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A number of crucial decisions regarding the future of hockey have been made by Delegates representing member National Associations at the FIH Congress, which took place on Saturday 13th November in the Swiss city of Montreux.
Arguably the most significant decision came in regards to a proposed change to the FIH Statutes, which was one of the five priorities from the FIH Strategic Plan for 2010-2016. The proposals were designed to make the FIH a more efficient, streamlined organization that would be able to make clear and effective decisions to aid hockey’s development.
The 65 Delegates present at the Forum voted unanimously in favour of changing the FIH Statutes. The decision means that the Executive Board has been restructured to a workable number, enhancing its efficiency. The re-structured Executive Board will continue to have representatives from each of the Continental Federations, which recognizes the hugely important contributions that they make to hockey in their own regions.
The restructuring of the FIH Executive Board required the election of three new members. These are:
Pamela Stuper (USA)
Qasim Zia (PAK)
Marc Coudron (BEL)
They will be joined on the new Executive Board by Michael Green (GER), who has been named as the Chair of the Athletes Committee.
FIH Chief Executive Officer Kelly Fairweather described the decisions as hugely significant for the sport. “I firmly believe that hockey is entering a new era”, said Fairweather. “These decisions show that our sport is taking a bold new direction which will help us achieve the targets that we have set for ourselves in our Strategic Plan 2010-2016.”
The Congress also witnessed a number of Awards being given, below in the order in which they were presented.
The Rene Frank Fair Play Trophy was given to Belgium Hockey Association, with Mr. Marc Coudron collecting the Award from Honorary Secretary General Peter Cohen. This Trophy was created by the FIH to preserve the memory of Mr. René G. Frank who has been respectively Secretary General the FIH from 1950 to 1966 and President from 1966 to 1983. It was presented to the Federation in Brussels in 1984 by the Association Royale Belge de Hockey during the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of the FIH.
The Trophy is awarded every two years in conjunction with the Congress, to a team or an individual known to have shown the greatest spirit of sportsmanship during a period of two or four years. Men, Women, Senior and Junior teams as well as individuals may aspire to this Trophy.
The Etienne Glichitch Medal was awarded to Antonio Antonov of Bulgaria for the promotion of growth in the Balkan Zone. The Award is given every two years to a person, Continental Federation or National Association that has made a significant contribution to the growth and development of the sport at local, continental, national or international level, and recognizing innovative ideas and selfless dedication to the sport.
The Pablo Negre Trophy was awarded to the Argentinean Hockey Confederation, with CAH President Daniel Marcellini receiving the award from FIH President Leandro Negre. CAH was also the recipient of a complete set of pitch floodlights from Musco Lighting, which is a new element to the Pablo Negre Trophy.
The Trophy is dedicated to the memory of the greatly missed Pablo Negre, a leader loved and esteemed by all and who rendered exceptional services to the Game of Hockey. It was presented to the FIH in 1973 by his family and his friends. The Trophy is awarded annually by FIH to the National Association which has by its activities, initiatives and sportsmanship served best the course of hockey and made it more popular during the previous two years.
The Theo Ykema Award was presented to the Myanmar Hockey Association. Mr Theo Ykema was invited to present the Award and a cheque of Eur 1000 to K.K. Hlaing of the Myanmar Hockey Association. The Award was created in recognition of Theo’s outstanding service to hockey, especially in the area of development.
The Guust Lathouwers Memorial Trophy was awarded to Japan’s Masako Kamisuki. In her absence the award, presented for outstanding service to the development of umpiring, was collected on her behalf by the Japanese Hockey Association.
This award was created by the FIH and was presented to the Federation by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Hockey Bond, to preserve the memory of Guust Lathouwers and his great contribution to the global hockey community. This trophy is awarded every two years, in conjunction with the Congress of the FIH to an individual considered to have given outstanding service to the development and promotion of Umpiring.
Venezuela’s Tony von Ondarza (VEN), a Vice President of the FIH, was made a Member of Honour. FIH President Leandro Negre presented the award in recognition of his outstanding services to hockey at National, Continental and FIH level over many years.
Within the Federation such an honour is restricted to persons who have served on the Executive Board. It may also be given to individuals outside the Federation as a special honor for outstanding contribution and services to hockey.
