Potential move to playing Quarters

The Area League Management  Committee  (ALMC) has been inundated with Exemption Selection Pass (SXP) requests this season, and 164 so far, many of them are not needed (clubs do not understand the purpose of an SXP). Information on the requirements is published on our website.

We have sent out a couple of surveys this month, firstly looking for the views of the clubs on 10 team divisions and whether to play 17.5 minute quarters, both of which were supported, and the ALMC will be asking the Board for inclusion as a proposal at the South Central Hockey Ltd AGM on 17^th July 2025.  

Quarters can be played from 2025-26, but a change to 10-team divisions would have to await implementation in 2026-27. 

 Additionally, clubs have been asked whether to reorganise the sub-areas of Cherwell, Solent, Forest and Thames so that they become divisions of South and North. This is in response to the issue that only one team can be promoted from those divisions as they feed into North/South, and the response will be reported when the survey closes.

We have sent out a request to all clubs asking for volunteers to become a Divisional Secretary; we currently have 8 Divisional Secretaries covering 21 men and 19 women Divisions, with no response. We will send another request shortly, along with a request for a volunteer to look after SXP’s.  Volunteers for these roles are vital for running the Adult Leagues, and spreading the workload would be massively helpful.  The addition of an SXP Coordinator would assist the clarity of applications and outcomes of these requests.

The ALMC have submitted 63 alterations to the Area League Regulations to the Adult League Working Group (ALWG) for their consideration; there is a particular thank you to those clubs that responded with their thoughts.  The ALWG meet in March to go through the alterations from each area.