went on to say that nothing is better than being around a table face to face however this is a low cost alternative. We would always want to give minimum 1 experience of sharing ideas face to face.
Priorities for Committee for the next period:
1. Receive applications for TCP and C4E groups and skype call to ascertain suitability for the programmes
2. Plan High Level seminar WC14 for TCP and other coaches
3. Contact and welcome new committee and agree details of first meeting 2014
4. Link with M Joyce at FIH to check on FIH Level 1 progress
5. Firm up webinar presenters 2014
6. Firm up training camps for TCP 2014
7. Firm up Breda Push weekend for C4E 2014
8. Firm up Zonal Seminars 2014 (Turkey/Croatia)
9. Firm up EHF Level 1 seminar 2014 (Greece)
Umpires Working Group Report:
Ludmila reported that Jean Duncan continues to do fabulous work with UDP.
In general, within the group huge strides have been made with implementing the three tier umpiring strategy, as follows:
Tier 1 – UDP
Group 7 practical weekend held in November
Mentor meeting November – planning for 2014
Group 8 nominations received from NA’s November – Final selection December.
12 nominations, 6 male and 6 female. Countries nominating are (in no particular order) France, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain (2), England, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey, Scotland, Gibraltar and Belgium.
Tier 2 – U4E (Umpires for Europe)
Coaching DVDs sent to all U4E Umpires
Exchange weekend in Amsterdam, November
First webinar – Marcin Grochal 16th December
Feedback on Breda Practical Weekend shows it was a great success
Applications for 2014 to be sent out early in the New Year
Tier 3 – SNG (supporting national growth)
Umpire coaches’ weekend held in Oslo 31st August – conductor Ged Curran.
Umpire coaches’ weekend held in Sofia in October – conductor Craig Madden.
Umpire coaches’ weekend held in Minsk in September – conductors Elena Eskina and Tatyana Kaltypan following late withdrawal of Thomas Eilmer through illness.
Stefano Bresciani stepped into Thomas’s shoes while he was recovering – happily, Thomas now returning to full health!
Plans for 2014
UDP
• UDP Group 8 launched in April
• UDP Group 6 and 7 practical weekends
• Los Reyes in January
• EHL
• World Cup 2014
• Graduation
U4E
• Breda in August (30 umpires)
• 2 Webinars
• Exchanges
SNG
• Portugal
• Croatia
The Board approved the plans for 2014
Officials Working Group Report:
Activities 2013 of EHF Education Committee (working group officials)
Local Judges Seminar (basic level – Indoor) in Prague, 26/27 January 2013
(6 participants, 2 men and 4 women) – conducted by Edna Rutten;
TO Seminar Basic Level (Judges) in Hamburg at Easter, 30 March/31 March 2013, NA’s were asked to nominate promising participants (11 participants from 7 different countries: FRA, BEL, NED, SWE, DEN, UKR, GER) – conducted by Sheila Morrow (WAL) and Ian McKay (SCO);
3rd UM Refresher Course in Amsterdam at Easter, 30 March/31 March 2013 on invitation (18 participants from all over Europe) – conducted by Yolande Brada.
The focus was on coaching and Rogier Hoorn, a Dutch sports psychologist was conducting.
TO Seminar Intermediate Level (refresher course for TO’s/seasoned Judges moving up to TO level) in Brussels, 4-6 October 2013, targeted by EHF (16 participants (equal gender) from 13 different countries: AUT, BEL, DEN, ENG, ESP, GER, IRE, ITA, NED, POR, SCO, SWE, WAL) – conducted by Björn Isberg, Edna Rutten and Sylvie Petitjean plus guest speakers (Coach, Team Manager, UM, Doctor/Medical Officer, Pitch Manager).
Planned Activities for 2014 OFFICIALS
Mar 2014 – TO Advanced Seminar Brussels
TO Seminar Advanced Level (seasoned TO’s with potential TD upgrade/refresher course for less experienced TD’s): targeted by EHF, planned to be held in Brussels in 28/29 March 2014: 6 men and 6 women
Aug 2014 – Judges and TO workshop Breda
TO Seminar two levels (Judges and TO’s), learning by doing; targeted by EHF (in total 16 participants) in good cooperation with EHF Appointments Committee, to be held in the weekend of 21/24 August 2013 in Breda (NED) at Push Hockeyclub in conjunction with an EHF umpiring (Umpiring4Europe) and coaching seminar – conductors to be confirmed
Norman Hughes noted that the event in Breda is a good collaboration of Umpires, Coaches and Officials.
