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1st November 2005
Report on the European Hockey
Federation 19th General Assembly, Vilnius Lithuania
Headline News story continued from 'home' page...
Chairman of the
Board, Allan Rookes, and the Chief Executive Officer, Mike Bull,
represented the WHU at the above Assembly on 15th October 2005.
35 National Associations (out of a possible 43) were
represented, along with Members of Honour, guests, members of
the EHF Executive Board and representatives of FIH attended. (GBOHL
was not represented as such, but several representatives of the
Home Nations double as members of the GB Board). The Assembly
was formally opened by the Lithuanian Minister for Sport (an
Olympian in Sydney). The Minister presented a high level
Lithuanian honour to the President of FIH, Els van Breda
Vriesman (Netherlands), and the President of EHF, Leandro Negre
(Spain).
In his opening address the EHF, Leandro Negre paid tribute to
Ceri O’Donnell (Wales) and the Assembly stood in silence in her
memory. After expressing the usual appreciations for the work of
a range of persons, he made reference to:
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The new format for the
European Nations Cup; |
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The purchase of the
former FIH offices in Brussels; |
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Sponsorship successes;
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Marketing Initiatives. |
He also drew
attention to the theme of the Assembly ‘Building a Quality
Hockey Product’ and the need for all to work together to this
end at both the Assembly and in the forthcoming years.
The President of the FIH congratulated EHF on its successes and
reiterated the call for us all to work together. She advised
that two sports had recently lost Olympic status and that hockey
was only guaranteed a place until 2012. The need to work
together was, therefore, paramount.
The minutes of the 18th General Assembly held in Barcelona,
Spain in 2003 were approved without amendment and an application
for membership from Estonia was approved.
The Honorary General Secretary’s, David Balbirnie (Ireland),
report had been circulated previously. David merely added
references to the following:
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The 5 Continental
Presidents and Secretary’s had recently met and had
highlighted a few initiatives to be developed; |
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The new format of the
Nations Cup and the unsatisfactory number of withdrawals
from the lowest ranked event held in Malta; and |
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EHF has adopted FIH’s
Strategic Plan and had merely sought to establish some
Objectives particularly relevant to Europe. He indicated
that any comments on the Objectives should be put in
writing. |
The Treasurer, Sergio Melai (Italy) presented
the accounts for the two year period 2003/2004. The accounts had
been issued previously and it was noted that there had been
distinct savings in some areas, e.g. postage, and distinct
increases in other areas, e.g. marketing. The accounts were
approved. The Auditors for the next two year period are Finland.
Proposed subscription increases in line with
previous agreements were approved. The new rates for a Union of
our size are 945 Euros in 2006 and 990 Euros in 2007. (It should
be noted that we have also stepped up to the next band of
subscriptions following the recent surge in membership).
The following persons were elected as members of the Executive
Board for the next 4 years, except Carola Meyer who was elected
for 2 years:
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Vice President (Female)
Claire Peeters-Monseu (Belgium) – unopposed. |
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Vice President (Male)
Martin Gotheridge (England) – unopposed. |
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Hon General Secretary
David Balbirnie (Ireland) – unopposed. |
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Ordinary Members (Female)
Marijke Fleuren van Walsem (Netherlands) – unopposed |
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Carola Meyer (Germany) –
unopposed. |
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Ordinary Members Hans
Peter Hansen (Denmark
Alistair Gray (Scotland) |
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Jan Vymazal (Czech
Republic) |
Brief presentations
were made by the Chairmen, and others, on the work of various
EHF Committees. The main points of interest are set out below:
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Competitions Committee –
Martin Gotheridge (England) spoke about the
restructuring of the Committee, the new format for the
Nations Cup and the appointment of a professional
Competitions Manager (Steve Catton). Steve then outlined
is job role and the initiatives he will be working on to
support and encourage bids, stimulate a greater number
of bids and to assist with technical appointments. |
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Development Committee –
After a very brief introduction, the Chairman, Claire
Peeters-Monseu (Belgium) handed over to the Continental
Development Officer (Norman Hughes). In a typically
enthusiastic manner, Norman summarised the 2005 Survey
Results and the responses being put together to address
the issues raised. In particular, he announced 3 EHF
Zonal Youth Festivals, more coaches coaching seminars,
support for the World Hockey Umpiring Boost initiative,
a number of other initiatives intended to increase
numbers and quality. The development theme for 2006 is ‘
Hockey is a Family Affair’. |
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Marketing Committee –
Alistair Gray (Scotland) highlighted the work and
successes of the Committee in the last 2 years. He
provided details of the new EuroHockey corporate
identity, mentioned a new brand identity for the
Champions Cup (see point 16. below) and outlined the
Committee’s Strategic Objectives. |
We received presentations from Lano Sports
(the new providers of AstroTurf) and Musco Lighting. The former
presentation included a reference to the new pitches in Swansea.
In the absence of a representative from the company, the
Chairman of the Marketing Committee formally announced that
nhHoteles had recently signed a partnership deal with EHF. He
advised that the deal was dependent on the number of bed spaces
used (with bonuses and fines) and that the partners will fully
fund and will be the title sponsors for a new format to the
Champions Cup. In the future the Cup will be held using a
Champions League format.
Two retiring members of the Executive Board, Monika Spork
(Germany) and Marianne Kooijman-Bernard (Netherlands), were made
Members of Honour. Martin Campbell (Scotland) was presented with
a Diploma of Merit in recognition of his work on the Indoor
Committee.
The next General Assembly will be held in Hungary in 2007.
[ends]
For information regarding the Welsh Hockey Union,
please contact
Mike Bull or
Chris Brewer on 02920 573940
Please note: Information
published in news stories was correct at the time of
publication. Information, circumstances and data may have chance
since.
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