Hockey WA CEO Update - June 2024

To the Hockey WA Membership,

It’s been wonderful to get the season underway and it is great to see some fantastic hockey around the grounds.

I wanted to take this opportunity to provide a few updates.

Concussion Policy

We are committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all participants of our sport.

This is why we ask all our members, both playing and non-playing, to understand what to do when a player has a suspected concussion.

We recently adopted Hockey Australia’s Concussion Policy, which clubs and members need to aware of and understand the requirements regarding game-day concussion management, reporting, and timeline for return to play.

This is essential to ensure our players’ well-being and safeguard our sport.

Our guidelines what you, your team and your club must do when a player has a suspected concussion from playing our sport.

Respect: It’s Your Call

As great as it is to see plenty of passion and enthusiasm around the grounds, we need to remember that just like our fantastic hockey players and coaches, our hard-working officials are people as well.

Our Respect: It’s Your Call campaign is underway, calling on our WA hockey community to spread the word about the importance of respecting our officials and umpires.

Respecting our officials is not just about following the rules, it’s about creating a positive environment that benefits everyone involved in the game.

Without our officials, there is no game.

There are several digital assets clubs can use to spread the message.

Let’s work together to ensure hockey continues to flourish and remain the best, most inclusive sporting community in our State.

Stiles Electrical Premier League

Along with all the exciting action across the Stiles Electrical Premier League, we have been hosting successful themed rounds in recent weeks.

Last month, we had the Lizzie Watkins Organ Donor Round – headlined by the Women’s match between North Coast Raiders and Westside Wolves – which raised awareness around the importance of organ donation as well as pay tribute to the late Lizzie Watkins.

Our Regional Round saw our Goldfields Festival of Hockey take place at the Eastern Goldfields Hockey Association, culminating with a double-header between Reds and WASPS. The weekend was a rousing success with plenty of Kalgoorlie residents getting behind the matches and clinics.

It was also great to see our Premier League clubs celebrate First Nations culture and feature Indigenous artworks during the Indigenous Round, which took place in the days leading up to National Reconciliation Week.

Most recently, our Pride Round was a huge success at UWA Superturf, which saw UWA, Westside Wolves and Perth Pythons join forces for a fun day out including a community stall, a photo booth, a Hockey5s exhibition match and the action-packed double-header between UWA and Westside Wolves.

Junior Hockey

It’s been fantastic to see our junior hockey stars hit the field all ages and divisions for another season.

A highlight has been the integration of the Hookin2Hockey brand across programs and competitions for our hockey cohort under the age of 10. There’s now over 2,300 registered Hookin2Hockey members in WA, and pleasingly, there is now over 46 providers of Hookin2Hockey programs statewide. This is an increase of 43 providers on 2023 and highlights a strong interest among our clubs to nurture and drive participation numbers and opportunities in junior hockey.

The Fuel To Go & Play Club Championships are also coming up in July for WA’s J7/8, J9/10 and J11/12 boys and girls. I urge clubs to nominate now and book your place in one of Hockey WA’s key events for junior hockey. Nominations have also recently opened for the Fuel To Go & Play Hookin2Hockey Carnival, set to be held at Alderbury Reserve in Floreat once again this season – don’t miss out on a fantastic day of action!

Perth Thundersticks

Preparations are well and truly underway for the 2024 Hockey One season.

Over the past couple of weeks, identified players have been participating in Perth Thundersticks Cup matches, which will be used as a selection tool for this year’s Men’s & Women’s squads.

The League has also officially announced the 2024 Hockey One fixtures, which will also see Tasmania hosting the Finals Series.

The season will kick off from Friday 11 October, with the Thundersticks starting with an away game against Canberra Chill on Sunday 13 October, and having home games against Tassie Tigers (Sunday 20 October), Adelaide Fire (Sunday 3 November) and Brisbane Blaze (Sunday 17 November).

Once again, we are very keen to drum up as much support as possible for our Perth Thundersticks squads as we open up partnership opportunities for businesses and individuals to sponsor the team and players.

In addition to this, we are calling on you all to get ready to ignite the atmosphere and stand with the Perth Thundersticks this season, with memberships available from Monday 24 June.

We are excited to welcome Stephen ‘China’ Davies, who has come on board as the Head Coach of the Men’s team for the upcoming season, and welcome back Phil Hulbert who will be coaching the Women’s team for a third season running.

We are also very excited to welcome our first international import in Eva Drummond, who will be bringing her wealth of experience and skill to the Women’s squad. Her addition is expected to bolster the team and provide valuable leadership.

CBH Group Country Championships

The CBH Group Country Championships are returning for another year, showcasing the best players from across WA’s vast regions.

It all begins with the Women’s Country Championships from Friday 14 June to Sunday 16 June, followed by the Men’s Country Championships from Friday 21 June to Sunday 23 June.

The final days of both tournaments will be broadcast live and free thanks to Streamer, allowing supporters from across the State to watch the action unfold.

I’ll see you at the hockey!

Kind regards,

Fabian Ross

Hockey WA CEO