When the English Hockey Association folded in 2002 was that the end of English hockey? Of course not. Early the following year a new association, England Hockey, arose, phoenix-like, from the ashes. And some time after that it was renamed the English Hockey Board. Clubs kept on playing and many grass roots players were probably totally unaware that there had been a vacuum or even a problem.
So, what is the point of this question? It all comes down to history. English hockey is accepted as the origin of the modern game. We celebrated our centenary in 1986 because the Hockey Association was founded in 1886. However, the Hockey Association was the second national governing body to be formed in England. The first association was formed in 1875, some eleven years earlier. Hockey was very embryonic in those days and struggling to get going. This first association lasted for four years until 1879 but the game itself very much carried on. It may not have been booming but it was slowly growing. So in 1886 a national governing body was reformed and the growth continued.
Whatever way one looks at it, the current England Hockey is the fourth national governing body that English hockey has had. The All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) is not being discounted but that started later and amalgamated with the Hockey Association in 1997. Surely, therefore, we can claim that English hockey goes back to 1875? That gives us eleven years to prepare for our 150th anniversary.
Mike Smith, February 2014