The President noted that the Appointments Committee have requested more local judge training.
Norman confirmed that currently Sylvie Petitjean and Edna Rutten run local workshops when they are appointed to tournaments. The will arrive a day early and give a short seminar the day before with locals, then allow them to attend briefings, and shadow officials etc during the tournament.
Bjorn Isberg clarified that the Appointments Committee’s request is that this be more formalized, they are aware that it is currently happening and is successful however they feel that it should be more structured.
UMPIRE MANAGERS
A seminar for Umpires Managers was scheduled however in the second half of October the FIH announced that a FIH UM Seminar will be organised for all levels of UMs, including all continental UMs. The consequence is that there is no need to organise an EHF UM seminar in 2014. Yolande is in contact with FIH (Richard Wilson) re the content.
Norman finished by noting that we are training to grow the player base, the two committees work hand in hand, and can only do so in partnership.
EHF and our top nations must continue to develop and share resources to benefit our smaller nations.
EHF will support our smaller nations who must strive to grow to a size which makes them more attractive to their own governments.
Times are tough across Europe but together we can achieve.
This is a partnership where we both need to work hard to succeed.
The Board approved the plans for 2014
Angus Kirkland confirmed that budgets were approved.
Norman then showed the Board a draft calendar of events for 2014, and emphasised the importance of promoting all events.
The President thanked the committees, and noted with pleasure that the plans look very balanced in different areas.
She finished by noting the importance of managing budgets, and ensuring Member Associations finances are in order when offering support.
Gifts
Carola Meyer reported on the review of gifts that EHF present to our volunteers and dignatories.
She thanked the Board for their many ideas and contributions.
The Board also suggested that equipment be presented to some National Associations as a gift eg MF presents a bag which will be filled.
There will be 3 categories:
1. Dignitaries
2. Head of Federations
3. Gifts for TDs to present to Tournament Organisers etc.
The President requested that the Communications Committee come up with a proposal to announce the new gift policy.
Competitions Committee – Outdoor
Dariusz Kurc presented a report from the Competitions Committee – Outdoor
Items to note and/or decisions required to be taken by Executive Board
CLUB TOURNAMENTS
1. EuroHockey Club Trophy (Women)
The Committee asked all participating clubs to re-consider offering to host the event. We did not receive any positive answers. In accordance with the regulations the EHF has the power to appoint a NA to be a host.
The Committee decided that England Hockey will be appointed to host the event. A site visit of Leicester has been completed and a report sent back to the committee members.
The committee endorsed the decision to appoint Leicester HC (ENG) as a host for 2014 Club Trophy (Women).
As we appointed England Hockey to host this tournament, we have waived the License Fee, however in order to recuperate some of this income the EHF requested participating clubs (excl. Leicester HC) to contribute €200 each, which they have agreed to do. This is in line with what was done with the Indoor Club Champions Challenge I (Women), Budapest .
2. EuroHockey Club Challenge I (Women)
The Italian Hockey Federation asked EHF to agree to change the venue for Club’s Challenge I (Women) from Catania to Valverde. This is due to ongoing construction work on site.
After receiving more detailed information (the proposed venue is 15km away from the previous venue) the Committee endorsed it and agreed to approve the change.
3. EuroHockey Club Challenge III B (Women)
There will be an additional team participating in the 2014 EuroHockey Club Challenge III B (Women) to be held 06-09.06.2014 in Porto (POR).
We are happy to report that Abant Izzet Baysal Universitesi SK (TUR) will join the tournament, which will now be a 7 team tournament.
4. HC Minsk (BLR)
HC Minsk (BLR) has been relegated one division down from the Club Challenge I (Men). BLR have been invited to nominate another club to participate in Club Challenge II (Men) in 2014 and they will not be eligible for promotion to Club Challenge I (if they finish 1st or 2nd in the tournament) for 2 seasons.
