The recreational section of England Ice Hockey has given its support to the merger of Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey ahead of Wednesday’s critical vote.

Rec hockey is a vibrant community of players nationwide, with 134 clubs regularly playing. The section sees the merger of critical importance to grow the game across all levels of the sport.

A spokesperson from the section commented: “The EIH recreational section fully supports the proposed merger of Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey to create single governing body for the sport of ice hockey.

“The EIH Rec section is of the largest sections in EIH, at ~4500 players within 134 clubs across England and Wales.

“We have begun to see change and stability that the new EIH board has brought to us over recent years, and the next logical move is to merge this into one united governing body, with a single mindset and compliant governance. With this, we see the sport being able to achieve great things, and gain the recognition it truly deserves at all levels.

“The Rec section has supported a model for single unified body for the sport for several years, and we look forward to a clearly defined future for the sport that will allow growth and development for all, within the game we have so much passion for.”

About the Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey Merger 

The merger of Ice Hockey UK, England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey will transform the positioning of ice hockey across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  

Bringing all the resources of the organisations together under a single governing body will enable nationwide growth and development. Five core principles will underpin the work of the organisation, including professionalise to perform, enhance the experience, member-centricity, sustainability for generations to come and fully recognise potential.  

Through months of consultation, engagement with other IIHF members and a driven, newly appointed executive team, the boards of the IHUK, EIH and SIH all unanimously approved the merging of the three bodies to bring everyone Together As One. 

Ahead of a general meeting on 17 December, where IHUK, EIH and SIH will encourage its members to vote in favour of the vote, a number of meetings with key stakeholders and groups across the sport are being held, to ensure the merger delivers improvement and certainty in relation to their requirements.  

Members are welcome to submit any questions or comments about the merger in advance of the general meeting via memberservices@englandicehockey.com for England and media@scottishicehockey.co.uk for Scotland. England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey staff will ensure all queries are addressed during the sessions of in the follow-up materials. 

Voting process explained 

A general meeting of members will be held for both England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey on 17 December.

In the formal notice sent to members, directors and auditors, a proposed special resolution will be set out, asking members to agree that they wish to proceed with creating a merged entity. 

If approved, this will be followed by an extensive period of detailed consultation, funded by UK Sport, with all sections using the five guiding principles to reshape the operations and delivery of the sport.

England Ice Hockey and Scottish Ice Hockey will each invite their members entered on the register of members (their affiliated clubs and teams), any honorary members, together with their respective boards, to attend the general meeting.

In line with their Articles of Association, each member is entitled to receive notice of, attend and cast one vote at the meeting (subject to being duly registered and all fees being paid).  

To pass the special resolution, at least 75% of votes cast on the day must be in favour. Members will have the right to appoint a proxy (or proxies), up to 48 hours before the meeting.   

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