23.09.2015, Brussels; The Executive Board of the European Hockey Federation enjoyed meeting for the fourth time in 2015 over the weekend, in Brussels, with a full agenda of activity covered.
The President opened the meeting with a welcome and an overview of the various meetings and events which took place in London – Executive Board Meeting, General Assembly, EuroHockey Championships, ParaHockey tournament, Masters Tournaments and the variety of awards presented.
She wished to thank England Hockey for their excellent organisation and a successful tournament.
The Board then received reports from:
Development Projects Committee updated the Board on the various events which had taken place over the summer, and in particular the successful running of the ParaHockey tournament in London. It was noted that the Committee hope to further expand this tournament for the event which will be held in 2017 in Amsterdam.
Education Committee’s three Working Groups: Officials, Coaches and Umpires updated the Board on the activities which took place over the previous months, in particular the event in Breda which involved all 3 groups (Coaches 4 Europe, Umpires 4 Europe and Officials), as well as the Umpire Seminar and UDP group both of which met in London during the EuroHockey Championships and the FIH Officials Trainer course.
It was noted that the priority for the Development and Education Committees for the next period is continued work with the KNHB for the Sharing Knowledge programme 2016-2017. This will cover ParaHockey, Youth Leadership, Twinning and E-Learning as outlined at the General Assembly.
Competitions Committee – Outdoor. The Committee presented proposed venues for the EuroHockey Youth U18 Championships 2016 & the EuroHockey Youth U16 Hockey5 Future Heroes Cup 2016 all of which were approved.
Details will be provided in a separate Competition bulletin.
The Committee also reported on agreed venues for EuroHockey Club tournaments 2016 – again details will be provided in a separate Competition bulletin.
Also discussed were new Anti-doping proposals by the FIH, an update from the Working Group assigned to review the format of the EuroHockey Championships, and an issue regarding a clash of dates with the EuroHockey Junior Championship tournaments 2017 and FIH events.
Further details will be provided in due course.
With regard to the U16 events – NAs have been informed that by not participating in the 2016 tournaments they will be unable to take part in the qualifying tournaments in 2017 for the following Youth Olympic Games. They will however be permitted to enter the 2017 tournaments, but must start at the lowest level.
It was noted that 5 of the larger NA’s in Europe have not entered the Hockey5 tournaments 2016 and will play an invitational 11 a side event in the summer. These events will be sanctioned by EHF under the following conditions:
-not at the same dates as Hockey5 events, so not between 1-14 July.
-EHF suggests they all bring a youth umpire.
-EHF endorses the match schedule.
Competitions Committee – Indoor:
The Board were presented with an update on preparations for the EuroHockey Indoor tournaments 2016 (Nations & Clubs).
Regarding 6 v 6 the FIH stated in their bulletin that ‘whilst these changes will come into effect from 1 January 2016 for international hockey, National Associations will have discretion to decide the date of implementation at national level.’
The Committee recommended that due to the start of indoor in Europe in Oct/Nov 2015 , EHF would sanction Invitational European tournaments to play 6/6. This was approved by the Executive Board.
Euro Hockey League – an update on the planning for the 2015/2016 season of the Euro Hockey League was received.
The FIH has requested that all major Continental (club) events be played using the new format of 4 x 15 minutes, with a time stoppage of 40 seconds for penalty corners and goals in the same format. The Executive Board approved this request, therefore the 2015-2016 EHL Season will consist of 4 periods of 15 minutes and time will be stopped for 40 seconds when a penalty corner is awarded and when a goal is scored.
New Committees
The President outlined the procedure for nominations and appointments of committee members for the upcoming period (2016/2017) noting that Member Associations have already been invited to nominate people with a deadline of 31st October. New Committees will be approved by the Executive Board at its next meeting in December and announced shortly after that.
As with the procedure for 2014 & 2015 Committees the following criteria will be adhered to as far as possible:
- Every nominating NA at least one person appointed
- At least two women in each committee
- Chance for new talents
- History (attendance and performance)
- Good level of English
- Relationship between the number of playing members of a National Association and number of appointed committee members
Communications – a report was received from the Communications Committee paying particular attention to the Social Media Explosion. The Board were given some figures with regard to Twitter impressions, YouTube video views etc over the Outdoor Nations season, and noted the particular success of the instant highlights (Snappy TV/Twitter Amplify). The YouTube channel and Twitter Amplify was made possible through the FIH and the impact was clear to see.
The Board was presented with an update on the plans and budget to deliver more content, through YouTube and Twitter, in collaboration with the FIH. The Board recognised how quickly technology is developing and were enthusiastic with the approach which will raise the awareness of our sport across our Member Nations and beyond.
EuroHockey Championships 2015
The Board received a brief report on the successful running of the EuroHockey Championships in London, with a full report to follow at the December meeting.
EuroHockey Championships 2017
It was reported that the license agreement for the EHC 2017 was signed in London during the Championships, and following a review of EHC 2015 an Event Manual for 2017 would be produced and agreed.
The Hon Treasurer – The Hon Treasurer presented the actual and the outlook spending for 2015, along with a summary of current debtors and the Board agreed actions for the coming weeks with regard to these debtors, also asking that the Finance committee once again review the protocol for debtors/late payments
Appointments Committee – A report was received from the Appointments Committee Chair, Ray O’Connor which included details of withdrawals & rejections of appointments over the most recent season. Ray noted that whilst the Appointments Committee worked hard to create the most suitable team of umpires and officials for tournaments this was not always possible after a high level of withdrawals from the original group.
He reported that there was a good working link with the Education Committee with regard to officials and umpires development, however he asked that Member Associations be encouraged to continue to support their umpires and officials following the various Education events to enable the development of their career.
The Executive Board agreed the following dates for its meetings in 2016:
11th & 12th March
3rd & 4th June
16th & 17th September
11th November
9th & 10th December
EHF Office
All queries should be addressed to Angus Kirkland via the EHF Office info@eurohockey.org