England Hockey are pleased to announce that DCMS and government have given approval to our Sport Specific Risk Assessment, which allows us to return to 11-a-side hockey without social distancing.

Please be aware of the following about the above statement:

Social Distancing is still applicable when there are natural breaks in play / training and pre / post matches
Changing facilities are still currently not permitted to be used due to guidance about these areas from Government
The MAXIMUM number of individuals on the pitch at any one time is 30 people.

For those who have read the guidance (available here) there is detail within the guidance concerning the responsibility of Organisers of Hockey Activity.

As HUAs, the following steps are in place for our members:

If a member is looking to undertake umpiring activities that are NOT organised by the HUA, then they would need to read and agree to the Participant Agreement (available here). It is the responsibility of the umpire to give confirmation to the “appointing” club if this is not their home club.
If a member is undertaking neutral appointments, it is suggested that you contact your appointing system provider and ask umpires to agree to the Participant Agreement when they enter their availability for neutral appointments. For HUA’s on the OMS, this will be in place before the move to Step 5, however other providers will need to be approached by the relevant HUA.

There is also a guidance document that is part of the Participant Agreement that has been distributed tonight to everyone who has completed the Participant agreement and is also available on the website from later tonight. I would be grateful if you could please share this with your membership, as these measures are not only in place to protect Umpire’s health by minimising the risk of transmission, however this also is there to promote Respect to Umpires & Officials, whilst enhancing steps that are already present in the following documents:

Red Card / MMO Policies
Disrepute Policies

The next step is to look at the return of league hockey, which is Step 5. We are working hard to produce guidelines to help educate out decision making on this and if you have any thoughts around measure on this, please feel free to share these with me.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Thanks for your support and stay safe.

David Elworthy
EH

Hi all

Hope you are all keeping well during this period.

As you are aware, we have been working through the Return to Play strategy with DCMS and the position of England Hockey.

Below is the communication that has been shared with the Hockey Community tonight:

www.englandhockey.co.uk/covid19

With the recent announcement of the Recreational Team Sports Framework and England Hockey’s subsequent submissions to government we can now confirm that hockey can move from Step 2 to Step 4 of the Return to Play plans.

Working with the other team sports and learning from the evidence developed from the resumption of professional sports, England Hockey has been able to demonstrate to DCMS (Department of Culture Media and Sport) that hockey can be resumed safely. This means that moving to Step 3 (small group activity) will not been required at all.

With government approval, competitive activity can resume immediately both training and matches – outdoor and indoor. This is great news for many as pre-season will be able to start in earnest and local fixtures can start to take place.

However, England Hockey is also acutely aware that not all hockey players or organisations are currently in a position to play, with access to pitches in particular a significant challenge. Moving to Step 5 (the resumption of league hockey) will therefore be assessed over coming weeks ensuring that the decision to start the season can be made when there is enough confidence that clubs are sufficiently ready to start. We continue to recommend planning for a normal start date for the season and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Our full guidance for Step 4 is available at the link with a number of shorter guides and information also available. England Hockey will add to these early next week with a short video for players and will develop the guidance based on feedback we receive including updating our FAQ’s.
The permission to play competitive hockey means that everyone involved will need to understand their responsibilities to ensure that we can all make the most of our return to the pitch. Clubs and other hockey organisers must follow guidance to ensure that they are compliant before starting competitive activity. For some this will take time to ensure that everything is in place and we encourage players and clubs to be sure that everything is sufficiently ready before starting. The risks during competitive hockey are low, but special permission has been given to resume hockey by government, so we expect all players to understand their responsibilities clearly and adapt their behaviours accordingly. All hockey organisations will need to conduct risk assessments, adapt processes and appoint Covid Officers to ensure this happens.

By ensuring everyone understands the expectations it will mean that the game is as welcoming to all those involved in the game as possible. We all have a responsibility to ensure that the standards set out are maintained and that all in the game from player to umpire to coach feel confident in the ‘new normal’ for hockey. The code of ethics and behaviour will be updated to make provision for Covid-19 related issues and guidance will be given for adaptations in competition rules.

Overall, this is great news for hockey, and we hope that clubs and organisations can make up for lost time enjoying the feeling of being back on the pitch and feeling the spirit of hockey start to shine through again.

More specific advice for Umpires, Technical Officials and HUAs will be made available on Monday from myself, however I would recommend if possible that the above consistent message is shared with your members at your earliest convenience.

If you have any questions, please either visit the England Hockey website COVID-19 by clicking here OR e-mail me and I’ll come back to you when I can over the next 48 hours.

Kind Regards
David.

