Ice Hockey UK is pleased to announce the launch of the Ice Hockey UK Foundation and the mission of the charity’s work is centred around the promotion of community participation in the sport of ice hockey throughout the UK.
Alongside its broader objects, the Foundation can organise sporting activities, provide equipment and access to facilities, offer coaching in ice hockey and other sports, provide training opportunities and opportunities to participate in formal and informal matches and competitions of different types, and provide support and education specifically relating to training for and competing in ice hockey.
Importantly, the Foundation can support the activities of IHUK, the National Governing Body for the sport of ice hockey in the UK.
Initially, the Foundation will from a set of development programmes that will look to complement and support IHUK’s overarching development strategy, focusing on youth and junior age groups.
In due course, the Foundation also hopes to provide assistance to GB pathway athletes from economically disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, who have the ability, the ambition and most importantly the drive to succeed, but may have issues with affordability.
Clifton Wrottesley, Chair of Ice Hockey UK, said: “It’s my firm belief that the IHUK Foundation could in the long term prove to become a key, defining body in development of the sport of ice hockey in the UK.
“There are specific near term aims for the Foundation, largely focused around supporting IHUK and its development goals. We are looking at various options, built on the back of wide consultation with a broad cross section of the ice hockey community in the UK.
“These may include a GB High Performance Academy, an Elite Coach Development Programme, a Junior National Cup competition, as well as an initiative centred on encouraging our youth and junior talent to remain in full-time education.
“The first step in building these programmes is for the Foundation to hire a Head of Development, who will be responsible for forming the Foundation’s development strategy, building an appropriate structure capable of delivering the strategy, and putting together operational plans for delivery of the programme, and the progression initiatives that will flow from this.
“This will also include the formation and delivery of plans to provide a world-class development strategy to complement IHUK’s own development strategy, and its GB World-Class Programme.
“Shortly, we will announce the launch of this search for a world-class practitioner to help the Foundation deliver on its goals. This is a really exciting time for ice hockey in the UK and this initiative could be transformational for the life chances of our athletes and the prospects of those involved in developing their talents. Watch this space…”
Ice Hockey UK Foundation, Charity number: 1197638, a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation, regulated by the Charity Commission under the authority of the Charities Acts.