Minutes of IMHA Online Board Meeting 9-10Th July 2016

Minutes of IMHA Online Board Meeting – 9-10th July 2016

Attendance:Glenn Paton (GP); Sue Briggs (SB); Andy Nye (AN); Deb Wilkes (DebW); Dirk Wellen (DirkW);

Jeff Brown (JB); Peter Jones (PJ); Meeting was held over 3 Skype sessions – GP attended all.

Apologies:Eduardo Guelfande; Irene Ryan; Jackie Whiller.

Minutes of Board Meeting Dec 2015: Approved as accurate by all attendees. Proposed SB; Seconded PJ.

Matters Arising: None.

Minutes of 2016 Congress (Canberra):Approved as accurate by all attendees. Proposed SB; Seconded JB.

Matters Arising:None.

Non-Elite Tournaments:

All attendees expressed similar opinions. The elite should always be the main focus. There is a great deal of pressure on facilities hosting IMHA tournaments and it has proved difficult for hosts to provide enough suitable pitches outside of the Netherlands without having multiple venues with consequent transport and organisational issues. There were some discussions about requirements for selection for such teams, but it was agreed that such should be left to individual countries. However, players should not participate in both elite and non-elite tournaments. There was no opposition to the principle of running such IMHA tournaments, but the how and when required further thought. Given the lengthy agenda, it was agreed to re-visit this at the next Board meeting.

2017 IMHA European Championships in Tilburg:

a) Level of IMHA involvement in tournament planning:

It was proposed that the member of the Board with most recent experience of organising large international tournaments should act as the liaison officer between the IMHA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC). DebW was proposed by PJ and seconded by DirkW. DebW accepted the role, and this will be communicated to the Tilburg LOC by SB.
IMHA to share past issues with hosts. Host to share a loose schedule with IMHA for checking at the earliest stage after teams have expressed interest in participating.
No concerns with the quality and number of international standard pitches available, nor with the clubhouse facilities.

b) Marketing & Fees:

AN to research sources of sponsorship, marketing options and producing guidance for hosts and the IMHA with regard to use/ownership of logos, advertising and profits which hosts and IMHA could use to further develop Masters Hockey worldwide.

2018 IMHA World Championships in Madrid:

The level of IMHA involvement and Marketing issues discussed in relation to the European Championships would apply equally to Madrid. However, given the likely multiple venues, DebW’s experience in organising the multiple venues at the 2015 Euros in London will guide any decisions made by the Board.
Detailed proposals had not yet been received from the hosts and had been placed on hold until after the 2016 Olympic Games. The IMHA were aware that multiple venues were to be used to provide sufficient pitches for the likely numbers of participating teams and this would require careful management in regard to transport of players and officials between venues, the possible variation in standards of pitches and having sufficient experienced qualified officials to cope with the demands of running matches in different locations. The hosts have been asked to communicate these as soon as is possible after the Olympics.
As the tournament will be held at the end of July, temperatures are likely to be very high and so the IMHA and hosts will need to have contingency plans, approved and sanctioned by the FIH, to ensure that the health and well-being of players, officials and spectators are not put at risk. SB to approach FIH for guidance in this regard.

2017 IMHA Indoor World Cup in Germany for 40+ & 50+ Men and Women:

Changes in the Dutch Hockey Masters organisation led to a re-think with regard to the location of the first ever IMHA Indoor World Cup. DirkW and PJ had put together proposals for this event to be staged in Germany in February 2017. These proposals were approved by the Board and DirkW will finalise these upon his return from watching his son represent Germany at the Olympics. We wish them both success.

This tournament will be a world’s first and the IMHA can be proud of its achievements in providing wider opportunities for Masters Hockey players to participate in our sport. As soon as the final details are received, the event will be fully publicised to entice entrants from around the world. This tournament opens the door for other nations to host similar tournaments for other IMHA age groups and perhaps some from the WGMA age groups! This tournament is also likely to encourage more German Women’s Masters players to become involve in IMHA events thereby enhancing the attraction of future Women’s tournaments.

IMHA Tasks and Roles:

GP first produced these shortly after the 2014 Rotterdam Congress. The Board was asked to consider these and suggest improvements for the next Board Meeting as the needs of the IMHA, the co-operative relationship which had been developed with the FIH, WGMA and Continental Federations had evolved beyond that which was originally conceived as appropriate. These would be shared with relevant IMHA personnel as soon as they were updated.

IMHA Accounts:

The account currently held a positive balance of £4043.97. The hosting fee of £1250 for the 2015 Euro Masters in London was still outstanding from England Hockey, despite GP having approached them several times since the original request 8 months before the tournament. AN to follow this up. Given the fall in the value of Sterling post the EU referendum, AN will keep the Board appraised of any need to raise the annual fees should Sterling weaken much further. Costs for IMHA officials attending international meetings are likely to increase given the fall in the currency’s value against the US Dollar and the Euro.

A.O.B:No other issues were raised at this stage. GP thanked the attendees and closed the Meeting.

Date of Next Meeting: 15th/16th October 2016

(N.B.Championships issues may bring this forward)