Hockey: Relaunch of of league on wish list

Black Sticks player Anita Punt in action against Wales at the Delhi Games where the women won silver. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Double medal success at the New Delhi Commonwealth Games could not have been more timely for Hockey New Zealand chief executive Hilary Poole.

The silver and bronze medals won by the Black Sticks in India came as the national association were preparing to launch their far-reaching Whole of Hockey business plan, "Hockey Strategy - Changing the Game" - a comprehensive 59-page document aimed at the sport across the board.

Reminded other sports have in the past produced similar "wish lists" but have often failed to deliver, Poole said she was determined to see it through, pointing to the 23 initiatives and six core projects in the plan.

High on that list are plans to relaunch the National Hockey League, implement a world class high performance programme aimed at having the men and women's international sides consistently in the top six on FIH rankings, grow the sport's winter and summer base by 13 per cent over five years to more than 50,000 (winter) and develop a talent pathway from grassroots to elite.

Poole is adamant New Zealand teams will play at all future Junior World Cups (under-21) as that has not been a priority in the past and has led to gaps in the national development and talent identification programme.

"There are other things we want to do including instigating a regular transtasman challenge something the Australians are keen on," said Poole. "I would also like to see Hockey New Zealand host an FIH tournament each year. We also need to build the Black Sticks as a team brand."

On a domestic level, Poole is keen to see hockey become a more established year-round sport to utilise the growing number of artificial turfs across the country. Much of the growth and development will fall under the incoming high performance manager Toni Cumpston who starts with HNZ next month.

Poole is preparing her association's plan for the future to present to Sparc by November 19. With almost $500,000 a year headed their way - excluding any high performance grants - Hockey New Zealand are well-positioned to kick-on, something they will only achieve if the sport as a whole gets behind them. That promises to be the greatest challenge.