Author Archives: Communications Coordinator

Call for Advocacy Support for a Second Field Hockey Artificial Turf in the City of Vancouver

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Recognizing that many FHBC members either resident or actively participating in field hockey within the City of Vancouver may have recently received a call to action from their Member Club, FHBC is reaching out today to re-emphasize such an advocacy push targeted at the potential for inclusion of a second field hockey artificial turf within the City of Vancouver Sports Field Strategy. FHBC is joining member clubs within the City of Vancouver in efforts to engage with the Vancouver Parks Board Commission to gain support for a second field hockey artificial turf to serve City of Vancouver residents.

FHBC would encourage any interested member to write formally to the Vancouver Park Board Commission and/or to chose to support an active FHBC Member petition which can be accessed at the following link: https://www.change.org/p/support-for-field-hockey-turf-in-south-vancouver?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=588304d0-b452-0130-ea1e-3c764e04873b

To aid a potential written submission to the Vancouver Park Board Commission, FHBC has included the following link (https://fieldhockeybc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Letter-of-Support-City-of-Vancouver-Capital-Planning-Sports-Field-Strategy-March-13-2023.pdf) to the recent letter of support submitted to Vancouver Park Board Commissioners dated March 13, 2023.

Written submissions can be sent to the Vancouver Parks Board at the following email address: PBcommissioners@vancouver.ca

As the field hockey community looks towards the launch of 2023 Spring and Summer season delivery, FHBC encourages members to consider supporting the potential for an additional artificial field hockey turf’s inclusion in the City of Vancouver’s Sports Field Strategy. FHBC thanks all members for the time taken to support this initiative to date and for those who may be hearing of this for the first time, we hope you will join us in extolling the virtues of further facility development that serve community-wide organized and recreational sporting and social pursuit.

Yours in sport,

Mark Saunders
Executive Director
Field Hockey BC
March 29, 2023

 

Make Ethical Decisions (MED) course offered by FHBC – spots are limited!

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FHBC is hosting a NCCP Make Ethical Decisions (MED) course with the support of viaSport BC. MED is a cornerstone of the NCCP and is a mandatory requirement of FHC’s Safe Sport initiative. All coaches across Canada should complete this course (and associated online evaluation).

Course Details

When: Wednesday, April 5th from 5:30-9:30pm
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free for FHBC Members
Registration Deadline: March 30th (end of day)
Register here: http://fhbcprograms.rampregistrations.com/ – login with your RAMP account, click on “Participant” to start the registration process; select the current season, the family member profile, your membership type (Division) and then the MED Course from the package list; follow the instructions to complete the registration

Course information will be sent by viaSport BC (coaches@viasport.ca) by Monday April 3rd. Please check your junk folder for the email. If you have not received course information by Tuesday, please contact katie@fieldhockeybritishcolumbia.com.

Space in the course is limited, so act fast!

 

Applications are now open for the following FHBC Foundation Bursary Programs

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FHBC is delighted to announce that the Society is now accepting applications for the following FHBC Foundation Bursary Programs:

  • The Barb Hart Harris Athlete Assistance Bursary
  • The Dr. Christine Grant Coaching Professional Development Bursary
  • The Jenny John Officiating Professional Development Bursary
  • The Allyn Murison Grassroots Bursary

The Application deadline for The Barb Hart Harris Athlete Assistance Bursary is May 8th. The remaining three Bursary Programs above have an application deadline of April 26th. These Bursary Programs are designed to provide valuable financial assistance towards an individual’s access to and/or professional development in the sport of Field Hockey.

The Barb Hart Harris Athlete Assistance Bursary is open to any member enrolled in an FHBC regional athlete program – technical development program, talent identification program, elite program or regional team program. The Allyn Murison Grassroots Bursary aims to support female athletes under the age of 12 to access field hockey programming at the club level. The Coaching and Officiating bursary programs are open to all levels of coach and official, with officiating including both umpires and technical officials.