This is a consequence of a Disciplinary Commissioner’s decision after the Belarusian Hockey Federation submitted an ineligible player to play in the Club Challenge I in May 2013.
The full decision was: National Association to be fined a minimum of €1,000 and National representative teams placed in lower division for 2 seasons – Reason – for signing off on an ineligible player.
Club Team relegated (zero points) and not allowed to represent NA in competition for 2 seasons – Reason for playing an ineligible player
Player banned from competing in EHF Club competitions for 2 seasons. – Reason – for playing for two sides in the same season.
We are still waiting for the name of the replacement club from Belarus.
The President asked that the timing of the publication of match schedules be improved.
Walter Kapounek asked if the EHF is aware of how National Associations establish their National Champions.
The President asked that the definition be checked in the regulations.
NATIONS TOURNAMENTS
Junior (U21)
1. SUI (Men) withdrew from Junior Nations II in Lousada (POR). This tournament will now consist of 7 teams.
2. GRE (Men) withdrew from Junior Nations III in Hradec Kralove (CZE). We asked CRO (as a reserve team) and CYP (late entry) if they were willing to participate in that tournament. CRO are unable to participate due to the finances. CYP have sent their entry form and will join the tournament.
U16
There is still a discussion about the U16 format for the future. All the committee members have been asked to write their thoughts about the future format and send it to the Competitions Manager before the next meeting in February 2014.
1. The date for U16 Championship in Vienna has been confirmed – 03-06 July 2014.
2. HUN (boys) withdrew from Championship II in Vilnius.
U21
The President reported that the FIH have moved date of the next Junior World Cup to 2016 (rather than 2017), which will mean that our own EuroHockey Juinor Championships will take place the same year.
The Men’s Junior World Cup will take place in December 2016 in India, and the Women’s Junior World Cup will take place in November 2016 in South Africa which means that on this occasion it will be mean possible for us to keep our dates in July. However we need to review the situation for the future.
The President went on to say that we need a strategic discussion, with advice from the High Performance Group which should then be brought to the Board with with proposals. She noted that the strategy will be discussed with Jorge Alcover and Bjorn Isberg on how to approach this.
RULES & REGULATIONS
An updated set of Outdoor regulations for Nations and Clubs has been published. The new set of FIH Rules for Outdoor Hockey of October 2013 has been released and published.
WEBINAR FOR HOSTS OF CLUB TOURNAMENTS
On December 11, EHF hosted a webinar for the hosts of the EuroHockey Outdoor Club tournaments.
Unfortunately quite a few cancelled at the last minute and only 4 participating clubs were available so it was agreed to reschedule when more are available.
The purpose of the meeting is to ensure a professional approach to organising tournaments, consistency of approach between hosts, introduction EHF Sports Presentation Templates, Media Guidelines, Advertisements, Photos and Logos and sharing experience and knowledge.
The Competitions Manager suggested that this should be an obligation and it was suggested to add it to the Hosts Manual.
STICK STICKERS
EHF is adopting the stick stickers to be in line with FIH.
These stickers indicate that the stick has been officially approved as being in accordance with the FIH Regulations.
Wiert Doyer suggested that EHF purchase the stickers from FIH to be consistent and keep the costs low. They have been ordered from the same manufacturer.
DEBRIEF MEETINGS
2013 EuroHockey Nations Championships: There was a debrief meeting with RBHB in Braxgata on 09th October.
2015 EuroHockey Nations Championships: There was a review meeting with EHB in London on 23rd October.
Priorities for Committee for the next period:
1. Ongoing support and advice to host venues and teams in all 2014 Clubs and Nations tournaments.
2. The match schedules will be published no later than 31st December as per the planning schedule.
3. 2019 EuroHockey Championships format will be discussed at the next meeting. Marc Coudron is preparing papers on that subject.
The next meeting of the Outdoor Committee will be held on 01 February 2014 in Brussels
Competitions Committee – Indoor
Dariusz Kurc presented a report from the Competitions Committee – Outdoor
Items to note and/or decisions required to be taken by Executive Board
1. Rules and regulations
An updated set of Indoor regulations for Nations and Clubs has been published.
