Make Hockey Happen in the North West
North West Hockey Limited is responsible for delivering all aspects of hockey across the North West Area - from Masters to Juniors and everything in between. It is one of the 8 Areas, formed as part of England Hockey’s structure changes in 2022, responsible for making hockey happen across the country.
If you’d like to be part of the team making hockey happen in the North West, enabling many hundreds of people to participate in a rewarding and inclusive sport, we’d love to hear from you.
Here’s a summary of the roles and committees that govern North West Hockey and how to get involved.
North West Area Committees
There are two main committees that have oversight of all activity:
- Board of Directors
- Area Management Committee
The key functions of the Area are performed by 5 Committees that report to the Board:
- Adult Leagues & Competitions
- Junior Leagues & Competitions
- Masters
- Discipline
- Officiating
Each committee has a range of time and skill requirements as well as some flexibility in approach depending on the time you can give. Please be aware that the exact roles and the number of volunteers needed within the North West Area is still evolving so, even if there isn’t an exact fit for your interests and skills but you think you have something to offer, please get in touch by emailing Chris Reece, chair@northwesthockey.co.uk
Area Committee Chairs
Each of the committees is led by a Chair. This is a key role and you will be expected to lead your Committee effectively and attend Management Committee meetings with the Area Directors as well as national meetings with England Hockey to support the direction of the function nationally. The majority of Committee Chairs* are elected (or re-elected if standing again), annually by the members at the AGM. Please click on these links to see the role descriptions.
- Adult Leagues & Competitions Chair
- Junior Leagues & Competitions Chair
- Masters Chair
- Officiating Chair*
- Discipline Chair/Area Disciplinary Administrator*
You can use this form to express your interest in any of these Committee Chair roles at any time.
If you wish to stand for election (as Chair of Adult Leagues or Juniors or Masters), a formal nomination will be required – the nomination form and candidate statement template will be emailed to those who express an interest. The signed nomination forms need to be returned no later than 11th May 2023. Nominations will be considered by the Nominations and Remuneration Committee and suitable candidates put forward to the membership for election at the AGM on 6th July 2023.
* The formal appointment processes for the Officiating Chair and Discipline Chair are different. Please contact AreaOfficiating@northwest.hockey or discipline@northwest.hockey if you require further information.
Area Directors
The people who are elected to these positions play a crucial leadership role and need to take responsibility for the organisation. There are 5 titled director roles that are suited to people who are prepared to play an integral team-working role within the leadership team.
The Area Directors form the Board of Directors and have all the usual Limited Company statutory responsibilities.
To find out more or express your interest in becoming a Director of North West Hockey you can use this form to apply. If you wish to stand for election for either of the existing vacancies you will need to express your interest as soon as possible and then a formal nomination will be required – the nomination form and candidate statement template will be emailed to those who express an interest. If you decide to stand for election your signed nomination forms need to be returned no later than 11th May 2023. Nominations will be considered by the Nominations and Remuneration Committee and suitable candidates put forward to the membership for election at the AGM on 6th July 2023.
For more information on any of the above roles, please contact: Chris Reece, chair@northwesthockey.co.uk
-
- Adult Leagues and Competitions Chair – see Committee Chairs section for a full role description.
- Area League Manager – currently two positions (one each for the men’s and women’s leagues) – the ALMs work closely with the Adult League & Competitions Chair and provide support and guidance to the Grade and Divisional secretaries to ensure the smooth running of the Leagues with fair and consistent decision making.
- GMS Manager – technical interface between adult leagues and England Hockey.
- Divisional Secretaries – To manage a division(s) proactively, be first point of the contact for the teams in the division(s) they manage to provide advice and to check and challenge the team match information on the GMS.
- Indoor Lead & Administrators – To enable / co-ordinate the delivery of the Area Adult Indoor Competitions programme and ensure the smooth running of all the indoor competitions.
- Communications Officer –To ensure clubs are kept informed about all news relevant to the Adult Leagues via newsletters and appropriate social media etc and to arrange forums and feedback as required.
-
- Junior Leagues & Competitions Chair – see Committee Chairs section for a full role description.
- Junior Coordinator/ Vice Chair – to work with the Chair to co-ordinate the planning and delivery of all junior competition formats across the Area.
- Junior Clubs Competition Administrator – responsible for organising the Area Clubs Junior competitions in line with the Centralised Calendar Dates.
- Junior County Competitions Administrator – responsible for organising inter-county junior hockey competitions in line with the Centralised Calendar Dates.
- Indoor Lead – To enable / co-ordinate the delivery of the Area junior indoor competitions programme and ensure the smooth running of all the indoor competitions.
- Sub-Area Reps – To represent the Sub-Areas (counties) at the Juniors League & Competitions Area Committee, to give feedback on Junior Competitions within sub-Area, what is working well, what could be improved, and support as required at the Sub-Area level.
- Schools Lead – To oversee, organise and implement the Area and Sub-Area schools hockey competition programme.
-
- Masters Chair – see Committee Chairs section for a full role description.
- Competitions Coordinator – To co-ordinate the planning and implementation of Masters competitions across the Area ie liaising with Selectors, Team Managers, Competition Organisers, Officiating Rep etc
- Lead Selector – To be responsible for ensuring a fair and transparent selection process for all players wishing to be part of an Area Masters team, including appointment of selectors and an agreed selection process.
- Competition Organiser(s) – To lead the organisation of specific Masters tournaments hosted within the Midlands Area.
- Masters Officiating Rep - to liaise with the Officiating Committee to ensure appointments to Masters competitions as required.
- Team managers – To administer and manage a specific Masters team in the lead up to and participation in the age-group Area tournaments, including selection, kit management and training sessions as appropriate.
- Sub-Area Reps – To represent the Sub-Areas (Counties) at the Masters Area Committee, to give feedback on Masters hockey in the sub-area, what is working well, what could be improved, and support as required at the Area level.
- Masters Club Liaison Officer - to co-ordinate all communications to clubs, including social media and website, regarding Masters Hockey in the Area.
- Masters Administrator - to support the committee with general administration and organisation of meetings and co-ordination of events.
-
- Officiating Committee Chair – see Committee Chairs section for a full role description.
- Appointments Lead – To appropriately appoint to highest levels of Area Competition, EH Cup and any other requested competitions
- Club Liaison Lead – To provide essential link between clubs and Officiating Committee, to deliver development support for club-based Umpires and Technical Officials
- Development Lead – To oversee the development of individuals within clubs, as well as overseeing the development of umpire coaches & assessors to the agreed standards.
- Young Umpires Lead – To proactively recruit, retain and develop Young Umpires (under 23 years old) to service Junior and Senior Umpiring opportunities
- Area Technical Officiating Lead– To coordinate recruitment and development opportunities for Technical Officials to support Area and National competitions
- Vice-Chair – Administration – To coordinate all the required administration functions required by the Officiating group including: Kit, IT liaison, Welfare and Media/Communications
There are also supporting roles available in each of the areas named above.
-
- Area Disciplinary Administrator (ADA) – see Committee Chairs section for a full role description.
- Assistant Area Disciplinary Administrators (AADAs) – To be a member of an Area Discipline Panel (ADP) delivering effective management of all aspects of Discipline across an ‘Area’ (as defined by England Hockey). To support the Area Disciplinary Administrator (ADA) including review of Disciplinary processes across the sport.