Pat Hall Officials Development Award: In addition to the multiple Bursary windows now open and referenced above, a polite reminder to Vancouver Island Officials in particular that the Pat Hall Official Development Award within the FHBC Foundation remains open for applications year round (until funds are exhausted for the year). This award is designed to promote the development of Vancouver Island umpires and technical officials with preference given to members active on the Island. Award nominations will remains open until all the available funds are utilized.

IMPORTANT: applicants for all of the financial assistance programs within the FHBC Foundation must be a current member in good standing with Field Hockey BC and an active official, coach or player within National, Provincial or Club base programming.

Go to www.fhbcfoundation.com for more information and to download the application forms.

 

2023 Vancouver International Tournament (VIT) – Registration is now open!

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The 2023 VIT is scheduled to take place over the 2023 May Long Weekend at the Burnaby Lake West Complex. The 2023 VIT is targeted to involve three divisions, Women’s Social, Mixed Social, and Women’s Masters, although consideration to include other divisions will follow the team registration deadline in April 2023.

FHBC looks forward to welcoming the teams for what we hope will be another memorable weekend for all.

Tournament Dates: May Long Weekend (May 20-22, 2023)
Tournament Venue: Burnaby Lake Sports Complex West – Three ‘field turf’ artificial surfaces
Tournament Schedule: Playing and Umpire Schedules will be posted following the team entry deadlines
Tournament Rules: will be posted to follow the team registration deadline
Entry Forms: BC Teams / Out of Province Teams (registration will open on March 15)

Field Hockey recognized at the Annual 55th SportBC Awards

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The 2023 Annual SportBC Awards celebrated a few members of the field hockey community. FHBC would like to congratulate Anna Mollenhauer, who has won in the University Athlete of the Year category, and Jennifer Taylor, who was a recipient of the SportBC Presidents’ Awards, given to volunteers who demonstrate the spirit of volunteerism through their dedication and commitment given to sport. Additionally, the UVic Women’s Field Hockey Team was one of the finalists in the Team of the Year category; former FHBC Events & Officials Coordinator Stephanie Rudnisky also received the Presidents’ Awards.

Anna Mollenhauer is a former Team BC and UVic player, and currently playing for the Women’s National Team. Anna is the first field hockey athlete to have received the U Sports Player of the Year award three times! She has also been nominated Canada West Player of the Year and UVic Female Athlete of the Year in 2022. Anna is the daughter of Nancy Mollenhauer – two time field hockey Olympian for Canada – and was a constant presence in FHBC’s High Performance programs over the years.

Jennifer Taylor has been an important figure for field hockey in British Columbia. She has participated in local, regional, provincial, and national events as a technical official; she has volunteered her time to support the Field Hockey BC’s Train-to-Train and Train-to-Compete events, the Club Championships, and the National championships held in BC; she was also a member of the FHBC Board of Director as the Athlete Program Director.

Jennifer served as a long-term committee volunteer to the Field Hockey BC athlete program and pathway portfolio before being appointed to the Society Board of Directors as the Board Director responsible for athlete program and pathway governance in 201 4. Jennifer stepped down from this role in 2021 having worked tirelessly to promote athlete program opportunities across BC for over a decade.

Fundraiser to help Vancouver umpire Meghan McLennan go to the Junior Pan Am

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The local umpiring community is rallying behind Vancouver umpire Meghan McLennan who was recently appointed to represent Canada at the the upcoming Junior Pan American Championships, April 10-18, in Bridgetown, Barbados. Meghan needs to fund her travel down to Barbados and needs the community’s support.

If you can share in your networks or consider contributing to support Meghan, it would be greatly appreciated. Any additional funds that are raised will be donated directly to the Field Hockey Canada Officials Committee, where it will be specifically used for Officials ONLY development.

Donate or share: https://gofund.me/0012c54a

2023 Club Championship and Festival Program – Call for Club Hosting Assistance

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You can access the PDF version of this communique here.