The new set of FIH Rules for Indoor Hockey has been released and published.
2. EuroHockey Indoor Championship III Women 2014
There will be an additional team participating in the 2014 EuroHockey Indoor Nations Championship III (Women) to be held 24-26.01.2014 in Porec (CRO).
We are happy to report that BULGARIA will join the tournament which will now be a 6 team tournament.
3. Host for EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge (women)
Amator Gyeplabda Sportegyesulet (HUN) have agreed to host the EuroHockey Indoor Club Challenge (Women). However to do so they requested additional support from the EHF to help with the cost of the officials to the amount of €2,000. The EHF has committed to cover €1,000 of their financial request and we have requested that each participating club contribute €150 each, which they have agreed to do.
4. Withdrawals
There have been no withdrawals since the EB meeting in September.
5. Webinar for hosts of EuroHockey Indoor Club tournaments
On November 12, EHF hosted a webinar for the hosts of the EuroHockey Indoor Club tournaments. The conductors were Siobhan Madeley, Casper Guldbrandsen and Dariusz Kurc. The webinar was successfully conducted with 10 participants from:
East Grinstead (ENG), HC Minsk (BLR), SK Slavia Praha (CZE), Spartak EV (SRB), Gintra Strekte Uni (LTU), Amator Gyeplabda (HUN)
In our opinion webinar is very useful and a great cost saving tool. We will be using it in the future.
6. Age criteria – request for exemption
There have been a number of request for exemption of the age criteria in the regulations – especially for the club tournaments, but all have been dismissed.
7. Sticks stickers
As above.
Priorities for Committee for the next period:
1. Ongoing support and advice to host venues and teams in all 2014 Indoor Clubs and Nations tournaments.
The next meeting of the Indoor Committee will be held on 10 May 2014 in Brussels
Euro Hockey League
Jorge Alcover presented a report from the FIH Executive Board
Background
Rounds 1.1. and 1.2 were successfully organized in Barcelona and Lille in October.
The EHL Board decided to award the organisation of KO16 and Final 4 to the Club Oranje-Zwart
in Eindhoven.
ProSport our partner in EHL has appointed a new Director General Mr. Bart de WILDE with a task to look for sponsorship for the EHL.
ProSport proposed a new format for the Competition trying to involve more Clubs from lower level and to reduce costs for TV exposure. This format was not discussed previously with the EHF and it has been rejected by us.
The draw for KO16 has been done and will be published shortly.
Bart de Wilde has contacted a health company which is interested to monitor health data from the players during the matches and also to display this information on the big screen.
A test of this was to take place in Barcelona during the Finals of the Catalan Championship on 15th December – unfortunately not happening now, however the system will be tested at EHL.
The FIH has announced the withdrawal of the “own goal” from the rules with effect 1st February 2014 .
The EHL Board propose to also amend our regulations to reflect the same.
Approved
The next meeting of the EHL Board will take place on 21st December.
Communications Committee Report
Siobhan Madeley presented a report from the Communications Committee.
Siobhan presented updates on the various projects undertaken by the Communications Committee including
Projects Results
• Very successful use in 2013
Website
• Siobhan presented the board with a preview of the new website which is hoped to be launched before the end of January 2014
The President congratulated Siobhan and the Committee on the new website which looks fantastic, and requested that everything is kept current as much as possible particularly in relation to competitions information.
Proposal for E-Magazine
• A E-Magazine with all EuroHockey activities of a 2 year cycle
• Several sections for different people (fans, coaches, umpires, players, etc.):
• Lifestyle articles for professionals and older players, eg statistics etc, “Coaches Corner”,
• Involve other Committees in the content production
• Use of the different journalistic supports: interviews, reports, and others
• Released around big events like the Eurohockey Championships
• Provide acess to the sport stars through interviews and/or other, helping creating idols;
• Give visibility to volunteers and people that usually don´t have a chance to stand out from the crowd;
• Give also a space to developing hockey nations to show their world and commitment to the sport
• Date of release: December 2014 or December 2015 or attach the launch of the magazine to eurohockey events
The President congratulated the Committee on an excellent idea.
