Ulster Hockey warns sport could 'disappear in some areas' of Northern Ireland unless £10m funding is secured to upgrade facilties
Ulster Hockey has warned that clubs could fold and the sport could ‘disappear altogether in some areas’ unless funding is secured.
The body has written to Communities Minister Gordon Lyons seeking £10m, which it says is required to avoid ‘potential existential issues related to facility provision’.
That is the frank message from Ulster Hockey Chief Executive Marc Scott, who says the sport needs urgent intervention.
In a statement, Ulster Hockey said: “Without intervention… the situation has the potential to see clubs fold and hockey to disappear altogether in some areas.
“As a sport, hockey delivers a joint pathway to both Ireland and GB sports with the Paris Olympics seeing both teams’ captains from Northern Ireland.
“With a total of ten players, it was also the sport with the most athletes from Northern Ireland at the Games.
“At grassroots level, hockey is currently the largest female participation sport in the country and has also seen the successful delivery of several new programmes aimed at growing participation.
“In recent years we have seen an upwards trajectory in participation numbers at all levels, the delivery of a successful schools’ outreach programme targeting non-hockey playing schools of all denominations and the delivery of a successful Refugee Engagement programme in partnership with Ethnic Minorities in Sport Organisation (EMSONI).
“Despite the positive progress, there has been no substantial public investment into hockey facilities as well as static and limited investment into the development of the sport in the last 20+ years.
“With facilities falling into disrepair or worse repurposed, the sport of hockey is faced with challenges around facility provision which at best will limit its ability to continue to grow and reach its potential.”
Mr Scott says hockey in Northern Ireland needs to be funded ‘in such a way that brings it in line with the other major sports such as football, rugby and GAA’.
The statement added: “Currently in the process of undertaking robust consultation with clubs, schools and local authorities to establish a detailed needs analysis for the sport, Ulster Hockey estimate £10 million is required to ensure ongoing growth and provide parity with other pre-eminent sports.
“In his letter to the Minister, the CEO highlighted several issues regarding facilities as well as highlighting Portrush, Enniskillen and Londonderry as three of the areas in urgent need of support.
“In many regions, the sport faces challenges based around the number of pitches available, leading to clubs being unable to access significant pitch time to cater for the numbers wishing to access the sport.”
Ulster Hockey goes on to say that pitches are deteriorating because of a lack of investment and maintenance, while ‘many’ astroturf pitches are approaching or have surpassed their ‘10-year lifespan’.
The body added: “When Sport NI’s focus shifted towards performance funding being delivered to Hockey Ireland, Ulster Hockey has seen a significant reduction in core funding over the last eight years in real terms.
“Despite initiatives such as our Club 1896 Business Network being launched in recent years, we strongly believe that the levels of investment into hockey isn’t commensurate with that of other significant sports in the region.”