Minutes of the Executive Board Meeting
EHF Office
Brussels, Belgium
19th& 20th June 2015
Present:
Marijke Fleuren (President), Carola Meyer, Mika Rihtilä, Jorge Alcover, Inez Cooper, Bjorn Isberg, Walter Kapounek, Angus Kirkland, Simon Mason, Ludmila Pastorova, GianniRossi (part)
Apologies for Absence:
Leonardas Caikauskas
Gianni Rossi (part)
In Attendance:
Jane Brennan, Operations Manager
Yamila Conill, Operations & Partnership Coordinator
David Voskamp, Competitions Manager (part)
Siobhan Madeley, Communications Manager (part)
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Minutes:
The Minutes of the meetings held on the 27th & 28th March in Brussels, Belgium were signed by the President as a true record.
President’s Welcome:
The President welcomed the Board to the second meeting of 2015. She noted that she was unaware that Leonardas Caikauskas was not available for the meeting until late notice.
She wished to thank all of the Board and staff for the dedicated work that has been done for hockey, noting that she is aware of the many roles Board members have in their own country for hockey. In particular she wished to thank Gianni Rossi for the work he has done in Italy during their recent difficult times.
She went on to report that since the last meeting:
Tournaments
A very successful EHL KO16 and Final round took place in Bloemendaal, not just on the pitch but also from the point of view of the organisation. There were a lot of spectators and beautiful weather.
She emphasised that overall there had be a big step forward and we must continue to make the next step and ensure the future of EHL is stable.
She then spoke about the tournaments which took place over Whitsun and referred the Board to presentation which was published on website outlining statistics from these tournaments such as number of matches, staff, appointed officials, volunteers, players and Fan Engagement.
She noted that she had informed the FIH about the success of these tournaments and what EHF are doing in trying to achieve the goal of ‘big, bold, packed and loud’ stadiums. The President had hoped that this presentation may also be shared on their website but unfortunately they did not publish this, this time.
The President reported that she had attended the Club Challenge I Men in Wettingen where she met a very enthusiastic group of organisers and volunteers.
FIH
She went on to report that Angus Kirkland had attended a meeting in Dubai with the FIH regarding updating the Event Portfolio – he would update the Board on this in greater detail later in the meeting.
The President noted that Bjorn Isberg represented Europe at the FIH Competitions Committee meeting at the beginning of May.
In April Walter Kapounek prepared the 6V6 Indoor proposal for FIH following research with the TOP 4 men and women Indoor National teams in Leipzig and also at the club tournaments in Siaulai and Mulheim.
A summary of the letter which was sent to FIH was also distributed to the Executive Board.
Visits
At the beginning of May the President visited the National Youth Championships in Wales, where the weather was cold but the welcome was extremely warm! It was attended by people who travelled up to 5 – 6 hours, starting at 9 finishing at 6. During her visit she took the opportunity to speak with many people who told her what they were proud of.
An outcome of the visit is that the CEO of Welsh Hockey Union will give a presentation during our General Assembly in London in August
Partners
The President noted that discussions have been taking place with regard to the future of our Partners contracts with meetings taking place in March and May with Astroturf, who will also have a presence in London. This will be reported in more detail by Angus Kirkland later.
EHC 2015
The President, Jorge Alcover and Angus Kirkland have all visited recent stakeholder meetings with England Hockey which she reported to be impressive, very open and transparent, again, there will be more details later.
EHL
A dinner was held at the end of May in the Netherlands to say farewell and thank you to Jons Hensel and Sander van t’Noordende who were stepping down as Chair and Treasurer respectively, it was also attended by others including Leandro Negre, FIH President, Hans Erik Tuyt the incoming Chair among others.
Member Association Presidents
The President reported that she had recently met with the president of the Turkish Hockey Federation Kirvanc Hurdogan who was full of enthusiasm and energy and hopes to raise hockey in Turkey to a higher platform. There are currently 5 pitches, which will soon number 13, including a stadium which is being built in Alanya for the Turkish Championships. The new President hopes to start with a Superleague and is looking for sponsors for this competition.
They currently count 15,000 members and hope to increase this number to 50,000 in the next 10 years. Bert Bunnik is currently involved in their national teams, there is also a new CEO, and 6 staff in the office.
Elections took place in Italy recently and a new president was elected: Sergio Mignardi.
The President thanked Gianni Rossi again for all the work he has done for Italian Hockey over the past year.
A new president of Switzerland was also elected – Dagmar Mende, who Marijke met with during the tournament in Wettingen.
European Games 2019
The President reported that the Netherlands recently withdrew their application to host the European Games in 2019, it is understood that whilst there was great support for the application in Holland from the NOC, the Minister of Sport took the decision to withdraw support following consultations. Understandably the NOC is very disappointed with this outcome.
It is understood there are approximately five other countries who are interested in hosting, 4 of which are hockey countries so there is still a possibility that hockey will be involved.
World League Semi Finals
In Argentina –2 of the 3 Olympic Qualifying teams who emerged from this tournament were European (Germany & the Netherlands). Austria were unfortunately very disappointed with their final placing, however the President congratulated them on all their efforts on and off the pitch in their Olympic qualification journey, and noted that Europe is very proud of them.
At the World League Semi-final (women) in Valencia the President noted that she is the FIH Rep, and would be returning there immediately after this meeting. She reported that organisation and volunteers are excellent, and thus far the results of the European teams have been very good, in particular from Ireland and Spain. The level of fitness has increased and the performances are very impressive, in the end Europe are the winners – though it may not always feel like it this is a definite step forward.
She noted that the coming weeks and months will be interesting with regard to Olympic Qualification process.
