In order to achieve our purpose of ‘sharing a love of the game’, to get more people to participate, to stop us losing people from the sport; we need to extend the invitation to hockey further and wider than ever before. It can start as small as simply telling friends or other parents about your club or a match on- TV. Or creating more hockey content to share on social media or YouTube. Or joining the movement of clubs taking hockey to new audiences.
And there is so much to share! From the rich experiences of playing, coaching and supporting, to connection with your local community and the incredible mental and physical benefits of our sport that last a lifetime where you can have 3 generations in one team.
Let’s shout about hockey. Let’s...
WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE HOCKEY MORE VISIBLE, RELEVANT AND ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
So, what do we mean by visible, relevant, and accessible? And what does that mean for you?
Visible. Of course, TV rights and press coverage are important, but just as powerful are the voices. We need every person who loves hockey to talk with passion about the game they love, it’s benefits and impact, to people outside the sport, friends, acquaintances and colleagues and share the contribution they make to their local areas and communities. After all if we don’t shout about hockey, who will?
This is far more valuable in the long term than the impact that a few televised Commonwealth or Olympic games alone deliver. Let’s make ourselves seen and heard beyond the pitch and the clubhouse.
Relevant. On one hand this is about modernising the game (how it’s played and how it’s watched) to stay relevant with new and changing demands of players and audiences; without ripping the soul out of the game. A challenge, yes, but one that our sport and others have had to embrace for decades. No sport remains the same. Nor should it.
On the other hand, relevancy is about changing the perception that hockey is only relevant to certain people from certain backgrounds. We need to increase our visibility and accessibility to those beyond the perceived ‘heartlands’ of the game.
At England Hockey, we are committed to doing more and having a real impact in making our sport relevant (and accessible) to people from any and every background. We have done extensive work on being more equal, diverse and inclusive as an organisation, some of which is outlined in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Framework here.
We’re not there yet, and there is still lots to be done, and we are continuing to listen and learn.
We know the positive impact that our game can have on individuals, and our clubs and teams have on their local communities. We need to share that further. Let’s extend the invitation.
Accessible. There is no point extending an invitation and forgetting to unlock the door. We want to work together to reduce and remove the barriers to entry (both perceived and real). We want to be accessible for anyone that wants to pick up a stick and play, or volunteer to help their local club, or who just wants to be part of the community...regardless of social background, race, gender, sexual orientation or stage of life.
Let’s open the doors to new people, hold on to those who feel the sport is moving away from them and bring back those who have stepped away. Let’s leave the door open.