David Elworthy
Officiating Relationship Manager
Direct: 01509 228672 | Mobile: 07712 306967
England Hockey, Hockey Pavilion, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU
Tel: 01509 228674 | www.englandhockey.co.uk ... More

Are you interested in playing hockey? Have you played hockey before and want to return? New to the area and want to join a family friendly and social club? If so, Petersfield Hockey Club could be the one for you!

Petersfield Hockey club we are always looking for new players to join our thriving, friendly club. We offer three Men’s teams and two Ladies teams in addition to a thriving junior section starting at U8.

Men’s Section: Hampshire Area: Division 2, Division 5 and Division 8 and are looking to challenge in the season ahead.

Ladies Section: Hampshire Area: Division 2 and Division 4.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact Paul Vickers via email.

pv247@hotmail.com

England Hockey’s submission regarding moving to Step 4 on our Return To Play planning remains with the relevant government authorities for their approval. Obviously the situation this week has evolved again.

We fully appreciate that players, clubs and stakeholders are keen to know more as soon as possible; please be assured that we are working as quickly as possible to ensure a safe and enjoyable return for our sport.

With regards to the further safety measures imposed in different parts of the country this week, the measures do still allow for small groups of no more than six to meet in outdoor public places. With the sport still at Step 2, these localised restrictions will not impact current hockey provision until further notice. ... More

“Dear all,

Firstly I hope that this email finds you all well.

No doubt you will have seen the latest government announcements as well as our update last night on the return of recreational sport. There are a number of issues that we need to work through determining to what extent ‘normal’ hockey can resume as a result of this government statement and now hockey has to go through an application process to determine what will be allowed. We will update on that as soon as we can. All our advice and guidance to this point is available here: www.englandhockey.co.uk/covid19.

Whilst the picture appears more positive as part of the Return to Play work we are still keen to cover off as many eventualities as possible for the season and have prepared the attached document(s) for your consideration. These have been developed using the information from the recent club survey, feedback from leagues and other individual feedback. The documents do not cover issues related to health and safety and the government standards which will follow in due course.

We would very much appreciate feedback to competitions.info@englandhockey.co.uk by 23 July 2020 with a final document to be issued by the end of July that we hope will coincide with greater clarity on the likelihood of starting the season.

The decision whether to start the season will continue to be reviewed and will depend on compliance with government expectations, the capability of clubs and organisations and the confidence that everyone involved in the game has in the approach. All of these are expected to progress significantly over coming weeks and we are advising to continue to plan for a ‘normal’ season as best we all can.

Best wishes,
Rich”

If you have any questions on this, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thanks
David.

Hi All

As you may be aware, yesterday saw the announcement from Oliver Dowden (Secretary of State for Digital Culture, Media & Sport) that gave team sports a green light to work on returning their sports within Recreational formats & levels from this weekend.

Out latest statement on this announcement is available below:

http://www.englandhockey.co.uk/news.asp?itemid=49399&itemTitle=Hockey%27s+Return+to+Play+%96+moving+beyond+Step+2&section=22

Whilst Mr Dowden gave the green light, he omitted the steps that we still have to go through as the National Governing Body to get the “official” green light to move in our Return to Play Strategy from stage 2 to stage 3 (detail of these stages available here).

What does this mean for Umpiring & Technical Officiating?

In short, nothing in the very short term, but this is a clear step in the right direction to be able to hold 11-a-side hockey in the not too distant future and the advice we are giving clubs and league administrators is to plan for the season to start in September. We are also fully aware that any stage of our return to play is bound by the status of the COVID19 alerts from Government and all sport has to be aligned to Government advice at the time.

For some of us, we have been communicating to our members about these updates and I would urge you to continue to. Planning for some associations for the 2020/21 season may have started but would suggest that this continues as “normal”.

Educational courses for Umpiring are still available through online delivery from England Hockey (click here to view these) and we will be working with TAP next week to ensure this education will be available for Technical Officials and volunteers who are interested at club level.

Our internal “Return to Play” group are meeting regularly with Government and internally to ensure we be Compliant, Capable and Confident in hockey returning as soon as the current circumstances allow, ensuring as best we can that all participants remain safe.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes
David

David Elworthy
Officiating Relationship Manager
Direct: 01509 228672 | Mobile: 07712 306967
England Hockey, Hockey Pavilion, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU
Tel: 01509 228674 | www.englandhockey.co.uk ... More

Hi All

Hope you are all staying well? As communicated last week, England Hockey are continually reviewing our stance to “Return to Play” in England along government advice. As there was an announcement last night, please see below our latest update:

“Latest Government Announcement
After the latest government announcement allowing groups of 6 to meet together outdoors from Monday 1 June following strict social distancing guidelines, we are now updating the guidance for hockey.

