Indoor Hockey in the UK. How much longer can we keep treading water?
We should play more of this! Every year we have the debate..........
Can we make it happen or are we happy with what we have?
If I had a pound for every "we must play more indoor hockey" conversation I'd had every year in November, December and January, I'd be a pretty rich man! I'm known across hockey circles here and abroad for my love and enthusiasm for the indoor game.
My thoughts below are backed up with experience across over 40 years in indoor hockey. I'm certainly not looking to simply 'swing the lamp' about the good old days! I understand the here and now and the struggles to develop any sort of infrastructure for indoor hockey in the 2020s.
As a player, I won eight National titles with my club St Albans, captained England and coached our National Indoor squads until 2018 when England withdrew from international competition. (I'll leave the debate about England and whether we should play international indoor hockey for another time, but it is pleasing to still see our officials and NPUA umpires appointed to international competition.)
I look forward with passion to every indoor season. I'm fortunate that I can still support the game adding colour commentary to events streamed both at home and abroad. I am excited about working on the commentary team at the indoor World Cup in Croatia in February.
There is a sense of personal frustration around how we underplay a version of our game that is such a great sharpener and developer for the outdoor version.
Even if we play technical outdoor hockey indoors, there is still a place for the game through the winter months.
At domestic level, our schools indoor competitions have just finished. Our club competitions are in regional qualifying stages and the National Indoor leagues will start in January culminating in 'hockey's big day in' where National titles and European qualification will be decided. The event sold out last year in Derby and continues to be a popular perennial event in the domestic hockey calendar.
So where are we with this exciting 6 aside version of the sport we all love? And what has prompted me to blog about this in 2024?
Well I've just returned from a trip to Belgium with Framlingham College Boys 1st XI. A 'pre season' trip ahead of the Boys outdoor hockey term that starts in January. Yes, an outdoor trip. Hockey in Belgium continues to thrive, both at club and international level. We arrived as they enter the second month of their indoor season. There were certainly a few raised eyebrows when they learned that we were over there looking to play outdoor hockey in December.
Outdoor hockey in Europe closes down from November through to February.
In Germany, Austria, Poland and other countries in Eastern Europe, thanks to Handball, an indoor hockey infrastructure already exists. With most gyms, schools, leisure centres and clubs having ready made indoor pitches. (The indoor game began in the cold winters in Germany when Handball courts were used for the first version of indoor hockey.)
In the UK we don't have those facilities. I know that in the 2020s it is a struggle for England Hockey to find venues for its indoor competitions and for clubs, finding halls for practice ahead of the indoor league season is almost impossible.
The halls that do have space are looking for block bookings rather than one offs. Leisure centres don't have equipment for indoor hockey, goals and particularly boards are scarce. Add to that the requisite space needed and the fact they will only be used for a month or two every year then it is no wonder that using leisure centres for indoor hockey is on the wane. So it seems that we are relying on schools ,universities and the facilities at Polo Farm, Canterbury HC. (Repton and Whitgift schools will be once again hosting our National League Premier Divisions in 2025.)
Will Davey and his team at Indoor Hockey UK continue to organise and run very well supported events across the year, mainly for youngsters, but also the highly successful World Masters competition at the David Ross Sports centre at Nottingham University. This venue will also be hosting the annual indoor hockey UK event between Christmas and New Year. (the venue can put four indoor pitches side by side at one time!)
I'm afraid indoor hockey in the UK will continue in a very slow decline unless we find a way to reinvigorate the sport.
Back to our Belgian trip. In Belgium, many clubs have developed a positive culture for indoor hockey through the winter.
Until around seven or eight years ago, they too found it difficult to provide facilities, but have come up with a solution.
We visited both Waterloo Ducks and Royal Leopold, two successful clubs in suburban South Brussels.
Both have erected marquees for the duration of the winter enabling indoor hockey for all.
I've added some detail of both below.
Whilst this is not a cheap solution, it creates the option of playing hockey through the winter months without the need to find facilities.
Having viewed both facilities, they would be suitable for our National League events and would give youngsters opportunity to play hockey across the colder months.
The solution is not cheap:
25k-30k euros for the season for marquee hire.
Heating costs to be added. (oil plus the system)
Pitch hire added (although Was Ducks have bought one of the pitches from Stilmat, they hire the other, the one they own is stored by stilmat.)
Cost of boards.
Those club members that play indoor pay extra subscription for use of the tent. .
Clubs have sponsors who support the facility financially.
Please have a look at the videos below.
It seems we are definitely at a crossroads with our indoor hockey .
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Is there the desire from within the hockey community at club level to play more if we created the infrastructure?
Can we shift the outdoor season to accommodate indoor? In the regional outdoor leagues, competition resumes on Saturday 11th January!
If we had the infrastructure, could we move school indoor to January? (where it used to be and in my opinion should be played.)
The answer for me lies in whether or not we can create venues similar top those in Belgium.
I also believe in the great quote from the film, 'Field of Dreams' "If you build it they will come". If the facilities are there, people will play and will once again be attracted to indoor.
I'm a passionate indoor hockey badger! After so many great years enjoying the sport can we take a step forward?
Are these viable options for English clubs?
The finance is a big barrier, but what an opportunity to play through winter.
Otherwise, sadly, the decline will continue.
Royal Leopold
Royal Leopold, a large hockey, padel and tennis club have added a single marquee across tennis courts at the front of their clubhouse. You'll see they have added a simple sectioned area using wooden pallets at the side of the pitch for team benches and a technical area.
The pitch is a fairly standard handball sized court.
The floor is made by a company called Stilmat. Originally, an 'inline hockey' accessory, the run of the ball and performance of the slightly sprung floor is excellent for indoor hockey. The floor can be hired or bought. The lighting system is also hired.
The hall is heated using an oil fired heating system with tank outside the tent.
The whole operation to install takes around three days.
Once up there is no restriction on hours and the facility is used by all club members from the youth hockey section up to the first teams.
Waterloo Ducks HC
Waterloo Ducks have a slightly more expansive set up with two pitches either side of a social astroturf area with a bar and seating.
Provisionally, the marquee is the same as the Leopold version with additional side supports for adverse weather conditions, particularly wind. Large concrete blocks have been added around the outside.
Both pitches are the same size.
A bar area is set up in the centre with a fully operational bar and food service. (the main clubhouse is closed)
The heating system is bigger, again, oil fired with tanks situated around the outside of the tent. The marquee is situated on the astroturf pitch outside the clubhouse occupying half of the pitch.
See the videos below.
