University of Bristol and Havant awarded Talent Academy Licenses for the 2023-24 cycle

England Hockey are delighted to share the good news that following a comprehensive tender process the University of Bristol HC and Havant HC have been awarded Talent Academy licenses and will commence delivery from September 2023.

The University of Bristol Talent Academy will serve a newly created Bristol catchment area, reflecting the player density across the area while Havant HC will deliver the South Coast Talent Academy replacing the current England Hockey South Coast Talent Academy.

Once again, the TA Appointment Panel, consisting of representatives from the West and South Central Areas and England Hockey staff, were extremely impressed with the quality of applications which reached the final stage and would like to thank everyone involved in making it a very competitive process.

England Hockey will also lead a new Talent Academy in the East which will serve a new catchment area to improve the accessibility for high potential players travelling from Norfolk and Suffolk.

This brings the nationwide network of Talent Academies to 23 for the 2023-24 cycle which together aim to support approximately 550 high potential players per gender from u15s to u18s (School Years 10, 11, 12 & 13).  They will continue to deliver a year-round programme which offer weekly best v best hockey training and competition, education and individual support and development aligned to talent development principles and Complete Player Qualities. (Great Britain Hockey Talent System Framework (englandhockey.co.uk)

Talent Academies are one route to progress to England Age Group Programmes and in alignment with the RARE (Right Athlete Right Environment) principles there are multiple ways to progress, and players do not need to be in a Talent Academy to be selected for an England U16 or U18 squad. Nominations have just opened for the 2023-4 England Age Group programme for players not currently in Talent Academies.

The increase in Talent Academies means the Catchment Area Map will be updated to ensure clubs continue to build relations with the most appropriate Talent Academy. This map will be updated prior to the start of the 2023-4 cycle. You can find the current map on the Talent Academy Nomination webpage here as well as all details regarding nominating players.

As a reminder, the purpose of the catchment area map is to help clubs and Talent Academies identify the relationships that they should build to support player development. It does not necessarily determine which Talent Academy every player should access. In some cases, it may be appropriate for a player to access a different Talent Academy to the one their club is linked to, due to their home or school location or other personal circumstances. If a player would like to request a reallocation, they may do so by contacting the England Hockey Talent Team.  

For further information on Talent Academies, please visit the dedicated pages of the website where you’ll find FAQ’s and resources. If you have a query regarding Talent Academies that is not answered on the website, please email talentacademy@englandhockey.co.uk.