Covid 19 Response
18/3/2020
Hockey New Zealand today announced that all club, school and community hockey will be postponed until Saturday 2 May, effective Thursday 19 March.
The postponement includes all hockey matches and training activities, including representative and development programmes; community and school competitions; and pre-season trials and activities.
The decision was reached in a meeting today between Hockey New Zealand and its 32 affiliated Associations. Hockey New Zealand CEO Ian Francis said “We have unanimously agreed that the health and wellbeing of our hockey community is paramount. We have not come to this decision lightly and we realise there will be widespread disappointment across our sport. However, we believe this is a necessary step in helping to minimize the spread of Covid-19”.
It was also agreed that until further notice, all training courses, AGM’s and conferences will be conducted online where possible. The Annual Hockey New Zealand Awards dinner, which was due to be held on Friday 24 April 24 will be postponed until further notice.
In consultation with UTSNZ and Hockey New Zealand, the National Tertiary Hockey Championships that were due to be held from the 6th-8th of May are being postponed to a later date TBC.
Hockey New Zealand will also look to review the dates for its 2020 National Tournaments and will be working with Associations to ensure that a full season can be achieved.
Mr Francis said Hockey New Zealand would continue to work with its Associations and other stakeholders to keep the hockey community informed about how best to protect everyone involved in the game.
“We have been liaising with Government officials as well as Sport New Zealand as we continue to monitor the health situation. We will be reviewing the above advisory as this situation evolves” he said.
Local associations will communicate directly with their communities about the postponement. This will include advice to Schools and Clubs who are currently trialling and are also required to postpone all activities from 19 March onward.
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