England Hockey

England Hockey
Industry Sport - Hockey
Founded 2003
Headquarters Bisham, Marlow
Website www.englandhockey.co.uk

England Hockey is the national governing body for the sport of field hockey in England. There are separate governing bodies for the sport in the other parts of the United Kingdom. It was formed on 1 January 2003 to replace the English Hockey Association (EHA) which had had to suspend operations 2002 because of significant financial problems. The English Hockey Association had in turn been formed in 1996 to combine the function of the separate governing bodies for men’s, women’s and mixed hockey.

History and organisation

Following the demise of the EHA, England's international hockey was for a time managed through a separate limited company called World Class Hockey Limited, which was funded entirely by Sport England. These operations were merged back into England Hockey on 1 July 2005.[1] The second tier of hockey administration in England consists of six Regional Associations – East, Midlands, North, South, West and the Combined Services, and below that there are county associations.

England Hockey is affiliated to the European Hockey Federation and International Hockey Federation. It runs a number of competitions, including the English Hockey League.

While UK hockey is organised by separate bodies for each of the home nations, the United Kingdom is required to enter a combined team in the Olympics. This has created tensions between the governing bodies and those responsible for the Great Britain teams, which have performed disappointingly since Great Britain's men's team won gold at the 1988 Summer Olympics. However the women's team have been performing well, winning a bronze at the Olympic games in London 2012 and most recently winning a bronze medal at the Argentina Hockey World League.[2]

Current England Squad

The current England Men[3] and England Women[4] Hockey teams train at Bisham Abbey National Sport Centre just outside of Marlow.

Former National Hockey Stadium

Until early 2009, England Hockey was based at the former, purpose-built, former England National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes, but the cost of running the stadium was one of the factors that led to the demise of the English Hockey Association. The ground was leased to Wimbledon (later Milton Keynes Dons) football club in 2003 and has not been used for hockey since then. On 17 December 2009, demolition of the stadium began, the site is now used for a new national HQ for Network Rail.[5]

Competitions

England Hockey runs a series of senior competitions over the course of a year:


In addition to these, there are also several indoor and outdoor junior competitions for both schools and clubs, as well as masters' competitions for over 45s.[6]

Board of Directors

See also

References

  1. ↑ England Hockey (2005-06-27). "News: England Hockey to take over International responsibilities of World Class Hockey Limited" (WEBSITE). England Hockey official website. England Hockey. Retrieved 2007-02-27.
  2. ↑ England Hockey (2013-12-09). "News: Sensational shoot-out gives England bronze" (WEBSITE). England Hockey official website. England Hockey. Retrieved 2013-12-19.
  3. ↑ England men's national field hockey team
  4. ↑ England women's national field hockey team
  5. ↑ Hockey Stadium: demolition starts - Heart FM
  6. ↑ England Hockey (2014-01-24). "England Hockey: Competitions" (WEBSITE). England Hockey official website. England Hockey. Retrieved 2014-01-24.

External links

Main England hockey organisations

Regional Hockey Associations