Jorge Alcover wished to congratulation the President on her recent appointment to the IOC Women in Sport commission
The President thanked Jorge and the Board for their good wishes and assured them that she would do her utmost for hockey.
Matters Arising
The President noted that it is important for the Board and the EHF to have a unified statement with regard to Unibet as the naming sponsors of the EuroHockey Championships.
FIH Report
Bjorn Isberg gave a report on the recent meeting of the FIH Competitions Committee
Bjorn reported that the committee were joined by the Athletes Panel and also a rep from Masters Committee, and was run as a joint meeting on the first day.
He noted that the FIH acknowledged that in past communication was not as good as it should have been between various continents and the committee.
It was important to note difference between continental representatives and other members, establishing that it is understood that Continental Representatives are firstly there to represent the view of the continents, and secondly their own views and what they see as being best for hockey in general.
For example Bjorn noted that he is there to represent the views of EHF even if he personally does not fully agree, however there are other European members who are not bound by opinions of the continents.
He reported that there was an excellent open discussion about this and it was acknowledged that it had been an issue in the past but the committee would do their utmost to avoid similar issues arising.
With regard to the Events Portfolio in general, Bjorn noted that whilst there was a lot of discussion and speculation, nothing will happen before 29th June when 2nd meeting of the specific working group would take place in Dubai. He reported that the Athletes had a lot of criticism of the World League as it is now.
Bjorn went on to report that before Wiert Doyer stepped down as his predecessor in this group he had started to work on standardised rules for Hockey5, and this is a task that Bjorn has taken over.
In general he noted that the FIH’s view is that it should be very flexible, but at the top level it should be standardised.
Overall he reported that it was an excellent first meeting if this committee.
Angus Kirkland reported on his meetings with the group working on the FIH Event Portfolio:
He noted that he represented EHF, and the group consisted of CEOs of Australia, England, The Netherlands, as well as other Continental Federations being represented, along with some of the FIH Staff and representatives from Star India.
TEAM Marketing facilitated meeting and Angus reported that this worked very well. They outlined market trends, received a presentation from Star India about what drives people to watch/audiences and commercial revenues. The general feeling was that if the portfolio was correct the revenues will be there.
He went on to explain that the group was then split into groups who were asked to draw up draft portfolios based on what was learned from the presentations and exercises undertaken.
Since then TEAM have come back with a number of portfolio options to review and feedback.
Angus noted that he and the other CF representatives had some concerns around the proposal, and the representatives also noted that the word ‘continent’ did not seem to feature as part of the
Finally Angus reported that the next meeting was scheduled to take place on 29th June in Antwerp.
Director General’s report
Angus Kirkland presented his report
Disciplinary Update
Discipline is generally good across all Competitions. There does continue to be withdrawals from Tournaments but the number does not appear to be increasing although recently some withdrawals have been nearer the start dates of the Tournaments themselves.
There have also been two notable cases where Teams have played “ineligible” players; one (GIB) which has resulted in a ban for Eagles HC from a Club Competition next year and associated financial penalties; the other a new case for which the Disciplinary Commissioner has launched an investigation this week relating to allegations of three young German players being in breach of restrictions on playing for more than one Team in the relevant period. The Disciplinary Commissioner does not believe, however, that this represents a growing trend.
EuroHockey Championships 2015
The Stakeholder Board Meeting have been increasing in the run up to the event. Our staff met with England Hockey staff and covered lot of logistical areas including tickets, accreditation, VIPs, venue layout and flow, hotel, media set up, transport, General Assembly etc
The TV distribution is still being worked on and is going well and recently the workd wide betting rights have been sold. It has also been confirmed that Adidas will supply the Umpire shirts.
The next Stakeholder Board meeting is on July 9th
Partners
A lot of communication has taken place between ourselves Astroturf and Musco, A reception for our Partners with asset owning Clubs is scheduled for Monday 24th August at EuroHockey Championships. Additional branding opportunities have been offered to our partners through England Hockey. It is our aim to confirm a commitment from a turf sponsor for 2016 onwards during the EHC.
EuroHockey Championships 2017
The License Agreement has been finalised and will be signed at the EHC. We have agreed with the KNHB that the Event Manual, which will be appended to the license, will be completed post EHC 2015. The Sharing Knowledge programme is being worked on and needs finalising with an agreed budget.
As European Games not in the Netherlands we will plan to start the tender process of EuroHockey Championships 2019 at the end of this year.
EuroHockey Championships 2017 – 2023
We are seeking an agreement with Infostrada, MediaPro and Sports Exposure for the production, LED provision and advertising sales and TV rights.
Proposal
- We charge the Organiser an extra €150,000 on the license fee to go towards production and take away their responsibility and cost for the production.
- We retain the domestic rights, international rights and an extra 50% of LED Board time
- In return we are responsible for TV production, distribution, LED and big screen provision and monetising LED time
- All services at cost price
- Profit split evenly 4 ways, but EHF not liable for any loss
Angus gave the background to our relationship with the three companies starting with our rights position back in 2011 which produced very little revenue. In 2013 we supported a partnership approach which while it did not generate any extra revenue for EHF did increase our exposure significantly. For 2015 the agreement back in 2012 with England was as per the 2011 contract so we are selling the International rights only however this is now a good income for EHF.
After 2013 we were advised by MediaPro to combine EHL and EHC to strengthen both offerings and this is proving to be successful.
We have benefited from the approach of 2013 that on our own we would not have managed.
Some of the other benefits of working together include:
- Combined sales of EHL and EHF synergy – NOS example
- Control of production – high standard and uniform
- Both of the above helps our commercial aspirations
- Commercial sales in professional hands with the ability to sell multiple events
- Lessens the burden on NA’s
The Board agreed that Angus send the Agreement to the parties and would come back to the Board for final approval. It was noted that there are some challenges due to historical factors between the parties that need to be overcome.
