As a club we have been ask to share this you all.

Regional (Conference) Position 2019/20

The Regional teams are established, formed and run by the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA). The selection process exists purely and simply to identify and select young people for England teams, hopefully they will go on to represent Great Britain. We appreciate the challenge of achieving this ultimate goal as opportunities are very limited. However, we are tasked with enabling as many young people as possible achieve their dreams.

The concept of Regional Teams is an EIHA led initiative, managed by the appointed Regional Chairs. The role of the Regional Chair is to manage the issues of that region along with 4 age-group teams.

Parents/carers make the sacrifice to take players wherever they need to go at whatever time they need to be there, often forsaking other family members and sometimes even work. This is a huge price to pay in more ways than one, but parent/carers will do anything to see their child happy and prospering.

To support the development of players we have introduced a series of games to help with the player growth. These games enable the players to experience the sport at a level and pace that we would expect them to be playing at should they make an elite team.

The Regional training and games are in place to help young people on the journey to success. Our job is to develop and hone their skills to enable them to be the best they can be.

The planning and arrangement for training and selection is the sole reserve of the Regional Chair who is appointed by the EIHA, to provide leadership and guidance for the whole region. The Chair also has core responsibility for the management of the regional teams. As previously stated, this is an EIHA led process and everyone is accountable to the Board.

Training Times

Training times are not always easy for us to meet in a fair manner because we are spread across the various regions and getting coaches and players to travel often proves difficult because of the distance between ice venues. We are often left with late ice during some of the most unsociable hours. Even if we could afford the ice-time we would still have to get the coaches in place, most of whom have full time jobs, families and they are also volunteers. When you consider all these factors, it’s a wonder that these people want to coach or manage a team!

Travel Abroad

A regional team making a decision to go abroad without the permission and approval of the EIHA board is considered to be acting independently and will not be supported or funded by the EIHA.

When a player is selected for an England team, we have an expectation that they will travel abroad to compete against other young people from other countries. If a player is selected to play for the Great Britain team, they will play under a format which is set by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). We need to prepare our players so that they are familiar with the format.

Conference Series

The EIHA is establishing the conference series to support player development and to enable players to experience training and games at a higher level against opposition that is comparable.

By establishing these games, we provide an opportunity for players to experience playing with other potential elite athletes which makes for a better experience and so aids player development and growth.

We believe that the introduction of the conference series provides a cost-effective way to develop players. We are able to provide quality events without the need for expensive excursions.

The conference series also provides an opportunity for selectors to attend sessions and provide guidance and support to both players and coaches. It also gives players a chance to gel with not just the players from their region but with players from other regions who may well end up becoming team/line mates.

In most cases these are one day events which we believe are more cost effective and accessible. The cost is always an issue in this sport, we know it is not cheap, however, we aim to keep the costs to minimum and will not be scrimping on the growth or development of players. The players get to play at least 4 games which is more than they would get in a weekend tournament abroad.

On a final note, no child should miss the opportunity to represent their region and/or country because we fail to make the sport accessible.

Charles Dacres
Director
EIHA.