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Hockey Ireland Strategy 2021-2024 ‘Change The Game’

Dear Hockey Ireland Members

I am absolutely delighted to be able to present, the new Hockey Ireland Strategy 2021-2024, ‘Change the Game’ to you. This strategy document is the culmination of months of hard work by volunteers and staff across the entire Hockey family.  

I would like to thank each and every one of you for your contribution in setting out our ambitions for the next four years, particularly during what has been a very difficult period due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Strategically, our focus will be on the following: 

  1. Safeguarding our sports future through developing a financially secure and commercially focused organisation.
  2. Broadening and growing our Hockey community by providing leadership and direction to ensure the enhancement of member services to all of our clubs.
  3. Maximising our potential as a High-Performance sport.
  4. Leading our sport by ensuring that we are operating to the highest standards at all levels throughout the organisation.
  5. Engaging professionally with all of our stakeholders to build meaningful, positive and collaborative relationships.
  6. Establishing Hockey Ireland as a nationally respected sports brand.

As you read through the document you will see that there are key actions and delivery goals linked to the achievement of our objectives in each of the six strategic pillars. 

One of the pillars, ‘Leading our Sport’, has the following key action, ‘to provide national leadership on key structures, models, processes and pathways’

The delivery goal on this action is to ‘conduct a root and branch review of the national operating, financial and governance model and implement recommendations.

It is my intention to immediately begin the implementation of this review process by engaging an external consultancy firm to carry out the work on our behalf. The review will examine every part of the organisation but will particularly focus on the current structures and resources employed at Board, Branch and Office level. The aim will be to evaluate whether they are fit for purpose and consider how well they integrate under a single agreed operating, financial and governance model.

We will, over the coming days, be in contact with you to provide further information regarding the specifics of the review.

As soon as it is possible to meet face to face, I will visit each of the provinces and meet with you to discuss how we all work together to ‘Change the Game’. Both our Women’s and Men’s teams have achieved extraordinary success over the past number of years through their dedication, commitment and singular focus to succeed. I have no doubt that as an organisation we can also excel by working as one team to achieve our goals as we emerge from this very difficult period. 

Strategy

Stay safe and best wishes.

Eric Brady
Chair – Hockey Ireland

Umpiring is kicking back!

Together with the Leinster Branch and Hockey Ireland, Avoca is trying to not just recruit umpires but to make umpiring a key part of hockey development in our Club. We are working to align umpiring training with national and international standards.

Part of our hockey development plan is umpiring education and helping you with your own umpire-development pathway. If you are 12 or older you can start your own umpire career.

Club member Stephen Jenkins, playing with the Fearsome 4’s (last seasons Minor Cup winners) will be our umpire development liaison person. With the help of the Leinster and Irish Hockey Umpire panels he will be a key part of the clubs’ umpiring development. “There is much more to follow” according to Stephen, but “if you want to get into umpiring and want support from within the club just contact me!”

The four seminars hosted by Leinster hockey will be a great indicator if you like umpiring and help you to understand how umpires think and come to certain decisions. Let Stephen know if you would like to attend: 086 310 8639.

Or book here for the first seminar: https://forms.gle/j73tpw6sKPxPvdVU9

Interpros Cancelled

Following a meeting of the Inter-Pro working group with representatives from the Provinces, Competitions and High Performance on the 9th of February, Hockey Ireland has declared this year’s U16 & U18 inter-provincial competitions as cancelled due to the on-going restrictions related to COVID-19.

Hockey Ireland High Performance will continue to lead out on the junior age player development programmes at both National and Provincial level to ensure the provincial players remain on a development pathway – where possible scheduling challenge games between the provinces and subject to Government restrictions in late spring / early summer.

Hockey Ireland is in regular communication with Government authorities and international hockey bodies and is monitoring Government advice and restrictions on an ongoing basis.

The Inter-Provincial programmes will return in the 2021-22 season in a revised year-round competition format for the various junior age groups.

Hockey Ireland would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding during this time and appreciates the efforts many of the players who are training while at home.