Streaming 1.0
Angus outlined a plan for an initial streaming offering for 2016 with the idea to achieve the following:
- to raise awareness of our game
- to provide a professional and consistent home for our events
- to support our NA’s in promoting their events
- to have a regular place to watch Hockey that is well promoted to Hockey fans
- understand if there is any commercial value
The initial plan is to provide a platform (e.g. eurohockey.tv) to show one camera full live matches of semi finals and finals of the following events in 2016
- Indoor Nations Men 16/17 Jan Prague
- Indoor Nations Women 23/24 Jan Minsk
- Indoor Club Men 13/14 Feb Hamburg
- Indoor Club Women 20/21 Feb Minsk
- EHL*
- EHCCC Women 15/16 May
- Club Trophy Men 15/16 May
- Club Trophy Women 15/16 May
- Junior Nations Men
- Junior Nations Women
*Take current feed
- EHF to provide the platform and one camera coverage as a minimum – this is a value add to the host
- Hosts may supplement and this needs managing e.g. if they want multi camera it is a different operation
- Matches streamed live
- Video News Releases made after matches for distribution through this channel and social media
- Archive material to be available through this channel
- Other content can be uploaded if we wish e.g. National Final, Clips etc
The costs to launch and run the service for one year were discussed and estimated to be in the region of €30,000. The Board were in favour of the plan and look forward to receiving a more detailed plan at the September Board Meeting. It was noted that two companies were being trialled at the EHC II in Prague and Under 18’s in Santander.
Competitions CoOrdination Committee
Jorge Alcover& David Voskamp reported on the meeting of the Competitions Coordination Committee which was held the previous day:
The following Competitions Regulations were noted
The Committee considered some questions/comments received from TDs including the following:
PC Clock/Match Time
Consistency at all levels with regards to the time of the match and PC clock was discussed.
Euro Hockey League: 4 x 17.5 min and PC clock of 45 sec
EuroHockey Club Trophy/Challenges: 2 x 35 min and no PC clock
FIH: 4 x 15 min and 40 sec PC clock.
The Rules of Hockey are clear on the 2 x 35 min, EHL has separate regulations and FIH uses their own regulations for the Road 2 Rio.
The purpose of the PC clock is to allow TV to show replays. The difference between EHL and FIH is that EHL says the PC can’t be taken before the 45 seconds are over for TV purposes. FIH says the PC needs to be taken within 40 seconds.
With regards to the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup (Women) the committee decided that it should be erased from the regulations and they should play without a PC clock as there is no TV currently at these tournaments. EHCCC will continue to play 4 x 17.5 min.
Player/Coach
The question was raised as to whether a player could act as a coach at the same time.
The TD had noted that a coach is never allowed to enter the pitch. This rule clearly is not supposed to be read in this context. The unanimous opinion of the committee was that a player can also act as a coach. The team however in that case will have one staff member less on the team bench. A team can leave the coach spot on the match form open as the only requirement is to nominate a Team Manager. If the coach is suspended, he cannot be on the team bench so obviously also cannot play.
Indoor Season Review
Request from FIH
Jorge and David reported that EHF received an unofficial request from the FIH asking if South Africa could participate as non-European team in the EHC Indoor (lowest division). From a competitions perspective, they are not needed. However for a strategic perspective, EHF should be open to the idea. For 2016 it is too short notice, and the NA will need to official write to their Continental Federation who should in turn formally ask EHF.
Regulations
Promotion/relegation system in the lowest division should be equal for Indoor and Outdoor. In the Competitions Committee Indoor the issue was discussed and it was agreed that the correct order of entry will be:
A) If a team has entered but the tournament was cancelled by EHF due to not enough teams (just 2 or 1 teams left)
B) If a team withdraws before deadline or no application = they should be treated equally.
C) If a team withdraws after deadline (here we do have special regulations on re-promotion for club teams)
If there are too many applications for places in the next year’s lowest division, and there has to be a draw, we have to take the above into account.
-First teams set in A)
-Then the potentially relegated teams
-Then a draw of all teams B)
-Then a draw of all teams C), if that is necessary to fill up to 8
It is clear that if there are reserve teams who are willing to play, but can’t play because of no host or not sufficient teams, they will be promoted if they have been drawn 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc reserve and take over the spot(s) of relegated team(s).
The proposal shall be discussed in the Competitions Committee Outdoor in September 2015 and after that both Indoor and Outdoor committees will have the same guideline to work with.
6v6
The 6 vs 6 issue will be discussed by the FIH EB in 2 weeks and a decision will follow after.
Ranking
From 2016 EHF will also follow FIH World Ranking with pool format for Indoor Championships.
Review of Outdoor Season
In both Indoor and Outdoor Clubs the regulations apply that a team can’t earn promotion following a late withdrawal. This regulation was reviewed following a question by a National Association, however the committee agreed that it will remain. The NA together with their teams have the responsibility to make sure they represent their country.
NA’s should inform the clubs about the consequences.
If you enter a tournament (either club or nations) the event venue is not yet known.
As soon as you enter a team, the entry fee is subject to payment.
Teams need to show commitment and the respective committees make decisions based on the available teams.
It was noted that BLR has an outstanding amount of around € 800 owed to the hotel they used during the EHC II in Lausanne (SUI) in 2013. The Director General will look into this with regards to possible actions.
