Archive for month: November, 2020
Both Joan Morgan and Arlene Boyles were awarded Honorary Life Membership of Hockey Ireland at last night’s AGM.
Joan held a variety of posts throughout her time in Hockey Ireland. Over the years she held the position of Team Manager for the Women’s, High Performance Manager, as well as the former company secretary. Joan started with the Irish Hockey Union back in 1996, working with Hockey Ireland until 2018.
Recently retired Women’s Manager Arlene Boyles, who amassed 123 caps for Ireland herself, was also awarded Honorary Life Membership. Having been involved in Hockey Ireland since the age of 13 taking on various roles after retiring from international play. Boyles was also part of an integral part of the Pegasus squad which secured eight Irish Senior Cups and four All-Ireland Club Championship wins. Part of the national setup since 2010, acting as manager for 121 capped games, her mentoring is considered to have been a key influence by many of the Women’s players in their rise to World Cup silver and Olympic qualification.
Both women have been major contributors to the sport, and we hope that their knowledge and experience will be something hockey will benefit from for many years to come.
Martin Canniffe stepped down after his tenure as President at last night’s AGM, and Hockey Ireland would like to thank him for his service over the last number of years. We would also like to welcome Ann Rosa the new President of Hockey Ireland, and the new VP John Dennis.
Hockey Ireland would like to thank all of our clubs for ensuring that Government imposed restrictions on our sport are being followed in order to contribute to the reduction of the spread of Covid-19.
While it is hoped that the Republic of Ireland will move to a lower Level of restrictions in the coming weeks, at this moment Hockey Ireland do not know what the next Level of restrictions on sport will be. Ulster Hockey is also carefully monitoring the situation in Northern Ireland.
The EYHL Working Group and the Board of Hockey Ireland have met this week and discussions have taken place in relation to returning to competitive hockey as soon as possible.
The EYHL working group has prepared three clear scenarios. The first and most positive option would be that we would be able to use two dates (the 12th and 19th of December) for EYHL rounds, but this is only possible if training can resume in early December.
The Board has given guidance to be as flexible as possible in the approach to the playing calendar. The Hockey Ireland COVID-19 Group, which includes representatives of the Branches, will reconvene next week and discuss the various options and any feedback that the clubs may have is welcome through the Branches.
Where restrictions are not lifted for the Island of Ireland in the beginning of December, the two other scenarios would be to consider re-starting competitive hockey in early January or later in January. The option of a ‘curtailed’ season may also to be considered if the restrictions continue into 2021 or new restrictions are imposed later in the season.
We will keep you updated as soon as we have more information. In the meantime, Hockey Ireland would like to re-iterate to our members our desire to facilitate a return to competitive hockey as soon as it is possible to do so safely.
Hockey Ireland would like to welcome everyone in the hockey community to access the ‘Player Development’ resource on the Hockey Ireland Hub E-learning platform. This area of the Hub will focus on assisting all players across many areas of performance, such as strength and conditioning and nutrition.
Hockey Ireland are striving to make sure everyone in the hockey community has access to these key components of player development. We hope these resources will inform, educate, update, and assist players’ physical, mental, and social growth at all levels of hockey.
Through the ‘Player Development’ resources participants can learn the necessary skills to reach their full potential. We aim to provide a well-rounded resource that produces regular articles from leading experts in the field of performance sport. We hope to provide all participants with key information to help them develop as a person and a player.
An interactive approach will be taken where Hockey Ireland endeavors to answer any comments you may have towards articles produced. We hope the comment box will encourage and facilitate discussion on these important topics among the hockey community.
To access the Hockey Ireland E-Learning Hub please go to: https://hockeyirelandhub.ie/
The National Indoor finals will be unable to take place as scheduled February 7th 2021 as per the Hockey Ireland existing calendar of events. Due current COVID-19 restrictions, the Provincial Indoor competitions are unlikely to be completed appropriately prior to the originally scheduled February date.
The indoor committee will liaise with the Competitions Committee and Provinces to secure a date which will be announced in due course.
*Pictured: Lisa Jacob (R) with Sharon Hutchinson (L) of Cork Harelquins at the 2019 Hockey Ireland WIS conference
Hockey Ireland Announce Former International, Lisa Jacob as Women’s Manager
09/11/20
Hockey Ireland is pleased to announce the appointment of former dual international athlete Lisa Jacob as Manager to the International Women’s Hockey Team. Lisa amassed 139 caps and scored 17 goals for the Irish Women’s Hockey Team between 2006 and 2014. She became the first Irish woman to be professionally contracted by a Dutch Hoofdklasse club, playing for Stichtsche Cricket en Hockey Club (SCHC) in 2013. After almost a decade playing international hockey, she then took up a contract to play with the Irish Women’s Rugby 7’s squad for 18 months.
“I am delighted to join the Green Army as they go into a very exciting and demanding year ahead,” said Jacob. “I hope in my role I can support the players and staff to prepare, perform and fulfil their ambitious goals.”
Lisa has previously worked as a Coach developer with Hockey Ireland and has been assistant coach to the Irish U16 and U18 girl’s hockey teams. She boasts a wide array of experience from her international playing careers in Hockey and Rugby, as well as a background in Executive Coaching.
Director of High Performance, Adam Grainger said, “Following on from the significant contribution that Arlene Boyles made as Senior Women’s Team Manager, the appointment of Lisa Jacob is welcomed. Lisa’s wide variety of high performance skills and hockey experiences will add to their programme as it intensifies towards the European Championship and Tokyo Olympics participation in 2021. The players and the staff look forward to working with Lisa.”
Following the submission of a detailed application covering Club and NGB needs in September 2020, Sport Ireland has today announced the allocation of €240,500 to Hockey Ireland from the ‘Sport Resilience Fund’. The ‘Sport Resilience Fund’ was established by the government earlier this year in recognition that the sports sector is one of the worst impacted sectors by Covid-19.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media, Catherine Martin TD and Minister of State for Sport and Gaeltacht Affairs, Jack Chambers TD, today announced an unprecedented €85 million funding package for the Irish sport sector, which has been significantly impacted by the various Covid-19 restrictions imposed since March 2020. [Sport Ireland Press Release]
CEO of Hockey Ireland, Jerome Pels, said “Hockey Ireland are delighted to receive this funding during these difficult, uncertain times. The past few months have been challenging for our sport between lockdown and playing restrictions. We appreciate this significant support from Sport Ireland and the Government through the Sport Resilience Fund and look forward to working with our clubs to create a positive impact for the sport.”
Hockey Ireland received a total of €240,500 under Scheme 2 and Scheme 3.
“Under Scheme 2: 20 National Governing Bodies will be supported with in excess of €5 million to offset 2020 losses. Broadly, this funding encompasses the loss of income from events, ticket sales, sponsorship, affiliation & membership fees, courses and services and the additional costs arising from the implementation of social distancing and Covid-19 protocols.
While in Scheme 3: The Club Resilience Fund supports Sports Clubs that find themselves in need of assistance due to Covid-19. Sport Ireland will not fund Clubs, Affiliates, Provinces or Branches directly and funding will be accessed through programmes established by each of the National Governing Bodies in receipt of funding.”
You can read the full Sport Ireland press release at: https://www.sportireland.ie/news/eu85-million-provides-timely-boost-to-irish-sport-sector
Hockey Ireland will be contact in due course with the relevant clubs who applied for the Sport Ireland Resilience Fund earlier this year
https://irelandhockey.sportlomo.com/sport-ireland-resilience-fund/
