George Wilson (Chair) and Marc Scott (CEO) were delighted to meet Education Minister Paul Givan MLA at Parliament Buildings on Thursday 11th April to discuss the provision of hockey in schools.
Topics discussed included the current delivery of hockey in schools, the potential for growth of the provision of hockey across the education sector and schools’ estate facility access.
Speaking on the meeting, Ulster Hockey CEO Marc Scott said he is hopeful of creating more opportunities within the sport through school hockey;
‘It is extremely positive to have met with Minister Givan and to have a strong supporter of the sport of hockey in a prominent ministerial role. Schools’ hockey plays a significant and prominent role in our sport, and there are currently close to 10,000 pupils engaged in hockey in the school environment through our senior schools competitive structure, primary school blitz programme, McCloy & Pearson Primary School cups and our recently established schools outreach programme.
The demand from schools, often those which are new to hockey, across the Province for support through our outreach programme is considerable and is currently exceeding our available resource. There is a compelling case for increased focus in this area and together with the Department for Education there is an opportunity to provide opportunities to substantial numbers of pupils to participate in the sport’.
Ulster Hockey looks forward to collaborating with the Department for Education to identify opportunities to grow the sport of hockey in a school setting; and to continue the strong links which are already in place between our clubs and schools.