Variations
A new EHCCC points system was agreed by the committee
| Ranked | EHCCC | Trophy |
| 1st | 21 +6 = 27 | 12 +3 = 15 |
| 2nd | 17 +6 = 23 | 10 +3 = 13 |
| 3rd | 15 +6 = 21 | 8 +3 = 11 |
| 4th | 13 +6 = 19 | 6 +3 = 9 |
| 5th | 11 +6 = 17 | 4 +3 = 7 |
| 6th | 9 +6 = 15 | 3 +3 = 6 |
| 7th | 7 +6 = 13 | 2 +3 = 5 |
| 8th | 5 + 6 = 11 | 1 +3 = 4 |
In the table you’ll see the new ranking points system (red is new) (+6/+3 are the bonus points).
With this new points system only the numbers 6 and 7 from EHCCC have the same points as the number 1 and 2 from the Trophy.
It was agreed to change the points system, but the points awarded the last 2 years will stay the same and will not be updated.
Competition Dates Forward Planning
Competitions Manager explained the dates which were set last year for Indoor Clubs have slightly changed for 2016/2017. Both tournaments are played a week earlier to have more consistency with the nations and clubs events as national events are played in the beginning of January. The dates for 2018 will be agreed after the situation with the Indoor World cup 2018 is confirmed.
2017 was discussed as there is some overlap of tournament dates from EHF and FIH (Hockey World League Semi Final). New calendar dates will be sent to the FIH for approval.
Other Business
Bjorn reported to the Committee that after World League R3 the FIH will review all individual Officials on the list.
It was agreed in both Indoor and Outdoor Committee meetings that the provision for hosts to provide water for teams will be erased from the Event manual. Teams will have to arrange this themselves.
Appointment of Neutral Umpires for EuroHockey Club Champions Cup (Women)
The Appointments committee requested that the EHCCC be treated as EHL with regard to neutral appointments, where instead of 8 national umpires, the committee would appoint all neutrals.
The Board agreed that this should be a cost for EHF
The President thanked the Competitions Manager for his quick work and impressive report after the meeting the previous day, she also thanked the committee for their continued hard work and dedication.
Competitions Committee – Outdoor
Jorge Alcover presented his report from the Competitions Committee Outdoor.
Update on U18 tournaments in 2015
U-18 Boys Championship I – Santander (ESP) – 8 teams
U-18 Boys Championship II – Calais (FRA) – 8 teams
U-18 Boys Championship III – Minsk (BLR) – 5 teams
ARM also withdrew, now down to 4 teams, dates adjusted accordingly.
U-18 Girls Championship I – Santander (ESP) – 8 teams
U-18 Girls Championship II – Mori (ITA) – 8 teams
U-18 Girls Championship III – Sveti Ivan Zelina (CRO) – 5 teams
BUL withdrew beginning of June due to financial reasons.
The Competitions Manager will visit the events in Santander, Calais and Mori.
Update on Championship tournaments in 2015
Men’s Championship II 2015 – Prague (CZE) – 8 teams
Men’s Championship III 2015 – Lisbon (POR) – 6 teams
GRE withdrew end of April due to financial reasons.
GIB withdrew end of May due to financial reasons, hosts tried to assist with finding cheaper accommodation but GIB still withdrew even after this was found.
Men’s Championship IV 2015 – Vilnius (LTU) – 8 teams
Women´s Championship II 2015- Prague (CZE) – 8 teams
Women´s Championship III 2015 – Sveti Ivan Zelina (CRO) – 5 teams
SVK withdrew beginning of April due to financial reasons.
The Competitions Manager will visit the event in Prague.
Review of Club tournaments in 2015
EuroHockey Club Champions Trophy Men 2015 – Three Rock Rovers (IRL) – 8 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge I Men 2015 – HC RotweissWettingen (SUI) – 8 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge II Men 2015 – AD Lousada (POR) – 6 teams
DEN withdrew end of March due to financial reasons
SWE withdrew end of April due to financial reasons
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge III Men 2015 – HK Marathon (CRO) – 7 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge IV Men 2015 – Santa Maria de Lamas (POR) – 6 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Cup Women 2015 – S.C.H.C. (NED) – 8 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Throphy Women 2015 – HC Minsk (BLR) – 8 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge I Women 2015 – SV Arminen Vienna (AUT) – 8 teams
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge II Women 2015 – Sport Athletique Merignacais (FRA) – 7 teams
UKR withdrew beginning of May due to financial reasons. They booked a flight to Paris and had not sufficient money to get to Bordeaux by bus/train/plane.
EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge III Women 2015 – HC Praga (CZE) – 8 teams
The following issues were noted from the Club events during Whitsun weekend
- In Merignac the Turkish team (Highway HC) was alleged to have played with 3 non eligible players. The Disciplinary Commissioner has started an investigation. The team finished 6th in the 7-team event.
- The event in Zagreb had to reschedule some matches due to bad weather conditions.
- The Competitions Manager visited Minsk for 3 days and during these days the venue of Smolevichi (40 kms from Minsk) was also visited. The Minsk venue, in the centre of the city and situated in a park, was finished at the moment the event started. The government had established a new building behind the stands with dressing rooms and offices. The dressing rooms are of world class and there are sufficient offices for officials. The event was well run and they Belarussian Federation together with HC Minsk will do their utmost to establish a new water based pitch there which is necessary.
- All events worked well with TMS and no issues arose during the weekend.
Update Ranking
The new EHL and EHCCC rankings have been published shortly after the Whitsun weekend.
In the 2016 Euro Hockey League for Men, club sides from Netherlands (3), Germany (3), Belgium (3), Spain (3), England (2), Poland (2), France (2), Russia (2) with Ireland, Austria, Scotland and Italy retaining their one team slot.
In the 2016 EuroHockey Club Champions Cup for Women, club sides from Netherlands, England, Germany, Spain, Ireland and Russia are qualified to compete, with Netherlands and England having 2 teams in the top Division.
