What consideration has been given to the impact of the strategy on participation, smaller clubs or clubs that are not Talent Centre accredited?

A key principle of the talent system is that there are no prerequisites to progress from one stage to the next.

A player does not need to attend a Talent Centre to progress to a Talent Academy and a player does not need to attend a Talent Academy to progress to an England Age Group programme.

Being at a Talent Centre club does not promise an accelerated trajectory. Each Talent Centre needs to continue to offer the high-quality provision that has led to its accreditation; this does not mean growing its junior membership.

England Hockey is not looking to instigate the movement of large numbers of players between clubs or to stipulate the combination of club, school and Junior County Hockey for most junior players. Local hockey should be encouraged for most players below the age of 14 and those at the ‘Developing Hockey’ stage of development.

The result of designing a more flexible system means it won’t limit the development of gifted players at smaller clubs if that environment is the right one for them.