ENGLAND & GB HOCKEY RENEW AGREEMENT WITH NOTTS SPORT AS OFFICIAL FACILITIES PARTNER UNTIL 2023

England Hockey & GB Hockey renew partnership with Notts Sport

Leading synthetic surfacing supplier Notts Sport will continue its ongoing support for hockey by extending its successful relationship with England & GB Hockey as the organisation’s Official Facilities Partner.

The renewed partnership, which will run until 2023, means Notts Sport continues their fantastic work, ensuring that clubs, schools and local authorities can deliver the best new and refurbished hockey facilities to help grow the game in communities up and down the country.

The announcement comes eight years after Notts Sport began working with England & GB Hockey, offering Facility Design, Advice & Funding opportunities. The extension of the partnership provides an emphatic endorsement of the quality of service the company provides.

As well as the renewal of the Official Facilities Partner of England & GB Hockey, Notts Sport are also proud to announce their continuation as Title Partner of the Schools Championships for Boys. Notts Sport has supported this event, which runs annually, to grow participation levels at schools around the country. In the extended partnership, the company will carry on working alongside the Facilities Team to award Club of the Year at our annual Awards Dinner plus supporting our Development Team in providing exceptional support to our Hockey Family across the country.

Notts Sport Managing Director Duncan Bennett says: “We are delighted to be renewing our partnership with England Hockey which began back in 2012 with an audit of various hockey pitches to support a wider piece of work the Facilities Team were working on at the time.  Almost a decade later, we have been fortunate enough to provide hundreds of clubs across England with valuable support, information and advice that assisted them with their hockey pitch schemes and as a result, delivered many projects. 

We are extremely excited to continue the relationship with England & GB Hockey because the changes we are seeing both in pitch and turf technology and for sport in general will drive innovation and improvements. Our partnership is a key relationship to Notts Sport, and we look forward to supporting the Hockey Family via new ways to educate and inform discussions around these changes and how we can all embrace the best options provided.”

England & GB Hockey CEO Nick Pink “We are delighted to have extended our partnership with Notts Sport through to 2023. The market-leading work they undertake with our clubs and schools is critical to the facility provision for hockey and the support they provide our initiatives. We look forward to working with Duncan and his team as hockey continues to make positive strides on and off the pitch.” 

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Maddie Hinch Celebrates HockeyFest

With HockeyFest in full swing in the wake of Team GB’s Olympic gold medal success, we visited the grand opening of the new Bromley & Beckenham HC facility to join in the party. The nation’s new favourite goalie, Maddie Hinch, came along to test out the new pitch, coach the team and give some advice to the club’s young players…

We spoke to Maddie in the middle of her whirlwind fortnight since returning from Rio, making appearances on The One Show, Sunday Brunch, Radio 2, Sky Sports and The Johnathan Ross Show. Despite her new showbiz calendar, she told the crowd that it was the grass roots, local community events such as HockeyFest that she had been looking forward to most since winning a gold medal:

“To think that we’ve inspired a generation through the Olympic success is massive to us – it’s actually the main thing we want to do more than anything: to inspire the future and get hockey on the map, to get more people picking up sticks is really important, and the medal is just a bonus.” Maddie Hinch

What is HockeyFest?

HockeyFest is a series of events at hockey clubs all over the country during August and September. These social sports days, hosted by Great Britain Hockey in partnership with Notts Sport, are designed to encourage players of all ages and experiences to get involved, pick up a stick, and join in the hockey community. Everyone from pros to newbies are welcome to try something new and have a bit of fun in friendly atmosphere, with clubs organising BBQs, bake offs, off-pitch challenges, fancy dress and games.

“My favourite thing about HockeyFest is the fact that there’s people here picking up a stick for the very first time. It’s an easy opportunity for people to just come down and experience hockey without having to sign up for anything. You can just literally get down here and enjoy it and there’s a bit of a party atmosphere which makes it all the better!” Maddie Hinch

How can I get involved?

The easiest way to get involved is to come along to a HockeyFest near you, and give the sport a go for free.

“For hockey newcomers I would just recommend getting down there and make sure you try all the different positions. Don’t just focus on being a defender, goalie or forward, try it all, because you never know what you might suit!” Maddie Hinch

Find out where your nearest event is here, and join in the fun!