Roadmap to Return to Play
When England Hockey took the decision to suspend hockey on the 17 March, it was clear that exactly when and how the sport would be able to return would take time to resolve. Until recently the focus has rightly been on the hockey family, demonstrating our collective spirit through support for charities, key workers in our clubs and looking out for our local communities or other club members as well as engaging within the hockey community and beyond on social media. The focus has not been on returning to hockey until the last week.

With so much uncertainty the aim has been to make decisions on key issues at the right times. Getting the timing right on this has been particularly tricky and will continue to present challenges over the coming months. The aim of this message is to share what we believe the probable steps are likely to be, and in headline terms, the possible implications for the 2020-21 season.

The considerations set out here are all dependent on the ongoing nature of the Covid-19 pandemic and relevant government guidance. We would encourage our players, clubs and associations to interpret these as a guide and support and align to the work that will need to be done if plans change. At this stage it is not possible to make definitive plans.

What will be allowed?
The government alert levels announced on 10 May (link here) set out the first clear steps to emerging from lockdown. These alert levels will not relate directly to hockey activity and having reviewed the information from other countries and other sports we have set out 5 steps to returning to ‘normal’. Three relate to training, and two relate to match play activities. These are as follows:

Phase
Step
Train
1. Training - One to one / household group
2. Socially Distanced Training - Small groups but with social distancing in place
3. Small Group Training – Small group training allowed with some closer contact allowed. Allowing for tackling/marking etc. (some age groups may be allowed to start this stage earlier)
Play
4. Local Match Play – Intra club / local matches can happen but restrictions stop leagues / main competitions resuming (e.g. if travel is still an issue due to car sharing or local lockdowns are in place)
5. Full Competitive Match Play – Full leagues / competitions resume

For the last two weeks we have been at Step 1 with one to one coaching or household groups allowed to play. We will move to the initial stages of Step 2 from Monday 1 June. Detailed information on this will be released as soon as possible after government guidance is made available.

We do not know exactly when we will be able to progress through each step but hope this outline will assist clubs and organisations scenario plan their return to hockey. Crucially it is clear that facility providers are taking different approaches to the current restrictions and not all clubs are able to access pitches. This is a situation we will continue to monitor and take into account linked to the steps above.

England Hockey will issue the necessary advice and guidance and share good practice with as much notice as we reasonably can in the circumstances.

What are the implications of this?
Depending on the timing and pace of progression through the steps there are different implications for the 2020-21 season. These implications are interlinked and complex across the game and decisions need to be coordinated across key stakeholders to avoid unintended consequences. The timing of decision-making is important to allow adequate planning time but also decisions should not be taken too early in case circumstances change.

For the next 6-8 weeks we recommend continuing to plan for the 2020-21 season as normal (option A below). There is a risk that some pre-season activity may be lost and we recommend organisations aim to minimise financial risks where possible in pre-season. If the season cannot start on time but is only delayed for a short period (a few weeks), we will aim to extend it beyond its traditional late March/early April finish (option B below).

If neither of the above scenarios are possible we will consider a revised calendar for the 2020-21 season (option C). This would apply if there was insufficient time to run a normal length season. There could also be a time by which a viable competitive season has to start. A range of scenarios are being developed for this and will be consulted upon over coming months with the relevant stakeholders. Option C would only be enacted if there was a delay starting competitive hockey into mid-November (or later) or a second wave of infections caused more significant disruption.

Finally, there is the possibility an even later start may only allow for a shortened season to take place (option D). The likelihood of implementation of Option C or D will be assessed over coming months.

A
Normal
Season runs normally from end September 2020 to April 2021. League fixtures as usual. Adjustments made to league and competition structuring and regulations to cater for managing potential disruption including incomplete season.
B
Delayed
(Similar calendar)
Season runs normally but starts later and finishes later than usual, for example the end of October to end of April. Adjustments made to league and competition structuring and calendar depending on time lost. Regulations adjusted to cope with disruption including incomplete season.
C
Revised
(New calendar)
A significantly revised calendar is created for season running in a reduced window – e.g. end November 2020 to end of April 2021. Some activities may be removed in this scenario depending on the circumstances.

Alternative formats for competitions and leagues will be developed including potentially splitting leagues in the latter part of the season to create playoffs.

Consultation on this approach will be undertaken in coming months with this scenario only implemented if there is confidence the timing will allow.
D
Shortened
The season runs in a severely reduced window – e.g. end January 2021 to end of April 2021.
In this scenario in adult leagues it could be that all play all but only once either home or away.

