England Hockey Awards 2025 Categories

Sponsored by Notts Sport

Essential Criteria

Awarded to the Club which:

• Has shown strong leadership, innovation, and good business practice to ensure the long-term sustainability of the club.
• Provides a friendly, welcoming, inclusive and social environment for all.
• Provides a safe and positive culture for young players.
• Is committed to inclusivity and diversifying club membership?
• Has appropriately trained people and volunteers who are valued and rewarded.
• Proactively offers all people within the club (players, umpires, coaches, leaders) the opportunity to develop themselves.
• Has provided players with access to appropriate and sustainable facilities.
• Offers relevant playing and non-playing opportunities to all club members.
• Provides children and young people with positive experiences of hockey.
• Works within the community to increase participation and awareness through formal and / or informal hockey opportunities. - and can show examples of diverse community connections which have brought new people into hockey or taken hockey to new places.
• Is an England Hockey member club and compliant with England Hockey policies.

Desirable 

• Achieved or working towards England Hockey ClubMark.
• Takes an innovative approach to fundraising and community engagement.
• Is a growing club in player numbers.
• Listens to young people’s voices and acts on feedback
• Enables more children and young people to play hockey - particularly those who are currently less active and facing barriers to participating in hockey.

Sponsored by Ogilvie Fleet

Essential Criteria

Awarded to a Club which:

• Has fewer than 250 members.
• Has shown marked improvement in key areas over the past 12 months.
• Has shown strong leadership, innovation, and good business practice to ensure the long-term sustainability of the club.
• Provides a friendly, welcoming, inclusive and social environment for all.
• Has appropriately trained people and volunteers who are valued and rewarded.
• Proactively offers all people within the club (players, umpires, coaches, leaders) the opportunity to develop themselves.
• Offers relevant playing and non-playing opportunities to all club members.
• Works within the community to increase participation and awareness through formal and / or informal hockey opportunities – and can show examples of diverse community connections which have brought new people into hockey or taken hockey to new places.
• Is an England Hockey member club and compliant with England Hockey policies.

Desirable

• Achieved or working towards England Hockey ClubMark.
• Takes an innovative approach to fundraising and community engagement.
• Is a growing club in player numbers.

Essential Criteria

Awarded to the Men’s Team which:

• Has achieved significant success during the course of the season. 
• May have shown significant improvement from the previous season. 
• Has an inclusive culture that respects every player and allows them to feel welcomed.  
• Provides a safe and positive culture. 
• Demonstrates that its players are integrated into the heart of the club. 
• Is part of an England Hockey Member club. 

Desirable

• Represents the club values and acts as ambassadors for the club.
• Demonstrates that its players are involved in positive community engagement.

Essential Criteria

Awarded to the Women’s Team which:

• Has achieved significant success during the course of the season.
• May have shown significant improvement from the previous season.
• Has an inclusive culture that respects every player and allows them to feel welcomed.
• Provides a safe and positive culture.
• Demonstrates that its players are integrated into the heart of the club.
• Is part of an England Hockey Member club.

Desirable

• Represents the club values and acts as ambassadors for the club.
• Demonstrates that its players are involved in positive community engagement.

Essential Criteria

Awarded to the Person who:

• Has shown true dedication and commitment to the sport in any voluntary capacity.
• Has made a significant contribution to a particular aspect of the sport in any voluntary capacity.
• Is seen as an outstanding role model by their peers.
• Carries out their role in an understated way.
• Has been the lead driver/influencer in creating new opportunities for people to access hockey.
• Is part of an England Hockey Member club.

Desirable

• Inspires people around them and engages and includes others in what they do.
• Has full compliance with DBS checks and safeguarding protocols (if relevant) 

Awarded to the Person who:

• Demonstrates outstanding commitment to their unpaid activity and role.
• Has positively influenced the development of (or a particular aspect of) the sport on a county or area scale.
• Has dedicated their time and effort to overcome challenges and make valuable contributions which have a positive impact on the sport.
• Has made a significant impact in their role, acting as a role model for other volunteers.
• Carries out their role in an understated way.

Essential Criteria

Awarded to the Coach who:

• Is an outstanding and inspiring role model.
• Has established a safe and positive culture within their coaching environment.
• Develop their knowledge and understanding of hockey, appropriate to the participant need.
• Has a recognised England Hockey coaching qualification or relevant learning linked to the role they play and up to date DBS check.
• Have been actively coaching and demonstrating the above criteria for the duration of the season.
• Adheres to the Spirit of Hockey and is an outstanding and inspiring role model. 
  • Is inclusive to ensure everyone can feel a part of the hockey community
  • Takes care of people and the places we play
  • Upholds the spirit of fair play and respect our opponents and officials
  • Stands up for what is right in a respectful way

Desirable

• Has been active for the season at an England Hockey member club and/or within the Talent System and/or as an England national age group coach.