Approved
Hall of Fame
• Proposal from committee to allow 2 nominations per Member Association instead of 1 as previously suggested by the Executive Board.
• Committee will come back to board with specific criteria for nominees.
Agreed but proposed that it should be one male and one female.
The President wished to compliment the Committee for all their excellent work and achievements over the last 2 years.
Committees 2014-2015
The President presented the proposed committees as previously discussed during the Office Bearer’s meeting.
These were chosen using the following criteria:
• Every nominating NA to have at least one person appointed
• At least two women in each committee
• Chance for new talents to be brought forward
• Historical attendance and performance for those wishing to continue on a committee.
• A certain level of English • Consideration of the relationship between the number of playing members of a National Association and the number of appointed committee members
Approved
FIH Executive Board Report
Carola Meyer and Bjorn Isberg reported on the meeting of the FIH Umpiring Committee
The committee meets once a year, most recently in Dubai.
The main objective was to ensure that umpires are fit for the World Cup in The Hague, and the Olympics in Rio (‘Road to X’ programmes).
The Committee decided to have specially appointed Video Umpires
There was discussion on the proposed new web based FIH appointments system.
Bjorn explained that up until now fitness tests took place before a tournament.
Now it is the responsibility of the National Association as they must each sign off on the fitness of their umpires before the tournament.
The committee hopes that not only will this avoid potential injuries during bleep tests at tournaments but also will prevent unfit umpires from being sent to tournaments.
They confirmed that the FIH will run an Umpire Managers Seminar in the Hague during the World Cup.
Walter Kapounek reported on the Task Force Hockey 5
He reported that the group is still in the process of discussing how all the rules and regulations for the competitions should be going forward.
The President proposed that Hockey 5 be on the agenda of March meeting, and asked that something be prepared so that it can be discussed
The President then gave a report:
With regard to the consequences effecting EHF U21 tournaments as a result of of the International calendar the President has decided that she will make a proposal to the Competitions Committee in Feb so they understand what the issues may be.
She will also propose to ask advice from the High Performance Group regarding u21/u16/u18.
The Executive Board can then discuss the issues at their meeting in June, and ask the Competitions Committee in September for proposals.
Task Force International Calendar
The President went on to say that Indoor Hockey also needs to be discussed as a consequence of the calendar.
She reported that this year will be the final year of the FIH Champions Challenge as there will not be enough space on the calendar for this tournament in the future.
The Champions Trophy will go back to the old system of 5 teams, round robin with a final at the end.
Regulations:
Stick above shoulder now used in all international competitions
A Special video referral for the shoot-out has been introduced.
Ranking points of 25 will be awarded to the winners of Round 1 and Round 2 of World League.
The Executive Board expressed concern that with top teams playing in World League Final and Champions Trophy (now that Challenge is gone) there could be a large drop off in ranking points for teams below the top eight.
The President asked Inez Cooper to do a study on certain countries on this point.
Walter Kapounek noted that there is a huge potential there will be clashes next year particularly with Indoor.
The President suggested that potential Indoor/ World League Round 2 clashes be discussed at the March meeting.
Director General’s Report
Angus Kirkland presented his report.
Angus reported on
1. Office Bearer’s meeting
2. Continental Federation Meeting which will take place in February 2014
A report for this meeting will be prepared and circulated to the Executive Board Prior to this meeting.
3. TriFinance EuroHockey Championships, 2013 debrief
Angus reported that a debrief meeting had taken place with the organisers of the tournament.
A TV/Brand Analysis report has been produced in conjunction with the FIH and England Hockey as organisers of the EuroHockey Championships 2015 which produced interesting and useful information.
4. EuroHockey Championships 2015
Jorge Alcover and Angus Kirkland attended a meeting with the stakeholders of the above tournament.
The President wished to thank Angus for his enormous effort in researching the area of TV to prepare for these meetings and tournaments.
It is also important to acknowledge that the successful tournament in Boom brought about a lot of interesting subjects and information.
She also thanked Jorge Alcover for stepping into assist in these various meetings.
