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EY Ireland and Hockey Ireland Announce Three Year Sponsorship of National Hockey Teams at Underage and Senior Levels

 

 

EY Ireland and Hockey Ireland Announce Three Year Sponsorship of National Hockey Teams at Underage and Senior Levels

Three year partnership builds on existing sponsorship of EY Hockey League

 

Dublin, 7 June 2023: EY Ireland and Hockey Ireland announce today that they have agreed a new three-year partnership that will see EY Ireland become an official sponsor of the Hockey Ireland male and female National Teams at underage level, including U16s, U18s and U21s, and Senior level for the next three years.

This agreement builds on the existing strong partnership between EY and Hockey Ireland, which sees EY Ireland currently sponsor the male and female Division 1 and Division 2 Irish Hockey Leagues. This new deal will make EY the only consolidated sponsor across underage categories and senior teams in the international hockey squads.

Frank O’Keeffe, Managing Partner, EY Ireland commented: “The EY Hockey League continues to be a source of great pride for all of us at EY Ireland and today we are strengthening our partnership with Hockey Ireland as we support the game from grassroots through to international level. In EY we are delighted to have this fantastic opportunity to continue to support the many incredibly talented players and coaches as well as the ever-growing number of wonderful hockey fans throughout this island. Here in EY Ireland, we are also very committed to supporting these elite athletes to reach their full potential on and off the hockey field. EY Ireland is committed to helping to support and enable hockey players to thrive during and after their careers and intends to work closely with Hockey Ireland on identifying the best ways to support these elite athletes. Given our reputation in EY for high-performing teams we think this new sponsorship with Hockey Ireland is a perfect fit.”

Graham Reid, Partner and Head of Markets, EY Ireland commented: “EY Ireland takes great pride in our sponsorship of the EY Hockey League and we are really excited that our partnership will expand in the coming years. By investing in grassroots and national teams, we aim to empower talented players on and off the field, supporting a thriving hockey community across the island, and fostering a sense of pride among our employees.”

Lisa Jacob, High Performance Director, Hockey Ireland commented: “Hockey Ireland has seen the benefit of our strong partnership with EY for a number of years across our All-Ireland domestic league, not least for the 2022/23 season, with new initiatives introduced and competitive levels within the EY Hockey League higher than ever. The extension of the partnership to now include all eight of our international squads, including our Senior Women’s and Senior Men’s teams as they look to qualify for Paris Olympics 2024, will bring significant impact. Having one sponsor that goes right through the system adds huge value, allowing us to have an impact over a number of years in a strategic but also a very tangible way. This commitment gives us capacity we haven’t had before, and brings EY with us on the journey to Paris and beyond.”

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EUROPEAN CLUB HOCKEY ROUND UP DAY 3

EURO HOCKEY CLUB TROPHY II  MEN 2023 SUNDAY MAY 28, 2023

Banbridge – 13  HANK Mladost – 1

Banbridge sealed first place in Pool A and a place in next season’s Club Trophy I for Ireland’s representatives in 2023-24.  Lisnagarvey, with an emphatic 13-1 win over HAHK Mladost who will be in second place in Pool A and qualified for the 3rd place tournament final tomorrow.

Jake Rowe opened the scoring from a penalty corner in the 2nd minute to make it 1-0. Louis Rowe from open play scored to make it 2-0 in the 4th minute.

James Evans made it 3-0 on 13 minutes. Johnny McKee got his first of the game from open play to make it 4-0 on 15 minutes. He got his second to make it 5-0 on 18 minutes and completed his hat-trick the same minute to make it 6-0. Jake Rowe got his second of the match to make it 7-0 with a converted penalty corner in the 20th minute. Alexander Tinney converted another penalty corner a minute after that to make it 8-0. David Finlay got in on the act scoring a goal in the 23rd minute from open play 9-0. Alexander Tinney got his second penalty corner of the match to make it 10-0 in the 24th minute.

David Finlay got his second goal of the game from open play to make it 11-0. Fran Zlatar got a consolation goal for HAHK Mladost to make it 11-1 in the 36th minute. Further goals from Matthew McKee in the 41st minute and a Jake Rowe penalty corner completed the scoring leaving it Banbridge 13 HAHK Mladost 1.

In the other Pool B game Amsicora and Swansea played out a 0-0 draw. The Italians securing third place by virtue of a better goal difference and will play Gaziantep in the 5th place play off.

On Monday Banbridge take on TJ Plzen-Litice of the Czech Republic to decide the overall tournament champions. HAHK Mladost will play against second placed Pool A side Copenhagen to decide 3rd place.

BANBRIDGE: Luke Roleston, Alexander Tinney [capt.], Johnny McKee, Jake Rowe, Peter Brown, Sam Farson, Owen Magee, Matthew McKee, Mark Cowan, Louis Rowe, Charlie Rowe

SUBS USED: Hugh McShane, David Finlay, Tommy Dobson, James Evans, Mark Barlow

 

 

 

EURO HOCKEY CLUB CHALLENGE I  ALANYA, TURKEY 

CATHOLIC INSTITUTE – 1  AKADEMISCHER HTC WIEN  (AUT) –  0

It took until the very last minute of the final pool game of this tournament for Catholic Institute to register their first win of the competition. It was only the second European  goal scored by Catholic Institute in their history.  Given it was from an Anna Horan penalty stroke made it even more historic.

