A time of change

Many of you will be aware that England Hockey has announced that significant changes will be introduced to Junior Regional Hockey Programs across the country, starting in 2008. These changes will impact East Youth Hockey, and, as with all the Regions, we will adopt and adhere to the Single System approach as it is rolled out.

England Hockey is in the process of finalising these changes, and we expect them to make a formal announcement on what these will be, and how they will affect Youth Hockey, very shortly.

What ‘East Hockey’ is happening in 2008?

As the Single System may take some time to roll out, East is continuing to run a hockey program during 2008, although you will see some changes designed to ease the move from one path to another.

East Summer Camps

The East Summer Camps will run again during July & Aug 2008. The venue is still to be confirmed, but the dates and the selection process are posted on this website (click the CAMPS link on the right hand side of the youth page). This year the camps are still aimed at personal development and improvement only, and are not part of any squad selection process. However this may change in the years to come, so that the camps become an integral part of the Single System approach to an individual’s development path.

Squads and Competitions

The East will be selecting squads for both boys and girls during 2008. As was announced at the end of last season there will not be tournaments for the boys U13 and U14 age groups, as there were in previous years. However we are expecting there to be some form of representational tournaments for the U15 and U17 age groups towards the end of 2008, but the actual format of these tournaments is not yet known and we are awaiting further details.

When will it start to roll out?

For those of you used to trials and development happening in the first part of the year, please be patient. As the new system will take time to roll out, it is likely that you won’t see much Regional hockey in the first few months of the year.

Where do I find out more?

We are expecting information on the Single System to be published soon by England Hockey. Following this, we will then publish further details on its impact to East hockey and what the new East 2008 Program will look like. Details will be posted to this website, so keep a look out.

Published 30^th Jan 08