5. EuroHockey Championships 2017
Angus reported that declarations of interest have been received from 3 Member Associations – The Netherlands, Spain and France.
These three Member Associations will shortly be invited to submit detailed proposals by March, after which they will be invited to present their proposals to the EHF.
Disciplinary
The following report was received from Tim Ollerenshaw:
The sport still remains generally under good governance the only significant difficulties arising in a minority of cases.
There has been a shift in emphasis in respect of the trends that have emerged over the last twelve months.
There seems to be an increase in the number of withdrawals, particularly in “lower level” Tournaments and/or for Countries with low resources. This has resulted in a number of Tournaments being affected significantly and rearrangements of competition schedules etc. I have highlighted this point to EHF management and given a few examples of Federations’ cases which illustrate the difficulty of balancing the length of time before a competition to which they have to commit and the difficulties that are caused when they are subsequently unable to attend. I have suggested the possible idea of Federations putting up a “bond” when confirming an entry against the possibility of withdrawal so that if they are subsequently fined, there is a fund against which any fine can be charged. I understand that this may be difficult to implement and unattractive for EHF/some Federations.
Another trend that has been emerging is a need for consistency in respect of Tournament Directors dealing with matters. This has highlighted itself in two areas:
1. In respect of the requirements for checking passports etc in accordance with Tournament regulations. Although this has not resulted in any direct disciplinary action so far this is important. It is difficult for Tournament Directors at Tournaments faced with breach of regulations which if followed through completely could involve the disqualification of, for instance, senior teams. It does need to be made clear to Tournament Directors that such rules do have to be applied consistently.
2. An issue of publication of decisions, which can be difficult for Tournament Directors at the end of Tournaments (particularly where they relate to carry over suspensions). My recommendation is that we look at amending the rules/regulations to deal specifically with the process of handling carry over suspensions imposed or likely to be imposed at the end of a Tournament. Generally the relevant provisions read together are not designed to cover the logistical difficulties which result where a carry over suspension is imposed at the end of a Tournament.
Separately to these trends, but for the purpose of constantly seeking to improve the systems we use, I have forwarded some draft “Fixed Penalty” fines ranges for dealing with such matters as: not attending at briefing meetings, not submitting an entry list or entry form, and not attending prize giving ceremonies. These could be “automatically” invoked by EHF (Competitions Manager) or Tournament Directors in the absence of good cause to show why they should not be imposed. Although the proposals have been produced by reference to FIH guidelines, I would not propose that they always be at the same levels necessarily, bearing in mind where they may apply across a range of Tournaments. (not all at the height of FIH levels). If the Board wishes to implement these proposals, I can deal with the wording required for any rule and regulation changes/implementation guidelines.
Discipline (in respect of cards given) was a focus previously particularly for the Junior Male categories. This now appears to be a diminishing problem and in my view everybody has benefitted from education and as a result of previous focus. I do not see any problems here currently.
A summary of the types of cases over the last 12 months (31 decisions in total):-
Late withdrawals – 17
Carry Over Suspensions – 12
Other – 2
It was proposed to have the following standard penalties/fines:
Entry lists/Forms
Failure to submit the appropriate list or form for Nations or Club Tournaments by the appropriate time in the prescribed manner
Penalty €750
Pre-Tournament Briefing Meeting
Failure without reasonable cause of Team Manager or appointed representative to attend any pre-tournament briefing meeting set by the Tournament Director or organising authority
Penalty €350
Prize Giving Ceremony
Failure without reasonable cause to attend in the requisite way any prize giving ceremony at the culmination of a Tournament or Event
Penalty €500
Approved
Hon Treasurer’s Report
Mika Rihtila presented his report.
The Hon Treasurer presented the Accounts for the year to date.
Income is slightly down from what was budgeted. Expenditure is also lower than budgeted. The outlook has moved from a small deficit to a small surplus for the year.
The 2014 final budget was presented and approved by the Board.
With regard to the account in La Caixa, he proposed that the Board agree to close this account, and agree that Jorge Alcover may sign on behalf of the EHF
Agreed
Appointments Committee Report
A report was received from the Appointments Committee
Annual meeting
On Saturday 21st September the Appointments Committee had their annual meeting.