Beneath these high-level scenarios there are layers of detail that need to be considered and recommendations made including the different implications for different sections of the sport such as the impact on officiating in each scenario, leagues adapting to issues such as possible localised lockdowns and also for indoor hockey (given indoor sports rules are likely to be different to outdoor).

Given the complexity of this and the need to communicate at the right time, England Hockey will review the position every three weeks around key government announcements, and will update the position for hockey in England whenever the circumstances change.

Chief Executive of England Hockey, Nick Pink said, “As we all continue to navigate this evolving landscape, the England Hockey team have been working hard to prepare the sport for a return to play and to manage the challenges ahead. By sharing our thoughts openly, we hope it enables the hockey community to work together, to plan ahead, and to help us to come back stronger. We plan to engage with you as much as possible as we look to set a course and encourage as much alignment as possible to ensure the sport as whole can thrive. The long-term health of the overall sport will always remain at the heart of our decisions.”

If you have any comments, feedback or input please email: clubs@englandhockey.co.uk

Our updated guidance will be available on the England Hockey website early next week.”

Please also be aware that as this is such a complex issue, groups of volunteers ranging from Regional League administrators and the Elite Domestic Game Panel, through to club reps from small clubs across the country are being spoken with about their situation and viability of returning to hockey.

For umpiring and officiating, there could be differing challenges concerning availability, fixture timings, congestion of calendar and I would recommend speaking with your committees about what challenges could be in place if hockey is unable to restart “as normal” from the 1st September and some of the barriers that you may face. If you have any questions or would like some more guidance, please let me know.

Apart from that, please have a good weekend and stay safe.

Kind Regards
David.

David Elworthy
Officiating Relationship Manager
Direct: 01509 228672 | Mobile: 07712 306967
England Hockey, Hockey Pavilion, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU
Tel: 01509 228674 | www.englandhockey.co.uk

Hi All

Over the past few weeks, a lot of you have been in touch concerning the finalised proposals for the AGM Governance Review, which is due to be voted on by the members of England Hockey in March 2020. Please find a link to the booklet below, which will be shared with HA’s, Leagues and Clubs within the next hour:

www.englandhockey.co.uk/astructurefitforthefuture

Over the past 24 months, representatives from the NPUA and Regional HUAs have been working with us at England Hockey to create the “Vision of Umpiring”. This is a whole game approach, which includes reviewing all pathways, educational offers and the relationship of Umpiring Bodies with the proposed Areas, as well as with England Hockey. In the booklet, we have made reference to some of the work that has been completed so far by the group, however there is still a lot to discuss and finalise. We intend to communicate more from this group early in 2020 on the future of Umpiring and Officiating.

Due to this, I’d like to draw your attention to section 6 where we have extended this timeline by an extra season to include County HUA’s at a later date, allowing time for us to focus on setting the structure correctly for Umpiring (in line with the above), whilst working through the impact per area and allowing us to communicate correctly, accurately and clearly to all of our umpiring colleagues and members.

Please feel free to review the booklet and feel free to contact me in the New Year with any thoughts or questions. In the meantime, thank you for your input and energies this year in Umpiring across the country to support our game at all levels.

Have a very Merry Christmas and look forward to an exciting 2020.

Best wishes
David

David Elworthy
Officiating Relationship Manager
Direct: 01509 228672 | Mobile: 07712 306967 ... More

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Management Committee has reviewed the situation with regard to shirt supply as there are a limited number of possible suppliers. Adidas currently supply a new range of blue and orange shirts, with a possible white shirt in the offing, to the NPUA. At the moment, there is no intention for South to change their colours, so HHUA will remain with the current options while the higher-level decisions bottom out.

HHUA will continue with Tempest for new members/replacement Orange and Green HHUA LOGO'd shirts for at least the next 12 months, available through the HHUA Website. The White version remains available though CMP from the website

Club Umpires may purchase the same shirts from Tempest, with the same logo, but CLUB Umpire underneath, for use within the County to increase the corporate look of all umpires.

Members are to be reminded that HHUA Policy is that they will wear a current County Badged Shirt for all Appointments in the county or region (including those of Higher Bodies making themselves available for County/Regional appointments). Notwithstanding this regulation, for the 2019/20 season ONLY, for those who do not currently have a white HHUA shirt, members may wear a white polo shirt (with non-controversial logo (ask Sec/Mike Robson for guidance if you are not sure whether your logo is permitted)) for the rare occasions when green/orange will not suffice.

If you need guidance on any of this information please contact Mike Robson before next season.