The Executive Board met for the first time in 2019 in the EHF office in Brussels. This year will be an important year for the EHF as we will celebrate our 50th anniversary.
The EHF President was pleased to announce that Jorge Alcover received an Olympic Order in Madrid. She also felt that the Indoor season had gone well with a lot of excellent tournaments. All events were fantastically organized. We had more participants than in previous years, which shows that hockey in Europe is going well. The President was pleased to have the opportunity to visit Victory H.C. in Belgium, which was awarded Large Club of the Year 2018. It is a real model club with a lot of attention to all people (ParaHockey, Youth, Coaches). She is also very proud that we are holding the first ever EuroHockey Women Leadership Forum.
The Board received the following reports:
Communications & Commercial: Siobhan Madeley (Communications Manager) updated the Board on the performance of the different social media channels and the targets for 2019. She also reported on the different events that were streamed on our eurohockeytv.org platform during the indoor season. Simon Mason (Co-Chair) presented to the Board a new project that hockey brands could support. Angus Kirkland and David Serrahima also updated the Board on the ongoing work to look for new partners.
Competitions: Walter Kapounek (Chair) reported on the recently completed indoor season.
The recommended venues for the Outdoor U18 tournaments in 2020 were discussed and agreed, and details will be published in a separate bulletin. We will have a busy Outdoor season in 2019 with a lot of events. The organisation of all are up and running.
The Board approved different changes in the regulations: the withdrawal deadline for Outdoor Club events will be pushed later in the year and the window to play outside Europe for players playing in EuroHockey events will be extended. The new point system for club competitions has been approved by the Board.
The Competitions Committee Outdoor will review the format of the Championships as they will have more importance in the future as qualifiers for the World Cup and the Olympics.
EHL: Angus Kirkland updated the Board with the KO16/Final 4 coming up in Eindhoven.
Development: Peter Elders (Chair) reported to the Board on the activities planned for 2019. The Education and Development Manager, Tom Pedersen-Smith, updated the Board on the EU projects that were launched at the beginning of the year.
Education: Inez Cooper (Chair) presented the reports of the 3 working groups (umpires, coaches, officials) who had met in Brussels earlier in March. Inez gave an update on plans and ongoing activities, across these three areas, for 2019. Tom Pedersen-Smith is working hard with the three groups on consistency throughout the different courses.
Meeting Theme: The Board reflected on their role as Board members and how they can improve and make more efficient their meetings and how we can collectively monitor our interactions with our Members. Angus Kirkland reported on the creation of the Athletes Committee who will be in place after the General Assembly.
Director Generals’ Report: Angus Kirkland updated the Board on the Continental Federations meeting held with the FIH. Angus went on to give an update on the EuroHockey Championships 2019, the General Assembly and 50th-anniversary celebration and a disciplinary update.
FIH Report: The President reported on the ongoing work of the FIH and the nomination process for the FIH Committees. The new Pro League has been launched and all the participating NA’s will meet this week in the US to discuss all aspects of the competition and the future of it.
Hon. Treasurer’s Report: Mika Rihtila presented the report of the end of year accounts for 2018 and updated the Board on the 2019 budget.
Appointments Committee: Angus Kirkland presented the report on behalf of the Appointments Committee.
The next meeting will be held on June 21st and 22nd, venue to be confirmed.