CEO NEWSLETTER

Ramesh Patel ≠ Chief Executive

4 August 2004

This newsletter will be posted on the website as a regular feature and communicated to Associations electronically by email. The hockey community and others are free to view this newsletter on the website.

Tournaments

1. Senior National Tournaments

With only 4 Associations providing feedback, the NZHF proposal will be put forward in its original form at this yearπs AGM.

2. Turf Charges for Tournaments

Following Associations comments and feedback on the review of the guidelines for the maximum turf charges for tournaments, the proposed changes are confirmed and the Tournament Manual will be updated accordingly. The new price structure will be introduced in 2005 and the next review is scheduled in 2 years time.

3. NZHL Draw

Following feedback from Associations a new finals weekend draw was constructed, which includes 2 hour time slots for matches, a contingency plan for the presentation ceremony and sufficient time for teams to socialize prior to travelling home. The match times for the Womenπs and Menπs finals will be confirmed following negotiations for live television coverage.

4. Hosting Tournaments

A Tournament Evaluation form has been developed to provide feedback to Host Associations re their performance and venue facilities. Copies of this document will be sent to each Association for their information in the next two weeks. This form will be updated annually at the Tournament Recommendations Review meeting in November.

5. Tournament Hosting Capability

NZHF is currently updating each Associationπs capability of hosting the various tournaments we have available.

NZ Hockey Magazine

Issue 8 of the New Zealand Hockey Magazine is due out mid-September. This issue will profile the NZ Hockey League. If you have any interesting items you would like to see in future editions please email megan.h@xtra.co.nz for consideration.

NZHF Officers/Board Nominations

A reminder to Associations that nominations for NZHF Officers and Board Members close on Friday 27 August 2004.

Nominations are required specifically for:

President, Male Vice-President, Female Vice-President, 2 Male Board Members and 2 Female Board Members.

Current President ≠ Alan Galletly (available for nomination)

Current Vice Presidents ≠ Chris Maister and Jenny Hair (both are available for nomination).

Financial Return Forms

The updated list of Associations who have returned the 2003 financial statements on the NZHF Financial forms are:

∑ Ashburton	∑ Bay of Plenty	∑ Canterbury
∑ Central Otago	∑ Invercargill	∑ North Harbour
∑ Northland	∑ Rangitikei	∑ South Canterbury
∑ Tauranga	∑ Thames Valley	∑ West Coast

As we have had only one more return since July, we ask the remaining associations to get these financial forms in as soon as possible so that the financial performance of Hockey in NZ can be collated.

National Facilities Strategy

The first phase of this strategy is complete and each Association has been sent a copy.

Regional Hockey Review

Thirteen (13) Associations have been asked to take part in a review of our regional infrastructure and capability. Chris Ineson of Driving Forces will be meeting with the selected Associations within the next six weeks.

Meeting Dates 2004

∑ NZHF Board Conference Call with Regional Forum Chairs	4 August
∑ NZHF Board Conference Call with Regional Forum Chairs	9 September
∑ NZHF Annual General Meeting	18/19 September	Auckland
∑ NZHF Board Meeting	5 November	Dunedin

Staff Announcements

1. Suzy Monds has been appointed to the position of Masters Hockey Administrator (part-time) based in the NZHF Office in Auckland. Suzy lives in Te Aroha and most recently managed the New Zealand over 50 Womenπs Team at the Trans-Tasman Challenge in Wellington in May.

2. Corinne Pritchard (Umpires Development Manager) is now out of plaster and her dislocated ankle is healing fast. We are happy to report she will be well enough to take up her Technical position in Athens.

Meeting summaries posted on website

Masters Council minutes are now on the NZHF website. The Maori Council website is up and running. All other Councils have been asked to either provide minutes or summaries to be posted as soon as possible.

National Teams ≠ Athens

The teams will soon be arriving in Athens. Updated player profiles are now available on our website alongside player diaries giving a personal glimpse of their Olympic Games experience. Messages to the teams or individual players can be emailed via the following website http://www.olympic.org.nz.

Masters Hockey

The NZ Masters Council has confirmed the participation of the following teams at the Inaugural FIH Veterans Tournament to be held in Brisbane, Australia, 8 ≠ 16 April 2005:

Women 35+ Women 45+

Men 40+ Men 50+.

The appointment of Coachπs and Managers will be completed by mid-August.

Women in Hockey Coaching

A survey is underway to identify the needs of Women Coaches so that appropriate courses can be run and the number of female coaches reaching elite level can be increased. This survey can be downloaded from our website.

New Zealand U16 TigerTurf Teams

Both the New Zealand Boys and Girls U16 TigerTurf teams will assemble in Auckland on 29 September to begin a 5 day camp including 3 matches against Queensland.

Matches will be played at on October 1^st and 2^nd at North Harbour, except games on Sunday 3 October, which will serve as curtain raisers to the New Zealand Hockey League Matches to be held at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Auckland. Information on game times will be available on the website in late September. Results will also be posted on the website.

Regional Umpire Development Officers

Tracy Wrigley has been appointed to the vacant Northern Region position and is due to take up the role in the next two weeks.

Year of the Umpire

2005 is the Official FIH Year of the Umpire and the Umpire Council will be looking at programmes to be undertaken in New Zealand.

Conference Call Meeting with Regional Forum Representatives

Attendance: P Barwick (Southern), C Eales (Capital), D Simpson (Northern),

P Shaw (Central), A Galletly, G Laurence, L Farrell, R Patel.

A summary of some of the regional issues are highlighted below:

• Finals of Tournaments to have a winner
• Guest players introduced at U-18 level (maybe at all levels)
• SPARC to be canvassed to undertake a survey of participants dropping out of sport
• Hockey administrators experiencing stress in their jobs
• Decline in number of teams at National Tournament
• Young umpires at Tournament ≠ should they be cared for by teams or by a central umpires group
• Shortage of umpires at Association Club level (consider payment of trained umpires).
• 2005 is Year of the Umpire. Have umpiring strategies in place before then
• Some regional U-21 teams struggle to come together for practices
• U-21 team strength is an issue with some teams. Teams using too many youngsters
• Would like to see better Youth Council communication
• Masters Council communication to Associations hosting International Masters Tournaments needs to improve
• A concern as to why Associations are not attending Senior National Tournaments
• Extend Tournament entry deadline
• Reduce number of teams in Secondary School Tournaments to ensure all tournaments have good participation numbers.

Coach and Umpire of the Month

The following Coaches and Umpires have been recognised:

	Coach	Highly commended	Umpire	Highly commended
May	Tur Borren	David McNabb	Michael Herewini	Phil Limmer
June	Matt Turfrey	Claire Mills	Maggie Rihari
July	Jenny Travis	Kate Hardwick	Gareth Knox

See our website for further details.

Resources

More stock is now available of the ≥Coaching for Coaches≤ videos from Hockey Australia. Beginner, Advanced and Goalkeeper coaching set. See website for more details.