Scottish hockey receives major boost from sportscotland

Tuesday 15 February 2005

sportscotland is delighted to announce a major investment totalling £639,029 to the Scottish Hockey Union (SHU) today to support all areas of the governing body’s business plan from grass roots development to medal success. The award is a combination of £359,529 from the sportscotland Lottery Fund and £279,500 of Exchequer funding.

The investment includes £316,529 for athlete support and elite coach development, £283,000 for staffing, club development and player improvement and £39,500 towards the Youth and Development Manager and Grampian Hockey Development Officer posts and volunteer development.

This investment comes as SHU and sportscotland announce the appointment of John Gunn as the new Chief Operating Officer, a post jointly funded by the two organisations.

John joins the SHU following a career at Theatre Workshop in Edinburgh, the Forestry and Timber Association and the Confederation of British Industry. John will have a key role in developing and implementing the business plan for hockey in Scotland.

Commenting on his new appointment, John Gunn, said: "These are exciting times for Scottish Hockey and I am delighted to be able to contribute to our national success. The continued support of sportscotland is greatly appreciated."

Over the last few years, the SHU has developed a successful pathway through the sport from participation to excellence and actively contributes to all 11 targets of Sport 21 – the national strategy for sport. At grassroots level, emphasis has been placed on providing quality coaching and youth participation programmes to strengthen the numbers of young people enjoying the game and developing talent.

sportscotland’s funding supports two posts responsible for targeting this area. Ben Glencross, Youth and Development Manager oversees the hockey development network, strengthening partnerships with local authorities, schools and clubs and Kevin MacNab, Grampian Hockey Development Officer whose role incorporates elements of the Active Schools programme by increasing participation, offering tailored in-service for teachers and coach education for volunteers and coaches. Both posts are making a significant impact, encouraging wider participation.

At elite level sportscotland’s investment contributes towards the long-term medal success of the Scottish senior and junior teams. As a core sport within the Scottish Institute, hockey already has strong support provision through the Institute network with sportscotland supporting the East and West of Scotland Area Institute coaching positions. Institute staff are taking the lead in the provision of coaching, sport science, sports medicine and strength and conditioning support available for the players.

Both the senior men and women’s squads are currently ranked in the top ten Commonwealth countries (the men 9th and the women 6th) which is high enough to qualify for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. All the players will be hoping to make an impact in competitions this year and be nominated for selection for the Scottish Commonwealth Games team which will be announced by the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland in November 2005.

As part of the performance programme, there will be an increase in the quantity of international competition opportunities for the senior teams (men and women’s) with a view to improving Scotland’s position on the world stage and to increase the number of players achieving Great Britain or Olympic representation. Major competitions for both men and women include the Celtic Cup 22-24 July in Edinburgh, which is the first time Scotland has hosted this event and the European Championships, the women’s competition runs from 14-20 August in Dublin, Ireland followed by the men’s on 28 August- 4 September in Leipzig, Germany.

Brent Deans, Performance Manager, SHU said: "This substantial award and the new integrated method of funding will be of enormous benefit giving us the flexibility we need to support our programme over a four year cycle and maximise the value we can derive from it. It provides us with a fantastic platform as we aim to establish ourselves in the world’s top ten hockey nations and to increase the number of our athletes who are included in the GB pool for 2008.

"This funding comes as we announce our new Chief Operating Officer and I look forward to working closely with John. He has a wealth of experience in business which will add value to our team."

Alastair Dempster, Chairman of sportscotland, said: "sportscotland is delighted to announce £639, 029 of funding to the SHU. Our integrated investment process reflects our new approach to working in partnership with sports, looking at their overall business needs to deliver the best support and value for money.

"I am sure John Gunn’s appointment as the new Chief Operating Officer will be an asset to the SHU. His managerial experience and enthusiasm will be invaluable and sportscotland looks forward to working with him in the future."

• A list of the athletes benefiting from the athlete support is detailed below. Athlete Support funding is now is now largely administered through the governing body.
• Piloted last year, integrated investment aims to streamline our support by combining Lottery and Exchequer funding streams enabling governing bodies to submit one development or business plan to be considered across all three sportscotland visions (Achieving Excellence, Developing Potential and Widening Opportunities).
• Athlete Support is a new funding programme which merges and replaces the former Junior Groups and Talented Athlete programmes and provides a seamless, integrated pathway for the development of emerging talent.
• This new programme supports the training and preparation programmes for elite athletes who have demonstrated the potential to win medals or equivalent, in significant international competitions and events such as the Olympics and Paralympics, now, and in the next four years.
• All athletes who receive Athlete Support will also be supported by the new sportscotland medical scheme.
• The Celtic Cup is an international competition for men and women’s teams from France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This year’s competition takes place at Peffermill, Edinburgh from 22-24 July.

Senior Men’s Squad

Graham Moodie, CHELTENHAM, GL53

Paddy Conlon, DUBLIN

David Knipe, DUNDEE, DD5

Alan Law, DUNDEE

Neill Stott, DUNDEE, DD3

Michael Leonard, EDINBURGH, EH11

Andy McBride, EDINBURGH, EH11

Alistair McGregor, ELLON, AB41

Craig Harper, FORRES, IV36

Vishal Marwaha, GLASGOW, G62

Kris Kane, GLASGOW, G62

Graham Dunlop, GLASGOW, G41

David Mansouri, GLASGOW, G61

Andrew Sewnauth, GLASGOW, G61

Douglas Simpson, GLASGOW, G33

Gavin Sommerville, GLASGOW,G61

Allan Dick, KIRKCALDY, KY2

Stephen Dick, KIRKCALDY, KY2

David Ralph, LEICESTERSHIRE, LE11

David Mitchell, MOTHERWELL, ML1

Chris Nelson, PAISLEY, PA1

Jonathan Christie, PAISLEY, PA1

Mark Ralph, PAISLEY, PA3

Gareth Hall, PAISLEY, PA1

Senior Women’s Squad

Cheryl Valentine, DUNDEE, DD3

Debbie McLeod, DUNDEE, DD2

Lou Carroll, DUNDEE, DD4

Vikki Bunce, DUNDEE, DD3

Cat Semple, DUNDEE, DD3

Linda Clement, EDINBURGH, EH12

Ali Rowatt, EDINBURGH EH6

Aimee Clark, ELGIN, IV30

Lou Munn, FIFE, DD6

Carmin Dow, FORFAR, DD8

Abi Walker, GLASGOW, G3

Catriona Forrest, GLASGOW, G43

Emma Rochlin, GLASGOW, G46

Julie Kilpatrick, GLASGOW, G46

Kath Gray, GLASGOW, G42

Lorna Dobbie, GLASGOW G77

Lou Gordon, GLASGOW, G40

Jacqui Fortune, GREENOCK, PA16

Jane Burley, LONDON, SW2

Sam Judge, RENFREWSHIRE, PA11

Ali Bell, ST ANDREWS, KY16

VIEWING GROUP (Being monitored maybe selected for senior squad at a later date.)

Ailsa Robertson, DUNDEE, DD2

Kath Rae, EDINBURGH, EH8

Lynsey Allan, EDINBURGH, EH11

Linsey Thompson, FIFE KY16

Ailsa Young, GLASGOW, G62

Amy Hislop, GLASGOW, G64

Fiona Sullivan, GLASGOW, G69

Holly Cram, GLASGOW, G61

Karen Jarvie, GLASGOW, G66

Lynsay Macrae, GLASGOW, G43

Kylie McEniery, PERTH, PH1

Nikki Kidd, PETERHEAD, AB42

Kat Cameron, RENFREWSHIRE, PA6