Feedback from events
The Competitions Manager and Director General visited SCHC and HC Bloemendaal end of May to review the EHCCC and EHL respectively. The overall feeling of both events was very positive with some minor things to change. HCB made a profit. SCHC had a small loss but despite that they are very willing to host again.
The other club hosts have been asked for feedback by email which can be helpful for the Competitions Manager when updating the Event Manuals.
Visit EHC venue with TDs
On Sunday 26 April The Competitions Manager and Communications Manager together with the TDs Magda Nazaret (Przybylska) and Christian Deckenbrock visited the Lee Valley venue in London.
Both TDs got a good feeling of how the EHC will be run. During the practice match GB-JPN they were able to see how the technical table on its new location (higher in the stands) was functioning and were able to speak with officials running that match.
The pre-tournament meeting schedule was discussed and the tournament hotels have been visited.
EHC 2019 Format review
The review group met 16 May and the Competitions Manager and Director General attended the meeting. The financial implications of changing it to more teams have been discussed
Angus Kirkland reported that the costs for host teams and EHF was discussed, Erhard Heissmayer had prepared a report which would be further discussed when the group meets again.
Next meeting will be Sunday 26 July in Prague during the Championships II.
Hockey 5s Boards
David Voskamp reported that at the Mediterranean U16’s tournament in Malta the teams would play with timber boards. Other Boards have also been ordered for delivery from the Czech Republic and these will be tested with the FIH.
Next meeting CCO
Saturday 4 September in Barcelona.
Draw for Round 1 of EHL
The Executive Board then did the draw for Round 1 of EHL. The President noted that the Board always tries to do the draw as publicly as possible as it is set out in the Regulations
12 attend in round 1
A: NED, FRA, POL
B: GER, AUT, SCO
C: BEL, RUS, ITA
D: ESP, IRL, ENG
With regard to hosts for EHL, the President noted that the philosophy would be that the first round should be in a developing EHL country, KO16 should be in an ABN country, and the Finals should be held in a City.
It is hoped to confirm a host by the beginning of July
Competitions Committee – Indoor
Walter Kapounek presented a report from the Competitions Committee Indoor
Reports from TDs
Based on the feedback there were a few issues to be addressed in the future:
- Technology has to be a top priority. Not only for the TMS system also for live streaming, social media etc.
- The TMS systems set requirements for a secure and effective IT-setup with a fixed internet connection, laptop and a printer at the tournament table. This is still a challenge at some venues.
- The 40 second rule was discussed both regarding the requirement and the actual rule itself.
- If a World Level event, for example the Indoor World Cup, is being held in close proximity to a European/Continental event to ensure a continuity of message and delivery is achieved across all events it would be of benefit to all involved that any discussions regarding interpretation or guidance being used at the World Level event be shared with the UM’s & TD’s in advance of the local event. This also goes for issues addressed at an EHF Nations event prior to the European club events.
- There were quite a few withdrawals at the Indoor tournaments. In total 11 teams: 7 teams before and 4 teams after deadline.
- For 3 and 4 teams an indoor event can be played within 2 days instead of 3 to lower the costs for teams and hosts. The regulations will be adjusted accordingly.
EuroHockey Indoor Nations Tournaments 2016 update
Men: 15-17 January 2016
Women: 22-24 January 2016
Ranking
Being the qualification tournaments for the next FIH Indoor World Cup in 2018, ranking of the groups for each EuroHockey Indoor 2016 Nations Championships will now be based on the FIH World ranking and not the last tournament results.
David Voskamp will make an overview of the consequences for each Championship tournament and the new pools have been published.
Women’s Championship III: DEN and SVK withdrew before the deadline, leaving only TUR and SWE. The event is therefore cancelled.
Recommendation for hosts for Indoor Junior Nations Tournaments 2017
Men’s: 13-15 January 2017
Women’s: 20-22 January 2017
Championship (Men)
Venue: POR (Lisbon)
Offers to host received from CZE (Prague), POR (Lisbon), CRO (Sveti Ivan Zelina), AUT (Vienna)
Recommendation: AUT are proposed as hosts for Championship Women, CZE and CRO have had a lot of tournaments recent years. The CCI therefore proposed POR.
- Group A: AUT, BLR, SUI, CRO
- Group B: POL, RUS, POR, CZE
Championship II (Men)
Venue: SLO (Puconci)
Offers to host received from SLO (Puconci), TUR (Amasya)
Recommendation: Same conclusion as for Championship Women (see below). The appointment is under the condition that Zagreb is also a designated airport besides Graz and Vienna.
- New entries: A draw was made between the new entries to decide their rankings. Result: 3rd SLO, 4th SWE. NOR & UKR are not able to enter at this stage, but will perhaps later.
- One group: TUR, WAL, SLO, SWE, NOR
Championship (Women)
Venue: Vienna (AUT)
Offers to host received from TUR (Amasya), Vienna (AUT)
Recommendation: Based on the travel availability because the nearest international airport for Turkey is Istanbul or Ankara a long way from Amasya.
- New entries: Additional non pre-qualified entries: SWE
- Group A: RUS, TUR, CZE, SWE
- Group B: POL, AUT, BLR, SUI
The Board approved the recommendations.
Decisions for EuroHockey Indoor Club Championships 2016
Men: 12-14 February 2016
Women: 19-21 February 2016
Cup (Men)
Venue: Harvestehuder THC, Hamburg (GER)
Decision: Only one application to host. Appointed under the condition that they fulfill the requirements.
