The beauty of hockey is that anyone can play and masters hockey provides a great platform to come together in their age groups and renew old friendships and rivalries.
During this inaugural year of the new 8 areas, it was decided to retain masters hockey with the existing organisers, and to transfer the responsibility to the new areas for the 2022/23 season.
There are a number of clubs within our area, both mens and ladies, who already participate in masters league hockey. As we begin the New Year we will be recruiting a committee to deliver masters hockey to our membership, building on the foundations already in place while continuing to grow the masters game and ensuring it is fit for the future. For example, regulations need to be considered to not only create a meaningful competition, but to allow equal opportunities for all participants. As well as league hockey, South Central will be responsible for arranging masters area tournaments, when required, and selecting representative sides across many age groups starting at Over 35s with internals of 5 years. Hockey really is for life.
Over recent years, England Hockey has seen an increase in the numbers of clubs taking part in the masters Championships. Player eligibility has been relaxed to allow more players to participate and they have also introduced a third age group in the Women’s category at Over 55s. This means each gender now has three different age categories, providing plenty of opportunity for players of all ages to play amongst their peers.
We want to ensure that masters hockey is available to anybody that would like to participate, delivering masters hockey to our membership is a key priority for the 2022/23 season. Further information will be available in the New Year.