At this level it’s 5 points for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss by less than 3 goals. A loss by any more than 3 goals is not awarded any points. Catholic Institute had lost on the opening day by 5 -1 and so garnered no points. A narrow 0-1 defeat against Slavia Prague had garnered 1 point so a win today would secure 5 further points and a pool total of 6 points. In a very tight encounter it was scoreless in the first quarter and also for the rest of the first half.

A scoreless third quarter followed, as did the opening 14 minutes of the final quarter. But in the 15th minute of quarter 4, the very last minute of the match Catholic Institute were awarded a penalty stroke. In the absence of captain Roisín Upton who missed the game, Anna Horan took on the responsibility and made no mistake from the spot to give Catholic Institute their first ever European victory. This was enough to give them 3rd place in Pool A and a tie with Argentia from Italy the 4th placed team in Pool B tomorrow.

 

Elsewhere in Pool  A:  Watsonians beat Slavia Prague 5-0 to secure 1st place in the pool. Slavia are 2nd and will take on Gaziantep who secured first place in Pool B with a 4-0 win over Argentia.  Clydesdale of Scotland secured 2nd place in Pool B with a 1-0 over Lithuania’s Ginstreke. Clydesdale take on fellow Scottish side Watsonians in Monday’s final round of games. Gaziantep play Slavia Prague while Ginstreke take on Akademischer Wien in the remaining tie.

 

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Launch of the National Umpire Academy and upcoming EHF/FIH appointments

Congratulations to all the Hockey Ireland / IHUA umpires, outlined in the table below, who have been appointed to EuroHockey and FIH tournaments / fixtures this summer.

It is fantastic to see some of last year’s Umpire Academy participants progressing on their umpiring journey. The 2023 – 2024 Umpire Academy launched at the EY Champions Trophy weekend in Banbridge (read more below). The programme sees 16 of Ireland’s up and coming umpires come on board to be offered mentoring and development opportunities in Ireland, and abroad.

Name Date Tournament
Fiona Davitt (academy mentor) 25-28-5/23 EuroHockey Club Challenge III, Porto (POR)
Rob Argent (academy mentor) 26-29/5/23 EuroHockey Club Trophy II, Banbridge
Sarah Craig 26-29/5/23

10-15/7/23

 EuroHockey Club Challenge II, Vienna (AUT)

EuroHockey Girls’ Championship II-A, Zagreb (CRO)
Ellie Duffy 28/6-1/7/23 EuroHockey5’s Women’s Championship, Walcz  (POL)
Gary O’Connor 8-16/7/23 EuroHockey Boy’s Championship, Krefeld (GER)
Amy Jones 8-16/7/23 EuroHockey Girl’s Championship, Krefeld (GER)
Russell Donaldson (academy mentor) 23-29/7/23 EuroHockey Men’s Championship II, Dublin
Ali Keogh (academy mentor) 26/5-4/6/23

18-27/8/23

 FIH Pro League, London

EuroHockey Women’s Championship, Moenchengladbach (GER)
Bruce Bale (academy mentor) 7-12/6/23 FIH Pro League, Eindhoven (NED)
Liz Clifford 26-29/5/23 EuroHockey Club Challenge I, Alanya (TUR)
Malcolm Coombes 10-15/7/23 EuroHockey Boy’s Championship II-A, Alanya (TUR)

The Academy launch weekend saw umpires receive coaching and development sessions with Ali Keogh, Bruce Bale, Fiona Davitt, Robert Johnston, Russell Donaldson & Rob Argent.

Speaking about the programme, Hockey Ireland Umpire Development Consultant Tom Goode said  ‘The launch of the National Umpire Academy marks the start of an exciting new venture in Irish umpiring. As part of this programme,  we will be encouraging the provincial umpiring associations to launch their own academies to work with their up and coming umpires. This will also require input from the clubs and the Club Umpire Programme is an integral part of this. Apart from increasing umpire numbers, it is also important that we provide umpires with the means to umpire to the best of their ability and to identify those who display the ability and commitment to umpire at the top provincial and national levels, as well as promoting those who display the ability and commitment to umpire at EHF & FIH level.

Some of our national academy umpires are already umpiring at the top provincial and national level and have also received EHF appointments.  We currently have 5 umpires on EHF umpire development programmes and are displaying a lot of promise. It shows what can be done.

Hopefully this is the start of something big!’

Back Row L to R: Luka Novakovic (Munster), Gary O’Connor (Munster), Aaron Donnell (Ulster), Aaron Saunders (Ulster), Victoria Johnston (Ulster), Sarah Craig (Ulster), Eimear Lenihan (Leinster), Emily Reid (Ulster)

Front Row L to R: Aidan McCullough (Leinster), Oli Brown (Ulster), Ellie Duffy (Connacht), Grace Nugent(Ulster)

Not in photo : Christina Coulter Reilly (Leinster), Amy Jones (Ulster), James Doherty (Ulster) Ross Jones (Ulster)

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Hockey Ireland U16/U18 Boys and Girls Teams Fundraiser

Hockey Ireland U16 and U18 boys and girls squads are holding fundraising raffles. By buying a raffle ticket, not only do you get a chance to win an incredible prize, but you will also be supporting the girls and boys sport as well as future elite Irish athletes.

