Welsh Hockey Union Youth Conference 2004
25 May 2004
The 2nd annual Welsh Hockey Union Youth Conference was held in April 2004 at the Welsh Institute of Sport, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The purpose of the conference was to provide youth with the knowledge and skills required to develop the game of hockey within schools and clubs. The conference, which was aimed at people aged 15 – 21, was attended by current Youth Hockey Activators. The cost of the conference was underwritten by Activate, the Millennium Stadium Grant and Sports Council for Wales.
Last years conference was attended by 11 hockey activators, all of which received a FIH Hockey Leaders Award in recognition of their contribution to Welsh Hockey.
The Welsh Hockey Union can boast the first FIH World Youth Promoter in Bethan Walsh and had a further two activators; Andrew Seimann and Sally Raitt who attended the 2nd World Youth Conference in Holland in July 2003.
The three-day residential course began on Friday 23rd April with an update on current Welsh Hockey Union developments. This was followed by teambuilding and Strength Deployment Inventory that was run by the RAF. The purpose of the teambuilding was to identify Youth Activator strengths and match to voluntary roles. The first and second graders came together to participate in a that was lead by the RAF on the Saturday, which was followed by a social event that was lead by the current Hockey Activators.
Sunday 25th the second graders completed a website design workshop before moving onto a Foundation Umpiring Award. The Conference concluded with an annual Welsh Hockey Union Activator calendar of events being devised. These events include:
- FIH Global Marathon
- Development day linked to the European U21 Tournament (24th – 31st July)
- Attendance at the newly formed Welsh Hockey Youth Forum
- RAF Careers taster day (October)
- Assisting their clubs in formalising junior development programmes
Youth attendees included:
- Andrew Seimann – Conwy – Colwyn Bay HC
- Bethan Walsh – Swansea – Oxford Rovers HC
- Chloe Guy – Swansea – Swansea University HC
- Gemma Petty – Swansea – Swansea LHC
- Jonathan Elliott – Cardiff – Whitchurch HC
- Sally Raitt – Vale of Glamorgan – Barry LHC
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