Hockey Foundation funding toward the costs of Central Hockey’s Community Hockey Manager has helped to deliver a wide range of programmes, activities and events throughout the region.

Central Hockey’s Community Hockey Manager, Kathy Norman, is an integral part of the success of Central Hockey.  Kathy’s role is to support the Regional Development Managers across the region. She also facilitates the development of hockey within the Central region by providing co-ordinated support at a grassroots level, from Primary-grade Small Sticks through to Regional Under 21 Representative levels.

Kathy is always busy providing coaching courses, assisting Small Sticks in-school programmes and festival days. Kathy also provides support to local Hockey Association’s to run spectacular events for the public and hockey community, which in 2015 included Oceania Cup in Stratford, Masters in Napier and a NHL game in Palmerston North.

The Central region is vast, with Kathy covering from Poverty Bay across to Taranaki and down to Horowhenua – and everywhere in between! Having Kathy out there on the road has led to significant growth in all levels of hockey across the various provinces covered by Central Hockey.

Kathy helps support a large hockey community with 8,719 registered winter hockey players, 4,307 registered summer players and 16,398 children participating in Small Sticks across 90 schools in the region. The Central region includes Poverty Bay, Central Hawkes Bay, Ruahine Dannevirke, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Taranaki, Whanganui, Horowhenua, and Rangitikei Hockey Associations.

Thursday, 16 June 2016