Awarded to the Person who:

• Has an established history (25 years or more) of distinguished service to hockey.
• Has made a lasting and outstanding contribution to the sport.
• Has exhibited leadership and provided inspiration to others involved in hockey.
• Has positively influenced the development of (or a particular aspect of) the sport on a county, regional and national scale.
• This category is not for posthumous nominations.

Essential Criteria

Awarded to the Official who:

• Has demonstrated commitment to their own or others development.
• Is seen as an outstanding role model by their peers.
• Has made a significant contribution to the Officiating Community.
• Has an England Hockey Umpiring Accreditation at any level or is registered as an England Hockey Technical Official.
• Has made a significant contribution to their organisation (Club, Area, NPUA, TAP)

Desirable

• Has been instrumental in supporting the development of umpiring.
• Has been instrumental in supporting the development of Technical Officiating.

Essential Criteria

• Has demonstrated commitment to their own development.
• Is seen as an outstanding role model by their peers.
• Has positioned themselves as an emerging leader.
• Has shown commitment to make a significant difference for the future of hockey.
• Supports a safe and positive culture which respects the individual and makes people feel welcome.
• Is under the age of 23 as of 1^st January 2025.
• Is a coach, umpire, leader, volunteer etc with appropriate DBS check.

Desirable

• Has demonstrated innovative approaches to enhance the game.

Notes

Those shortlisted for the Rising Star Award will also be considered for The EuroHockey Youth Leadership Festival in August 2025, taking place in Monchengladbach, Germany.  England Hockey are looking to send two young people (1 male and 1 female) to the festival. 

The festival provides a fantastic opportunity for youth leaders to discuss all things hockey related, share ground-breaking ideas and make friends with like-minded people from across Europe.  

Sponsored by Notts Sport Shockwave

Awarded to a club that has:   

•  Taken a proactive and impactful approach (big or small) to environmental sustainability over the year.  
•  Is an England Hockey member club and compliant with England Hockey policies.   

Examples could include (but are not limited to): 

• Promoting sustainable choices and behaviour change.
• Recycling and re-using sports kit / equipment. 
• Reducing plastic waste (cutlery, water bottles, cups etc). 
• Travelling in a greener way (car sharing, minibus etc). 
• Creating new opportunities for renewable energy e.g. solar panels, ground source heat pumps, LED lights, motion sensor lights, eco shower heads, draft proofing etc.  
• Embracing nature (rainwater collection, composting, planting nectar-rich flowers). 
• Promoting the removal of carbon from the atmosphere through nature-based solution and particularly supporting localised schemes e.g. sourcing products from local suppliers to reduce carbon emissions.  
• Development of a Club Sustainability plan

Awarded to the Hockey Maker that:

• Has been appointed to at least four England Hockey events between June 2024 and May 2025.
• Has shown genuine commitment and enthusiasm to his/her role.
• Motivates and engages with other Hockey Makers.
• Creates a safe and positive culture for other Hockey Makers and values/respects the others they work alongside.
• Uses initiative and makes a real contribution to the success of an event.
• Goes the ‘Extra mile’.
• Is on the England Hockey Hockey Maker Portal, volunteer kinetic.

Sponsored by Wasserman Live

Essential Criteria

An individual or group of people at a club or partner organisation that during the season of 2024/2025:

• Have identified people within their local community who are underserved by sport and looked to connect them to hockey.
• Understood what could make a real difference and bring hockey to more people.
• Have worked to make hockey fit into people’s lives so they feel able to join in.
• Used their profile or standing to promote hockey and encourage underrepresented people to take part.
• Have arranged activities and events that have reached new people and made them feel welcomed, valued and part of the hockey family.

Desirable

• Listened to what was needed and delivered activities shaped by the underrepresented groups.
• Developing hockey to promote inclusion and participation of all people to belong and to remove barriers to participation for individuals or communities who may not have previously accessed hockey opportunities.
• Inspires people around them and engages and includes others in what they do.
• Has full compliance with DBS checks and safeguarding protocols (if relevant).

These Awards are nominated by coaches and internal members of staff.

Elite Team of the Year

Men’s Senior Performance Player 

Men’s Junior Performance Player 

Women’s Senior Performance Player 

Women’s Junior Performance Player