In the simplest terms the vision of the English Ice Hockey Association can be defined as:
A commitment to manage, develop and promote the sport of ice hockey in England and Wales through providing an environment which meets the development needs of all participants at all levels.
The vision has been defined in the context of the tremendous opportunities and challenges which present themselves for our sport in a time of a rapidly evolving domestic and international sporting and social landscape.
The priority for the EIHA is to sustain participation and to ensure the development of our sport for all those involved; players, volunteers and coaches. By developing integrated interventions for clubs to embrace and deliver with support from key partners we will provide greater access to, retention within, and enhanced development of, our athlete pathway.
It is our belief that by enabling clubs to focus development on the athlete pathway it will enable ice hockey to market itself to non-sporty, semi-sporty and sporty individuals as a progressive, inclusive sport that provides opportunities for all participants. We have to acknowledge that ice hockey is not a mainstream sport, and that opportunities for participation are limited by facility availability, therefore it is important that we present ourselves as the first choice for people looking to participate and develop in a fast, technically skilled and physical team sport.
At the heart of the strategy is a clearly defined player pathway. The pathway adopts the developmental principles of the Long Term Athlete Development pathway. This pathway is well understood and used in most sports and we have adapted the research undertaken in other countries and sports to adapt ours to meet our sporting environment.”