Masters Hockey

WGMA/IMHA/FIH/Coordination

The development of Masters Hockey in the world has become an important issue for FIH, and regular discussions and meetings have been held between FIH, WGMA and IMHA to coordinate the structure of Masters and Grand Masters hockey, and to establish closer contact with National Associations to promote Masters hockey in their countries.
These efforts have culminated in the FIH Hon.Secretary General, Peter Cohen, sending out the letter below to all FIH National Associations to promote further interest. A joint WGMA/IMHA letter was subsequently sent out to the National Associations also requesting their support (see below).
Both WGMA and IMHA have been invited to the main FIH Congress in Montreux, Switzerland in November, where it is hoped that we can stimulate more hockey nations to organise their own Masters hockey teams to take part in future Masters tournaments.
Regular updates on this theme will be entered as and when there are further interesting developments to report.
August 2010
 

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Repeat Text of above FIH letter

Lausanne, 12 August 2010
 
To: All Affiliated National Associations

 Dear friends,

MASTERS HOCKEY 

FIH has been taking note of the rapid growth in recent years of Masters hockey, which is the term that we now apply to all hockey for men in age groups of Over 40 and above and for women in age groups of Over 35 and above. A number of FIH members already have their own internal structure for the organisation and regulation of Masters hockey and we are delighted that older players in those countries are already being actively encouraged to remain in the game.
International matches at various age levels have been organised on an informal basis for some time. However in recent years two organisations have evolved who have brought a structure and regulation to international competition for Masters hockey. The World Grand Masters Association (WGMA) and the International Masters Hockey Association (IMHA) have organised, with the endorsement of FIH, Masters World Cup, Masters European Cup and other regional Masters competitions. We are grateful to both organisations for taking these initiatives and both are now formally recognised by FIH. IMHA are responsible to FIH for the organisation for international competitions of both genders for all Masters age groups - over 40, over 45, over 50 and over 55, and WGMA are responsible to FIH for the Grand Masters age groups of both
genders - Grand Masters (over 60), Great Grand Masters (over 65) and Senior Grand Masters (over 70).
We hope that more countries will encourage the domestic organisation of Masters hockey and will develop their own national sides in the various Masters and Grand Masters age groups to take part in future competitions. We would encourage countries to establish contact with both WGMA and IMHA and to this effect we are listing below the relevant contact details. We have also asked Ben Rea, Chairman of IMHA, and Peter Child, President of WGMA, to write to you to introduce themselves and we hope that you will nominate someone within your organisation to be the point of contact for Masters hockey.

Peter Child – President WGMA                              Ben Rea – Chairman IMHA

Agnesstrasse 4                                                        15 The Knolls

80801 Munich                                                            Epsom Downs

Germany                                                                     KT717 3ND

Tel: 0049 89 27 11929                                             England

Email: peterchild@onlinehome.de                       Email: benrea@ukonline.co.uk

Web: www.wgma60plusworldhockey.com      Web: www.internationalmastershockey.org

 

Yours sincerely,

 
Peter L. Cohen

FIH Hon. Secretary General 

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Status 01.01.2012 - New address of Ben Rea is :

11 The Cressinghams
Epsom
KT18 5DJ
England

  

Munich, 10th October, 2010

 

 To: All FIH Affiliated National Associations

 Dear friends,

  Subject : FIH Support of  Masters Hockey

The FIH Hon. Secretary General, Peter Cohen, wrote to you on 12^th August confirming full FIH support for Masters Hockey, which as you know is becoming ever more popular worldwide. As Peter mentioned, our two organisations, WGMA and IMHA, have full responsibility to FIH for International Masters Hockey tournaments for both genders over the age of 40 played under the FIH banner.

In summary, the individual responsibilities are as follows :                  

World Grand Masters Association (WGMA)

 Responsible for International Tournaments for players of 60 years and above (classified as Grand Masters). Currently there are three male groups : Over 60, Over 65 and Over 70.

It is anticipated that Women's Masters teams for these ages will also be involved in the near future.

Main events: Grand Masters Hockey World Cup and European Cup tournaments, organised as far as possible in line with the FIH Calendar. It is also hoped to stage a first Asian Cup tournament in the near future.

 Intermediate European Trophy tournaments and other international matches are also organised at these age levels.

 Web :www.wgma60plusworldhockey.com

Hon.Secretary : Adrian Stephenson, email : stephenson@lennardqap.co.uk

International Masters Hockey Association (IMHA)

 Responsible for international tournaments for the ages up to 60 (classified ‘Masters’).

Currently there are international Masters matches for men played in the age groups Over 40, 45, 50 and 55 and for women at Over 40, 45 and 50 (some events also include Women’s Over 35 teams), but there is no reason why there should not be further expansion if there is sufficient demand. Already Women Masters teams are being organised in various hockey countries, eg. England, Holland, Italy and Australia, which should encourage other countries to follow suit.

Main events : Masters Hockey World Cup and Continental Cup tournaments, organised as far as possible in line with the FIH Calendar. Other lesser international tournaments are also organised.

Web :  www.internationalmastershockey.org

 Administrator : Neil Greene, email : nggreene@ihug.co.nz

 Please note that both Masters and Grand Masters World Cups are planned for all age groups and where possible both genders in England in conjunction with the 2012 London Olympic Games.

We would hope that counties who are not already members of our two organisations would select a team for at least one of the above age groups, even if they are not able to play in all events, as we fully understand that the costs of international travel can be prohibitive.

It would be a great help if you can indicate your support for Masters Hockey by supplying the name of a delegated person within your organisation whom we can keep advised of future Masters and Grand Masters events.

 Please would you send this information to us at one of the addresses listed below and we will ensure that you are added to the mailing list for both organisations.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

 

Peter Child                                              Ben Rea

WGMA President                                   IMHA Chairman

peterchild@onlinehome.de                   benrea@ukonline.co.uk

 

FIH recognizes IMHA FIH Report, 02 Mar 2009 The International Masters Hockey Association (IMHA) has been formally recognized by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). This recognition was sought and approved at the recent FIH Executive Board meeting in Los Angeles, USA in November 2008. The recognition allows for IMHA to organize Men’s and Women’s International tournaments for players between the ages of 35 and 60. The IMHA was initially formed in 1982 to organize International Competition for teams in the Pacific Rim region. Annual tournaments have been organized by this body with many extra nations and teams being invited to the 27 tournaments run so far. In 2007 the tournament was held in Birmingham England where a new and more comprehensive Constitution was adopted to allow further development of the game globally. Along with the new constitution and Memorandum of Understanding, a submission for recognition was made to FIH. A new set of rules has been adopted for tournament and in the future may be used for any masters competition in the world. The elected members of the IMHA are as follows (as at November, 2011) : · President : Ben Rea - U K · European Vice President : John Stuart - England · Asian Vice President : Kanan Packrisamy - Singapore · Treasurer: David Peebles - Australia · Technical Officer: Peri Buckley - Australia · Administration Manager: Neil Greene - New Zealand  See also the IMHA official website : www.internationalmastershockey.org