Please keep safe. For further information on Covid-19: https://www2.hse.ie/conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus.html

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

If you have any further queries, please email info@hockey.ie

Rival Hockey Stick Deal

Member Stick Deal

Looking for a stylish high carbon quality stick at a great price? New startup Rival Hockey are offering Avoca HC members premium sticks at a 55% discount. Just £99 (about €114). Delivery from the UK is different now so note that Vat and delivery are extra so the overall price could be c.€140. Still a great price range though for a high end 95 carbon stick! There are 3 stick types so chose your weapon! Use code: AVOCA when ordering.

Rival Hockey – Premium Field Hockey Sticks

Youtube Channel

Avoca Hockey Club launched it’s new youtube channel earlier in the year and we have been busy adding coaching videos and highlights from old matches.

Avoca Hockey Club

Avoca Hockey Club

Avoca Hockey Club
The group play at the Dominican College Sion Hill on Thursday nights from 8.30pm for about an hour. If you are interested in joining, get in touch with the club here: https://avocahockeyclub.ie/
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Avoca HC 125k Charity Challenge

Two senior players, Cian Funge and Anna Richardson have come up with a plan that involves the whole club. We have teamed up with the Laura Lynn Foundation and Enable Ireland for The Avoca HC 125k Challenge with the aim of raising €12,500 which will be split evenly between our charity partners… All you have to do is take on one of the challenges below and raise funds….easy 😀. We need every member and their families involved – let’s show what a great club we are. 💪

This is how it works:

Open to every team, every player young and old and your families.

You pick a challenge then you have the month of February to complete it.

You use this link (also download GoFundMe) to send out to people (everyone you know😉) to get donations. Post on social media, WhatsApp—everywhere! Make your own posts and updates and use #AvocaHC125k. We’ll pick those up and create combined club updates.

https://gofund.me/27870d24

1. Solo: Walk, jog or run 125 kilometres during February
2. Solo: younger and older members can walk, jog or run 12.5 kilometres a week
3. Family Challenge: 125 kilometres for the family, sharing the load and having a bit of fun!

Once you decide, register that you are involved in Clubzap: go to the chat page and find an open chat called Avoca 125k Charity Challenge (see below). Then, in the same way that you register attendance click your choice in the box. That’s it. Easy peasy. Sign up by Sunday.

There will be a short zoom launch at 19:30 on Monday 1st February and a few creative checkpoints along the way. The zoom details will be published in the Clubzap chat shortly.

Post your daily updates, pics, vids on Instagram and tag @avocahc or #AvocaHC125k.

C’mon Avoca – we can do this!

Caroline Daly
Club President

Note:
For ClubZap chat – go to the chat page, click on the chat circle and search for Avoca 125k Charity Challenge.

You can copy and paste this tagging stuff for Instagram @avocahc #AvocaHC125k @enable.ireland @lauralynnhospice

January ’21 update

Dear Club Member,

Firstly Happy New Year to you all, I hope you had a safe and enjoyable holiday period.

As you are no doubt aware due to the rise in Covid 19 cases and the extended period of government restrictions we have been unable to start working off the turkey and mince pies on the hockey pitch.

Lockdown does give us the opportunity to perhaps work on different aspects of our fitness and our hockey skills. As a club we have been looking at some fun activities that we can do together virtually and we can now give you the opportunity to ‘workout from home’. In Clubzap and the covid-19 section of the website you can find links for the following

  • Strength and fitness classes free to club members
  • Skills training videos
  • Hockey Ireland’s skills challenge

We would also encourage everyone to get out walking or running (within your 5km) for a bit of fresh air. For those of you of more technical persuasion, there are a host of full HD Hockey Matches and training videos on You Tube, check out FIH Hockey.

Like everyone, we do not know when we will be allowed back on the pitch but it is safe to assume we will continue to have restrictions in place when we do.

I want to take this opportunity to reassure you that we will continue to endeavour to provide as much hockey as possible. Myself and our hard working committee are considering plans for a variety of training approaches depending on what happens next and we will let you know as soon as we have guidance from Hockey Ireland and the Leinster Branch. How the league competitions will run is also to be clarified by the Leinster branch.

I would like to thank you all for your patience, support and understanding at these times.

As always your club captain or section coordinator can be contacted with any concerns or comments you would like passed on to the club committee.

Caroline Daly
President Avoca Hockey Club