Through detailed research and a travel mapping exercise undertaken pro-bono for England Hockey by Llamasoft, an operational logistics company, a new structure of eight Areas is proposed to more equally divide the balance of clubs and players in hockey in England. Obviously when developing this new approach some clubs will find themselves on boundaries, for many clubs this will be familiar but for some it will be new.

Throughout the consultation England Hockey made it clear that clubs would be allowed to request their area to play in if they feel in, or are in close proximity to, a boundary. The proposed approach to managing clubs that wish to play across boundaries is covered in the full proposal.

The Area map beneath demonstrates the eight Areas with clubs falling on boundaries marked as black dots. These clubs are very likely to want to consider their preferred Area, as are clubs in very close proximity to these clubs. To see in zoom mode double click on the map or click on the top right expand function. Hover your cursor over a dot to see your club.

For a full-screen standalone version of the above map, please click here.

To develop adult league structures to share with the membership it has been necessary to place clubs into Areas and more local sub-divisions to be able to generate a league pyramid. This second map demonstrates the local sub-division structures that are proposed. In some parts of the country there may be a desire to sub-divide these smaller areas even further to minimise travel, this will be a local decision and supported where it follows the broader principles of the proposal. To see in zoom mode double click on the map or click on the top right expand function. Hover your cursor over a dot to see your club.

 

Adult league structures
During the consultation process clubs strongly requested more details on the potential implications for adult league structures. This was to help clubs understand the potential implications for change and ensure that informed decisions are made. When looking at these structures it is extremely important to understand they are designed to give an indication rather than being the final versions. A clear timeline for finalising these is available in the full proposal.

You can see the proposed structures by clicking here.