- Group A: Harvestehuder THC (GER), Partille Sport Club (SWE), Luzerner SC (SUI), SK Slavia Praha (CZE)
- Group B: SV Arminen (AUT), SPV Complutense (ESP), East Grinstead HC (ENG), WKS Grunwald Poznan (POL)
Trophy (Men)
Venue: DinamoElektrostal (RUS)
Offers to host received from BLR (HC Minsk, Minsk), FRA (Cambrai HC, Cambrai), RUS (DinamoElektrostal, PavlovskiiPosad)
Decision: Minsk have been awarded the Women’s Cup and Cambrai recently hosted a tournament. Russia has not hosted a big event since 2008. The decision is under the condition that the Russian Federation is approved by FIH, and subsequently by the EHF Executive Board.
- Group A: RHC Namur (BEL), Inverleith HC (SCO), HC Minsk (BLR), GrupoDesportivo da Carris (POR)
- Group B: DinamoElektrostal (RUS), Olimpia-Kolos-Sekvoya (UKR),Cambrai HC (FRA), Amsterdamsche H&BC (NED)
Challenge I (Men)
Venue: NSA (BUL)
No offers to host so the deadline was extended until May 2, 2015.
As no host came in by this deadline a draw was made between the clubs and the result was: NSA (BUL). The club accepted the decision.
- Group A: SlagelseHockeyklub (DEN), SK Senkvice (SVK), Queen’s University Belfast HC (IRL), HC Kilppari (FIN)
- Group B: HAHK Mladost (CRO), HC Bra (ITA), Cardiff & Met (WAL), NSA (BUL)
Challenge II (Men)
Venue: HK Triglav Predanovci, Puconci (SLO)
Offers to host received from GEO (Kutaisi, Kutaisi), SLO (HK Triglav Predanovci, Puconci)
Decision: Based on the availability and accessibility in relation to Georgia it was awarded to Puconci.
- One pool: HK Triglav Predanovci (SLO), Epitok HC (HUN), Aker Sports Club (NOR),HK Elektrovojvodina (SRB), HC Hrazdan (ARM), Kutaisi (GEO), Highway HC (TUR)
Note: TUR is not able to be promoted in 2016 due to late withdrawal in 2015
Cup (Women)
Venue: HC Minsk, Minsk (BLR)
Offers to host received from BLR (HC Minsk, Minsk), LTU (Gintra-Strekte-Universitetas, Siauliai)
Decision: Siauliai hosted the event in 2015 therefore Minsk was chosen.
- Group A:Düsseldorfer HC (GER), SK Slavia Praha (CZE),SV Kampong (NED), HC Minsk (BLR)
- Group B:Club de Campo Villa de Madrid (ESP), MSC Sumchanka (UKR), Gintra Strekte Universitetas (LTU), SV Arminen (AUT)
Trophy (Women)
Venue: Dundee Wanderers HC, Dundee (SCO)
Dundee was the only Club to offer to host.
- Group A: Bowdon Hightown (ENG),Dundee Wanderers (SCO),Royal Pingouin HC (BEL), Highway HC (TUR)
- Group B: Iris Hockey Lambersart (FRA), Rot Weiss Wettingen (SUI), HAHK Mladost (CRO), SlagelseHockeyklub (DEN)
Challenge (Women)
Venue: Dinamo-Elektrostal (RUS) (Scenario 1 was accepted)
Decision: Two scenarios as no offers to host received by an extended deadline of May 2, 2015.
- Scenario 1: Dinamo-Elektrostal (RUS) is considering and will continue the dialogue with the office. Under the same conditions as for the Men’s Trophy.
- Scenario 2: A draw was made between the clubs and the result was: Howardian LHC (WAL).
- New entries: A draw was made between the new entries to decide their rankings. Result: 6th Dinamo-Elektrostal (RUS), 7th Hockey FemminileLorenzoni (ITA), 8th Clube de FutebolOsBelenenses (POR). First reserve: HK Novi Sad (SRB)
- Group A: Ards (IRL), Howardian LHC (WAL), Kutaisi Ukimeriony (GEO), Clube de FutebolOsBelenenses (POR)
- Group B: NSA (BUL), Partille Sport Club (SWE), Dinamo-Elektrostal (RUS), Hockey FemminileLorenzoni (ITA)
Note: RUS and ITA are not able to promote in 2016 due to late withdrawal in 2015
Rules and regulations
The difference in the final deadline for changing names at the team entry lists for nations and clubs causes additional work and entries in the TMS system. The difference is that the Clubs Team Entry is specified in EHF Regulations for Eurohockey Clubs Championships (Indoor) C.4 while for the Nations it refers to FIH Regulations (C.3).
David Voskamp will address the issue with FIH.
Dates for 2017 clubs
- 10.-12. February for Men
- 17.-19. February for Women
Priorities for Committee for the next period
- Ongoing support and advice to host venues and participating teams in 2017 Indoor Junior Nations and Indoor Club tournaments 2016.
- Deal with any queries from participating nations and clubs accordingly.
- Clarify the future format of indoor hockey through co-operation with FIH
- Subsequently clarify the future of Indoor World Cup
The next meeting of Indoor Committee will be held on 7 May 2016 in Brussels.
Euro Hockey League
Jorge Alcover presented a report on the EHL.
He noted that most has already been discussed including the finances, the draw and the potential hosts for Round 1.
It was reported that the first board meeting with new chairman had taken place.It was noted that the budget for the following year would be under some pressure, with a little less sponsorship money than previous years. The KO16 and the Final will take place on separate weekends again – Easter and Whitsun.
Video Referral:
EHL Working Group met the previous day and discussed video referral after experience in Bloemendaal at finals where the shoot-out took 30 minutes as a result of video referrals.
The group felt that the location of the video umpire was important, if they have a view of the pitch it is often easier to come to a quick decision compared to when they are located elsewhere in a video truck.
