Hockey is growing in Geelong! 😊 👏🏽 😊 👏🏽
We know that the 2020 and the 2021 season memberships have been hit hard by COVID, but we are delighted to see that membership numbers for the 2021 season have exceeded the number of members registered for the Geelong Hockey Association in 2019, our last full season.
This is well worth celebrating, and thanks to all those people who have been involved in providing an environment which has attracted and retained members to enjoy the game.
In 2020, there were 625 members registered with the Geelong Hockey Association, with the lack of senior competition having a major effect. The last full season in 2019 saw 809 members registered. Membership of the Geelong Hockey Association for 2021 is currently 827 – a 32% increase since 2020 and a 2% increase since 2019.
This echoes the trend seen by Hockey Australia, who note that over 90,000 people signed up to play hockey in 2021, showing a great recovery from the effects of COVID.
Membership Highlights
There are some really pleasing highlights of the 2021 membership:
- 65 people who were not registered with GHA in the 2021 winter season registered for the summer season
- 59 children registered for Hookin2Hockey programs this year, and 23 went on to join one of our affiliated clubs – a 39% conversion rate
- 48% of the members are junior members i.e. Under 17
- 44% of the members are female
2022 Recruiting Programs
With the support of Hockey Victoria and GHA affiliated clubs and their members, we will again be conducting Roadshows and Sporting Schools programs in local primary schools. We are optimistic about receiving further support from Viva Energy to assist in the conduct of these programs.
In total, more than 2300 students at 16 schools participated in a hockey program at school during 2021. Nine Hookin2Hockey programs were conducted during 2021, with more than 75 children participating and 59 registering with Hockey Australia.
The Membership Pillar will continue its activities to recruit new members to join our hockey community, with the following targets in mind:
- 10% increase in GHA membership numbers – 910 total members.
- 100 participants registered for Hookin2Hockey
- 21 schools visited during the year
- 2500 students participating in school hockey programs
2022 Roadshow Schedules
The GHA Roadshows will run as follows, with 13 schools signed up to participate:
- February 14 to 18 – schools in the Torquay Hockey Club area
- February 21 to 25 – schools in the Corio, Geelong and Saints Hockey Club areas
- February 28 to March 4 – schools in the Golden Plains and Newtown Hockey Club areas
The Roadshow programs will be followed by Hookin2Hockey programs in Torquay, Corio, Newtown and Bannockburn.
Can You Help?
Hockey Victoria will supply some of the coaches required for the Roadshow program, but the Geelong Hockey Association is committed to providing coaches for all sessions. The 2021 program totalled 102 hours of GHA volunteer time.
We are hopeful of gaining further funding to support the 2022 Roadshow program, which will allow some modest reimbursements for volunteer coaches.
If you are available to support the 2022 Roadshow and Hookin2Hockey programs, we would love to hear from you. Add your details here and we will contact you when Roadshow details are known.
Or if you want to share this Hockey Australia video with friends, feel free.
Enquiries: contact Peter Stuart, Membership Pillar Chairperson, ph 0417 280118,