Community Hockey

Community Hockey

England Hockey are committed to leading positive change by igniting a passion for hockey across diverse audiences in local communities.

We understand that every neighbourhood is unique, so collaboration is the key to creating lasting impacts on health, wellbeing, and social connectivity. We have partnered with a host of local community organisations and groups to increase knowledge, design initiatives, and deliver tailored hockey sessions to meet the specific interests and requirements of different people within the local community.

From youth engagement programs to fitness initiatives for seniors, our community partners enable us to reach a wider audience, ensuring that everyone has access to the benefits of an active and healthy lifestyle.

Spark Active use Commonwealth Games Legacy to bring hockey to hundreds of children across some of Birmingham’s most deprived areas

Spark Active, a Community Interest Company based in Birmingham are passionate about making a difference to local children through sport and physical activity.  

As part of England Hockey’s Commonwealth Games Legacy project, they have received support and training to help them create a lasting positive impact on hundreds of children across some of Birmingham’s most deprived areas.  

Working with eight local schools across the community, Spark Active continue to give hockey experiences to children through the provision of lunchtime sessions, after-school clubs and a local community project.  

Watch their video to find out more about how they engage and deliver positive hockey experiences to new audiences across their local community.  

Midlands community groups use hockey as a vehicle for a healthy lifestyle

England Hockey partnered with Birmingham Community Leisure Trust and Active Blaby, Oadby & Wigston in Leicestershire to help provide training, support, and hockey sessions with a difference to their local communities.  

With an emphasis on health, wellbeing, and enjoyment the informal Walking Hockey sessions have bought people together of all ages, abilities, backgrounds and fitness levels to give hockey a try. Growing in popularity, Walking Hockey is not only enjoyed for its physical health benefits but also for enhancing social and mental wellbeing and this formula is the reason why people return week after week.  

Check out the video to see the positive impact hockey can have and how easy it is to introduce within local communities.  

Birmingham Festival 23

England Hockey brought hockey back to Birmingham this summer, with a pop-up, participatory experience at the official one-year anniversary festival for the Commonwealth Games.

Free-to-access, the festival aimed to echo the city-centre experience of the Games, taking over Centenary Square with live music and performance, creative and participatory activities, to recreate the magic and memories of 2022.

Attracting people from all over the city and beyond, Hockey proved to be popular with over 200 people of all ages, picking up a stick and giving a hockey a try and many more having conversations with England Hockey representatives and volunteers from local club Barford Tigers about how to access and play hockey in the future.

Next Steps

It has been fantastic to bring hockey to new audiences across local communities using community groups and organisations and we are keen to help support more groups in the future. So, if you are a community group interested in delivering hockey to new audiences in your area or are already involved in a similar project, get in touch with us.