It was noted that the video umpires for the EuroHockey Championships in London will be located in a video truck and the Board suggested that Angus asked the hosts again to reconsider placement of VU.
Development Projects Committee
Gianni Rossi presented a report from the Development Projects Committee
EHF/KNHB Partnership
Gianni reported that a meeting was held in Amsterdam 13/5/15 with future actions agreed
Twinning with key nations and KNHB clubs
A Working group formed of Carola Meyer/Inez Cooper/Gabriel van Doorn/Norman Hughes/Herman Kruis in order to develop a twinning agreement and selection criteria.
Youth Leadership development
- A working group formed of Marijke Fleuren/ Carola Meyer/ Gabriele van Doorn/ Jamie Hooper/Sara Stigliss/Norman Hughes. A Youth Panel skype call agreed actions in the short term including:
- Amending the website message to stress the FUN gained by joining EHF Youth Panel
- Improve the Youth Panel Comms strategy
- Promote Youth Panel message during General Assembly Welcome Event
- Youth Panel to meet in London to propose their wish list for 2016-17 building up to a Youth Leadership programme linked to EuroHockey Championships 2017
E Learning resources
2 EHF representatives Sabina Zampetti and Dirk Dittmann assessing FIH Academy e learning platform to report back end June.
Meeting planned with FIH on 25th June during World league to see where we can add value.
The following ideas around supporting the development of English knowledge as part of the programme included:
- Idea to use online resources such as Duolingo
- Translations of key hockey terms
- Supplement our seminars with an English support programme
Para Hockey 2017
- Working group formed of Gabrielle Van Doorn/Elsbeth Rhys/Henriette van Aalderen/Norman Hughes /Joanna Congalves to ensure fuller Integration in 2017
EHF Club of the Year 2014
The winners have been announced on the website. Interviews are being gathered from the winning clubs to be posted during June and the plans for presentations of Awards is underway. It is proposed to make all presentations during the EHC in London.
EHF/FIH Survey 2014
Survey sent out to all NAs end May and NA’s being chased fro responses.
State of the Game Audit 2015
EHF Hockey Planning Forums/Sharing
Central Region Forum
Countries involved in the Central Rerion Forum are Croatia/Slovakia/Hungary/Italy/Serbia. This was attended by Carola Meyer/Gianni Rossi/ David Voskamp/Norman Hughes. Actions and regional competitions structure were agreed.
South East Forum – in planning stage
To be held in Albena, Bulgaria from 1-2 August and attended by Bulgaria/Romania/Turkey/Armenia/Georgia/FYROM
Upcoming activities
EHF Hockey 5s Malta 26-28 June
Final Nations line up as follows:
Boys x 5 – Malta, Turkey, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia
Girls x 4 Malta, Italy, Turkey, Croatia
Rob ten Cate will act as UM and Carola Meyer will be the EHF EB representative. The Youth Panel (2 members) will support the event (media/umpiring). We will provide feedback to FIH as requested by Richard Wilson re rules. Thanks were noted to David Agius for all his hard work locally.
EHF Para Hockey London – 24-26 August
7 teams entered and accommodated out at Felsted school.
Elite group – Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy
Development group – Holland, England, Portugal
Old Loughtonians will be the host for the pool games on Monday/ and linked to Ladies Masters event. Lee Valley main pitch will be used for 1 v 2 on Wednesday and the Copperbox for 3 v 4 on Wednesday. 8 Youth Panel members will support as liaison officers for the teams.
EHF South East Forum
Successful delivery and outcomes.
Communications Committee
Simon Mason presented the report from the Communications Committee
Fan Engagement
Hall of Fame:
The new Hall of Famers have been informed and will attend the induction at the EHC- presentations will be made on the pitch at half time of the Men’s final. Hall of Fame promotion – blogs / cards are in the process of being made and Simon showed an example.
Communications Channels
Website
The Streaming / TV information page is up and running. All sections of the site are being kept up to date on a daily basis, there were a lot of changes in the lead up to Whitsun, and this will be dealt with under Competitions as it involved TMS.
Facebook and Twitter
Excellent traffic over Whitsun. The main facts and figures for the weekend were on the website and the board were given a hard copy.
Simon presented to the Board how to set up a twitter account and the introduced the fundamentals of tweeting.
Current Services and Analysis
Current Services:
Media Officer –The Outdoor Club season was successful. TMS has been a huge benefit during Whitsun with 9 events all over Europe using it live.
Siobhan updated the Board on the Media Centre and operations following tbe meeting the staff had with England Hockey on June 10th.
Siobhan reported that we have a 3 year contract in place for AltiusRT (Branded name for TMS).
Analysis
FIH use Falcon Social to track and plan their social media. We have received a quote for €1.5k/€2K per month for EHF. As this is not in our Budget, we can’t replicate the FIH analysis currently. A more reasonable alternative will be researched.
A paper was distributed with the analysis of April and May figures.
EHF 27th General Assembly
Jane Brennan gave an update on the plans for the upcoming General Assembly.
Education Committee – Coaches Working Group
Inez Cooper presented a report from the Education Committee and its working groups.
EHF/KNHB partnership
See Development Projects:
Norman Hughes met with Paul de Ruiter (Head of Coaching at KNHB) to discuss and agree coaching support for 2016/17 programmes.
Paul will identify KNHB conductors for our programmes and ensure with Norman Hughes that they become FIH Accredited Coach Educators
TCP 2015 – Herman Kruis
12 members attended the TCP seminar 2-5 April in Bloemendaal. It has been very successful with presentations from Hans Streeder (KNHB) and Craig Siegen (SSP)
A new mentor system very well received by the delegates.
