WEST STRUCTURE UPDATE

A Structure Fit for the Future
Club Update – March 2021
Detailed information will be available in the public forum in the next few weeks. Please
remember these will raise many valid questions and concerns that the Transition Group are
committed to answering in a public forum as and when the final versions of anything are
available. To avoid placing further time constraints on our volunteers we will not be
responding to any requests for detailed information until the FINAL version of anything is
available to all.
To avoid any confusion please do not seek clarification from existing West HA Committees as
they may not be in possession of the latest information. We would urge all to be patient while
huge amounts of work are continuing unabated behind the scenes. Regular updates will be
issued to give more detail in the weeks to come.
All Transition Committees are now finalising the make-ups that will be in place for next
season. Expressions of interest are being sought.
If you have any queries please email them to hockeywestuksecretary@gmail.com and you
can view the questions and replies when available by following this link: FAQs – A Structure
Fit for the Future.
Governance
• England Hockey Articles passed for adoption at the England Hockey AGM on 16th
March, 172 votes for, 0 against and 7 abstentions. This gives EH the mandate to
proceed with the changes proposed in the ‘Structure Fit for the Future’ proposals.
• Area Articles are expected to be finalised in the next few weeks. West Hockey will then
hold a Special General Meeting in accordance with the current Articles to adopt the
new Articles. Following that the AGM will be set in accordance with the new Articles
to permit Director and Committee Chairs to be elected in preparation for next season.
Area Regulations are being drafted to support the new Articles.
IT
• The new EH website is live. Development of new Area websites is now in progress.
• The new Competition Management System has been identified and a presentation
has been attended by various members of the West Transition teams. Details of the
functionality of this system will be made available to clubs as soon as possible.
Counties
• Following two County / Sub Area engagement sessions, Counties are aware of what
they will now be expected to deliver and most are confident that they will be able to
do so without any major problems.
• Many counties will need to revise their Constitutions and are waiting for the template
from EH which will ensure they will meet the new governance criteria necessary to be
part of the new structure.
• West have offered to support Avon with their restructure to include men’s teams
under the new governance. Anyone within an Avon based club willingly to help with
this transition please contact – hockeywestuksecretary@gmail.com
Adult Competitions & Leagues
• The initial draft structure and an example of team placements has been shared with
clubs from both England and Wales during a consultation event held on 24 March
2021 with the general feeling that the changes would have a positive effect for the
new league. The documents are now with Clubs for further comment and responses
will be reviewed as they are received, providing valuable feedback for the committee
in finalising positions for teams.
• On 29 March 2021, the area was represented at the new national area leagues
meeting where ideas were shared and progress of each region reviewed. An update
on the progress of the new Competition Management System was also provided by
EH, with all signs being positive for this to be up and running for the forthcoming
season. The system will look to bring the administration of the game to a new level,
saving clubs time and effort whilst providing players with a modern user-friendly
experience. The system will be in its infancy in season one and will grow with constant
development over the coming years.
Officiating
• It is being recommended from England Hockey that the correct term, from now on, is
official, when talking about a member of the hockey family that is an umpire, umpire
coach/assessor, technical official, match day official etc. We are one collective body.
• Simultaneous to the passing of the EH AGM resolution, in mid-March, the Governance
framework and constitution for the officiating body, was passed. From now, there is
one Officiating body within England. This is called the England Hockey Officiating. This
is a proprietary body, that is owned by the England Hockey Board, BUT all decisions
on strategy etc. on officiating will be made by the National Officiating Working Group
• The West Officiating Transition Group is holding an Officials Engagement Evening, at
19:30, on the 7th April 2021. If you have not already received a link to the sign-up
sheet, please contact your club or association officiating rep, or
email hockeywestuksecretary@gmail.com for the link. This is for all officials, at all
levels, within the West Area.
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• The next West Officiating Transition Group meeting is being held on the w/c 19th
April. With the passing of the AGM articles, officiating body’s constitution and the
release of the governance framework FAQ’s, the group is starting to decide on the
officiating structure within the west, starting from next season (21/22), with particular
focus on restructuring, and in some places creating, a strong, efficient, and effective
support system for all club officials.
• We look forward to seeing some of you at the West Officials Engagement evening. As
of 30th March, we already have 150 signed up. Let us get even more!
Junior Competitions
• County Junior Competition Coordinators are now members of the Transition Group
and will act as the link with supporting communication to their respective clubs.
• New Area Leagues (U14 & U16 and if demand U18) proposal has been circulated to
clubs for expressions of interest, with a deadline of 31 March. Weekly club responses
sent out to County reps to help a good response rate.
• Club responses will be analysed at the next meeting.
• Expressions of Interest currently been taken via the EH website for West Junior
Competition Chair role, Junior Competition Organiser role & committee roles.
Discipline
• National Discipline Panel has been reviewing the Code of Discipline to align to the new
Areas.
• In the future, there will be an Area Discipline Administrator (ADA) and pool of
Assistant Area Discipline Administrators (AADA).
• Role descriptions will be available shortly and it is hoped that there will be interest
from the existing County Discipline Administrators as well as other volunteers.
Masters
• A Masters Transition Committee is now being formed following the first National
Masters Working Group meeting.

Keith Dingle
West HA President