Article by Shevaun Sly
Masters hockey in Australia is set to benefit from a landmark agreement reached between Hockey Australia, the Australian Women’s Masters Council (AWMC) and the Australian Men’s Masters Hockey Council (AMHC) that will see the creation of a national level Masters Hockey Advisory Panel and a new four year Terms of Reference agreement.

More than 22,000 people aged over 35 play hockey in Australia and it is one of the sport’s fastest growing forms globally. The new Masters Hockey Advisory Panel will contribute to Hockey Australia’s participation and competition plans and operations, with a focus on both domestic and international hockey as it looks to further increase participation in Masters hockey.

The arrangement aligns Hockey Australia with the International Hockey Federation’s strategy for Masters hockey as presented at the 2014 FIH Congress in Morocco in November.

Cam Vale, Hockey Australia Chief Executive, said, “I want to thank both the women’s and men’s Masters, led by Sue Briggs and Peter Sweeney, and their hard working committees and delegates for embracing this new approach. Masters hockey is a strength of our sport and we intend to continue to build on this strength over the next four years as a united panel through this agreement.”

Paying tribute to the involvement of the state and territory hockey associations throughout the process, Vale added, “The support and leadership of our state and territory associations through their CEOs, who have supported Hockey Australia’s Masters Panel initiative over the last 12 months, is another fine example of our stakeholders aligning as one in the best interest of hockey in Australia.”

Last week it was announced that the 2015 Men’s Masters Australian Championships will be held in Cairns from 26 September until 10 October. The 2015 Women’s Masters Australian Championships will take place in Brisbane from 24 September until 3 October. In 2014, more than 2,000 people took part in the Masters Australian Championships.

Masters play a significant part in all areas of the sport across participation, coaching, officials, umpiring and administration.

Details of the membership of the Hockey Australia Masters Hockey Advisory Panel can be found on the governance page of the Hockey Australia website. Members of this panel will be confirmed early in 2015.