All 4 new mentors attended the seminar, at the EHL, with the group – Alejandro Siri, Michel Kinnen, Norbert Nederlof, Dave Passmore
Final planning for WL Semis in Antwerp seminar 23-27 June. 12 members attending with 4 expert presenters and 3 mentors. Star Sports plan to interview 1 or 2 of the coaches.
C4E 2015 – Nobert Nederlof
23 members from 12 different nations will attend the Breda Push workshops 20-24 Aug with 2 new mentors – Siegfried Aikman, Tomislav Jamicic.
SNG 2015 – Norman Hughes
Herman Kruis conducted a seminar in Minsk during the EuroHockey Club competition and was invited to act as Performance Director for Belarus through the World League semis. (Herman will help our twinning project in 2016/17).
FIH Academy/EHF Level 1 will be held in Balkan 1-3 August Carel v d Staak, in Cyprus July 6-10 Siegfried Aikmann/Norman Hughes with Olympic Solidarity funding.
There will be a Central seminar – 18-20 June 2015 Level 2 run by Norbert Nederlof in Croatia and another one in July in Portugal Level also conducted by Norbert Nederlof.
SportSession Planner
The signing ceremony needs to be finalised asap. A best practice example has been received from Poland and will be shared on our website. The agreement gives us – 100 licenses to share across TCP, C4E, all our mentors/conductors, all our nations. The KNHB Age group drills are included free in the deal and this should be an excellent tool for all.
Education Committee – Officials Working Group
Planned Activities in 2015 of EHF Education Committee (working group officials)
TO seminar (first level) in Brussels (BEL) was held on 27/29 March 2015
conducted by Björn Isberg (SWE), Sylvie Petitjean (FRA) and Edna Rutten (NED) and several guest speakers (team managers, coach). 14 attendees were signed up although it was noted that there were some late drop outs.
Judges seminar (basic level) planned for Breda (NED), 22/23 August 2015. The planning is going well and final content is being prepared by conductors (Barbara Morgan and Ian McKay – both SCO). Edna Rutten to attend also as Education representative and extra conductor, if required. There are 21 invited and confirmed attendees.
Yolanda Brada is working on the Umpire Managers Seminar in London in August.
Education Committee – Umpires Working Group
The three tier programmes (UDP, U4E, SNG) have all been running to plan.
UDP:
Group 9 had a successful launch weekend in Vienna (six umpires as per our
limit) with Andy Mair (SCO) and Karen Evans as mentors. Aa big event for Groups 7, 8 and 9 is planned for the EuroHockey Championships in London.
U4E:
The application process for U4E has now been completed and we are fully susbscribed.
30 umoires confirmed with all planning geared to Breda in August. There are a number of Webinars lined up but dates are to be finalised.
SNG:
Thomas Eilmer has been leading the Tier 3 programme (SNG), and has provisionally agreed events for 2015 in Scotland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Appointments Committee
The 2016 Outdoor Nomination Period is June 12th – July 24th
Outdoor Clubs 2015
A Document was circulated with the breakdown of appointments and percentages. The growing number of late withdrawals is a concern. The Committee Suggested a Penalty system for unjustified withdrawals – Ray O’Connor will go into more detail in September meeting
Replacements: procedure is in place, more information is needed as some NAs still struggle with it.
Education Committee Link
Yolande Brada, Umpiring Working Group
Yolande is to draft a list tracking all umpires to monitor their current position and career trajectory. Particular attention to be paid to our Educational programmes (UDP/U4E). To be completed by theEducation Committee Meeting in October.
Judges’ seminar to take place in Breda in August. All participants have now been accepted.
FIH
FIH updated list of Officials sent to FIH, as per Martyn Gallivan’s request. The Committee’s view is that FIH should not appoint anyone who is not in EHF’s active list. FIH view is that they reserve the right to appoint as they see fit.
Bjorn Isberg will raise the issue in the FIH Competitions committee.
Next Meeting
The Committee will meet in Brussels, October 10th, 2015.
Hon Treasurer’s Report
Mika Rihtila presented his report following the meeting of the Finance Committee the previous day
This included:
- Summary of financial Year 2014
- Audited Accounts 12 months ending 31st Dec 2014
- Auditors Report 2014
Approved
- Auditor Appointment
Current auditor appointment to be renewed as per EHF statutes. For Belgium legislation this is always a 3 years period therefore an auditor change should occur in 2016 General Assembly.
- General Assembly Report and Presentation. The General Assembly presentation will be the same format as in previous years including statutory accounts, management accounts, Treasurer presentation
- Subscription Proposal 2016 – proposal to be no change.
- Budget 2015-2017
- Actual 2015 to date
- Competition Entry and Licence Fees – proposal of no change
The auditor would like to explicitly mention to the Executive Board the content of the accounts below and have it approved:
| 2014 | 2013 | |
| Representation costs | €616.94 | €7,726.17 |
| Hotel Inland | €6,270.62 | €34,086.38 |
| Restaurant Inland | €9,705.85 | €16,325.70 |
| Representation costs abroad | €2,553.20 | €6,041.30 |
| Hotel abroad | €45,253.15 | €24,702.54 |
| Restaurant abroad | €16,950.43 | €15,104.75 |
| Travel Expenses | €81,377.66 | €70,779.47 |
| Sponsorship | €41,986.07 | €25,046.29 |
| €204,713.92 | €199,812.60 |
Noted and Approved
Proposal to open USD account and leave maximum $100,000 income on the account, converting to € when best possible rate can received
Not approved
The President thanked the Treasurer and his committee for their work.
Any Other Business
The President proposed that the September meeting be held in Brussels (rather than Malta where it was originally scheduled for) due to financial reasons.
Agreed
She then thanked the Board for their excellent contributions as always and wished them safe travels.