The members of the AC expressed their concern with regard to the following special topics:
• General concerns raised: Long waits in responding to appointments.
• Communication issues with certain NAs.
• Significant amount of umpire rejections, and late withdrawals made this year particularly challenging.
• Appointments Committee might need more than one meeting a year.
• Better co-ordination needed between the Education and Appointments Committees. – Particular work needed in Local Judges
• Lack of high potential officials
• Problems with feedback forms, discrepancy between TD report and feedback form UM.
• A career path for UMs is needed
• Explore the possibility of more than one UM at certain tournaments.
Review Indoor season 2013
The Indoor season 2013 was reviewed.
Review Outdoor season 2013
The Outdoor season 2013 was reviewed
TD Issues – OUTDOOR
there were two issues with TD decisions in the past outdoor season. The AC has spoken with both TDs and has collected the relevant facts:
-Red card against Philipp Zeller (Rot-Weiss Köln) at EHL KO 16:
TD Scott Baird (SCO) suspended Philipp Zeller for one match. He communicated his decision verbally to the team but did not give it in writing at the time. He also was not aware that a Jury of Appeal was available at the venue to hear a possible appeal.
– Protest of Servette (SUI) at Club Challenge I Men (Prague):
Servette lodged a protest against the result of their match against Minsk by claiming the ineligibility of a Minsk player. TD Chris Brewer tried to deal with the protest first although EHF regs C.5 clearly say that EHF only decides about the eligibility of players. At the end Chris did not take any decision on the protest but forwarded the protest and he received 500 EUR to EHF for further consideration.
The particular TDs have an excellent record in all their past tournaments.
The Appointments Committee has done a ‘lessons learnt report’ and will pass this on to the Education Committee to roll out to TD’s in a training pack to try and prevent this from happening again.
It was noted that information about TD mistakes must be made available for the AC as soon as possible.
Appointments Indoor season 2014
The Indoor appointments have been published during the summer and now have been reviewed.
Appointments Outdoor season 2014
Most of the appointments have been done during the meeting and some have been done later, but all in good co-operation in the committee.
All appointments made have been published in October/November
Education Committee
Sylvie Petitjean (Officials) and Yolande Brada are participating in the Education Committee. Plans for 2014 have been discussed in the EC.
Follow up seminars for judges and TOs
A seminar for Umpires Managers was scheduled on paper however in the second half of October the FIH announced that a FIH UM Seminar will be organised for all levels of UMs, including all continental UMs. The consequence is that there is no need to organise an EHF UM seminar in 2014. Yolande is in contact with FIH (Richard Wilson) re the content.
Proposal: Neutral umpires at the EHCCC (for discussion)
The EHF Appointments Committee has become increasingly aware that its top women’s Club tournament (EHCCC) is not on par with its top men’s club competition (EHL). Part of this is due to the fact that the level of umpiring is tied to the Nations that qualify for this tournament. Unfortunately, not all nations have the same level of umpiring, as the Committee feels that at this level of competitions, the teams would be best served by having the best umpires available.
In order to elevate this competition, we propose that all umpire appointments for the EHCCC be made on the EHL model, that is, the best neutral umpires.
If the Executive Board finds that no budget is available for this, we suggest that each participating club should financially contribute to the travel feels of these umpires, as they would be contributing for their own umpire.
A flat fee/contribution of €205.00/€300.00 per team would be requested and be utilized by the host to organize travel and accommodation for the umpires.
The President proposed that the EHF pays for these umpires.
Agreed
Bjorn Isberg proposed possible financial support to EHF Tournament Organizers regarding travel for TD´s, TO´s, UM´s and Neutral Umpires. After some discussion the President asked that Bjorn, Ray O’Connor and Yamila Conill take the proposal and come back in March after further calculations have been done.
Any Other Business
The President thanked the Executive Board for a vivid and productive meeting.
She particularly thanked Ludmila Pastorova for all the work she has done over the last 2 years in the Education Committee which has been fantastic, and she wished her luck on the Finance Committee.
Wished all the Executive Board a very good Christmas and a Happy New Year.
As there was no further business she formally closed the meeting.