The Hockey Ireland U16 Girls are talented young women training hard to compete in the 4 Nations Tournament at Easter in Aachen, Germany, and the 8 Nations Tournament in In July in Granada, Spain. They have eleven training weekends between now and July and are working hard to have the best possible start to their international campaign.

The Irish U18 Girls Hockey Team are participating in test matches in Poland & France & the EuroHockey U18 Girls Championship in Germany July 2023. There are huge costs associated with preparing for and attending these events and as they are self-funded the U18 Girls are running a Super Raffle to raise these essential funds.

The Ireland U16 Boys Hockey squad has an annual cost of €65k. The volunteer coaches and manager run a comprehensive year-long international programme that prepares the boys to compete at the top European Championship each year. This consists of weekly strength & conditioning, video analysis, daily athlete wellbeing monitoring through GPS equipment, regional and central training sessions, international test matches across Europe, culminating in the end of season championships, which this year will take place in Spain.

The Hockey Ireland Under 18 Boys Hockey squad is a self-funded team, coached and managed by volunteers, and this July we are working to maintain ‘Division A’ status at the 10 team Europeans to be held in Krefeld, Germany.

 

Find the underage raffles from each team below:

U16 Girls Raffle Tickets here

U18 Girls Raffle Tickets here

U16 Boys Raffle Tickets here

U18 Boys Raffle Tickets here

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Hockey Ireland launches the search for a new CEO

 

Hockey Ireland are launching a search for a new CEO.

 

For further information click HERE

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Hockey Ireland Board Recruitment

Hockey Ireland is seeking applications for new members for the Board of Directors with expressions of interest for
consideration welcomed up to 17.30 Tuesday 18th April, 2023.

 

See full description HERE

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Hockey Ireland Board Recruitment

Hockey Ireland is seeking applications for new members for the Board of Directors with expressions of interest for
consideration welcomed up to 17.30 Tuesday 18th April, 2023.

 

See full description HERE

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SoftCo Extends Partnership with Hockey Ireland and Looks to the Future.

 

 

SoftCo Extends Partnership with Hockey Ireland and Looks to the Future.

April 5th 2023

 

SoftCo, the global leader in Procure-to-Pay and Compliance solutions, is proud to announce the extension of their award-winning partnership with Hockey Ireland, the governing body for hockey in Ireland.  SoftCo will continue to support both the men’s and women’s high performance hockey teams and development squads in their pursuit of excellence on the international stage until the end of 2024.

 

In addition, SoftCo will invest in the development of underage talent with coaching programmes and the involvement of the Irish senior squads in underage coaching to support the next generation of hockey players. SoftCo will also fund online skills training digital content, commencing with goalkeeping skills, which will be available to all coaches and players in the Hockey Ireland development pathway. SoftCo sponsored players will be available to underage representative panels throughout the country, supporting regional coaching groups.

 

This partnership reaffirms SoftCo’s longstanding commitment to growth and development of hockey in Ireland, which began in 2018 when SoftCo became the lead sponsor of the Women’s Senior Team who won Silver in the 2018 FIH World Cup. The partnership was further extended when SoftCo became the lead sponsor to the Men’s Senior Team, as well as the U21/ National development squads for girls and boys in 2021.

 

“We’re delighted to extend our partnership with Hockey Ireland at such an exciting time with the Men’s side’s participation in the FIH Pro League and the excitement of the Paris Olympic Games just around the corner. SoftCo has supported club hockey for 20 years and we are particularly pleased to expand our partnership with Hockey Ireland to include the support of underage coaching and online skills training to help develop the future stars of the sport. ” commented, Susan Spence, Co-Founder, SoftCo.

 

Hockey Ireland CEO, Ronan Murphy, said: “SoftCo share our vision for the growth and development of hockey in Ireland at all levels and this extended partnership deepens the relationship with one of our longest standing partners.

 

It’s an exciting time for hockey in Ireland with our international teams competing at the very highest level and with underage participation through schools and clubs across the country at an all-time high. I look forward to working with SoftCo as we continue to support our high-performance squads as well as provide the future stars of Team Ireland with the greatest opportunity to fulfil their potential.”

 

End release.

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Dublin Goalkeeper Camp

Easter Goalkeepers Camp

Goalkeepers must bring their own gear

12th – 14th April

10.00 – 14.00

6th class – 6th year

Sport Ireland Campus – https://goo.gl/maps/Hi7cLd6rBzsioRwU9

 

Register HERE

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Dublin Easter Camp – FULL

Easter Hockey Camp Dublin

Date – 12th -14 April

Time – 10.00 – 14.00

Cost – €95

Ages – 6th class – 6th year

Sport Ireland Campus –

https://goo.gl/maps/Hi7cLd6rBzsioRwU9

 

Register HERE

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