Dubai: The second edition of the Hockey Revolution held in Dubai as part of the 45th FIH Congress came to a colourful ending, with the awards ceremony being attended by Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at the Armani Hotel.
The first edition of the hockey revolution, which is a 10-year strategy set to raise the global status and popularity of hockey — making it a global game that inspires the next generation — was held in Marrakesh, Morocco. Ten awards were presented during the gala evening. Princess Haya was presented a gift of artwork by outgoing FIH President Leandro Negre, in recognition of her support for the sport.
Among the top award winners were Negre himself, who was awarded the prestigious title of President of Honour for his dedication to the sport. Negre has been the president of the world body since the FIH Congress in 2008.
The Hockey Association of Malawi (HAM) was awarded the Pablo Negre Trophy for its incredible progress in hockey development and performance over the past few years.
International umpire Ray O’Connor of the Irish Hockey Association, who earned golden whistle for 100 international matches in 2000, received the Guust Lathouwers Memorial Trophy for his contribution to umpiring projects.
Solomon Islands Hockey Association won the Theo Ykema Award for increasing participation levels among women and at all levels from school and club to international events.
Norman Hughes, the Continental Development Officer (CDO) for the European Hockey Federation since 2002, got the Etienne Glichitch Award for delivery of coaching courses. Argentina’s Laura Pigretti, who has been a technical official at FIH events for more than 25 years, received the Super Fair Play Trophy for the fairest and most honest person, who would always go the extra mile.
Fumio Ogura, the president of the Institute of International Sports Politics in Japan, won the Sultan Azlan Shah Award. Ogura, who began as a player for the Japan Under-21 team, used all of his experience as an adviser to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Bid Committee and is now the deputy executive director of the International Relations and Sports Department of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Order of Merit went to South Africa’s Claire Digby, who from being an international player took up umpiring and served the sport in an administrative capacity while the Diploma of Merit was presented to Resham Singh, an executive board member of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya. He had represented Kenya at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and eventually became a member of the FIH Umpiring Committee after officiating at a number of high profile international competitions. Steve Jaspan was given the Member of Honour for his involvement with the FIH for over 25 years.
Among the major decisions taken here include Changzhou, China being named the host of the women’s Hockey Champions Trophy in 2018. The event will take place between November 17 and 25 at the Wujin Hockey Stadium in Changzhou, near Shanghai.
Announcing the decision, Kelly Fairweather, the FIH CEO, said: “We are delighted to take our sport back to China, a nation that has so much potential in terms of sporting development and commercial opportunities.”