Further to information circulated to Membership and Club Contacts in December 2022, Field Hockey BC is following up on behalf of the FHBC Club Championship Review Working Group (CCRWG) to both present the calendar plan for Club Championship Programming in 2023, as well as to request expressions of interest from Community Clubs able and willing to support the HOSTING of the 2023 Club Championship Program.

The 2023 Program still requires Club Hosts to come forward in all categories, as well as the need for venues to be secured for the Under 16 and Under 14 Girls Divisions. The CCRWG is pleased to present the following Club Championship Calendar Plan for 2023:

Age Group Venue Host(s) Dates (2023)
Under 18 Girls Tier 1 Tamanawis Park TBD + TBD May 26 (Eve), 27, 28
Under 18 Girls Tier 2 Tamanawis Park TBD + TBD May 26 (Eve), 27, 28
Under 18 Boys Rutledge Field WVFHC + TBD June 3, 4
Under 16 Girls Tier 1 TBD TBD + TBD June 9 (Eve), 10, 11
Under 16 Girls Tier 2 TBD TBD + TBD June 9 (Eve), 10, 11
Under 16 Boys Rutledge Field WVFHC + TBD June 17, 18
Under 14 Girls Tier 1 TBD TBD + TBD June 16 (Eve), 17, 18
Under 14 Girls Tier 2 TBD TBD + TBD June 16 (Eve), 17, 18
Under 14 Boys Rutledge Field WVFHC + TBD June 10, 11
Under 12 Festival Burnaby Lake Burnaby Lake + TBD June 3, 4

In December 2022, FHBC circulated a 2023 Club Championship Stakeholder Memo to all Club Contacts which included a summary of the role and responsibility of the CCRWG and the principal elements for consideration within Club Championship Program execution. This Stakeholder Memo is again included as a frame of reference to this Community Communique and can be accessed at the following link:

https://fieldhockeybc.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/2022-23-FHBC-Club-Championship-Review-Working-Group-Memo-to-Community-Stakeholders-December-8-2022.pdf

In announcing the 2023 Club Championship schedule and as can be referenced from the table above, FHBC and the CCRWG is requesting further consideration from Community Clubs in the willingness and ability to assist Program delivery in the creation of a CLUB CO-HOSTING ROLE in support of each event. Club Hosts would be required to support the following for any Club Championship Division or Tier (noting that some of these requirements are also undertaken by FHBC for targeted Championships at the Under 18 level in particular):

  • Facility Set-Up and Take-Down Support
  • Technical Officiating Support (Match Management, Timing and Score Keeping)
  • Game Day Officials Support and Coordination
  • Game Day Team Support and Coordination
  • Coordination of Presentations
  • Submission of Results (for FHBC Posting)
  • Submission of Expense Receipts to FHBC (as may be eligible)

For more information and for a Club Championship Host Guideline example, please refer to the following Program link on the FHBC Website: https://fieldhockeybc.com/events/club-championships/

For any Community Club wishing to return an expression of interest in supporting the 2023 Club Championship Program as a CLUB HOST, please return an e-mail with Club Contact/Follow-Up Detail to info@fieldhockeybc.com by March 22, 2023. FHBC and the CCRWG thank all Community Clubs and Community Club Contacts in advance for their due consideration.

FHBC looks forward to releasing specific Team Registration Information for the 2023 Club Championship Program at the end of March 2023. FHBC also hopes to be announcing at the same juncture a full Club Championship and Festival Hosting Commitment for 2023.

Yours in sport,

Mark Saunders
Executive Director
Field Hockey BC
February 14, 2023

 

FHBC Virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) – Fourth Notice of 2023 AGM Proceedings

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You can download the PDF version of this communique here

Dear Field Hockey BC Members

Further to the previous three AGM notice circulations, FHBC is sending out the fourth planned community communique in advance of the upcoming VIRTUAL Field Hockey BC Annual General Meeting on February 8th, 2023 (6.30pm). This fourth notice draws particular attention to the posting of the AGM Package which includes all pertinent information pertaining to the 2023 AGM. The AGM Package can be viewed and/or downloaded from the FHBC AGM webpage at https://fieldhockeybc.com/annual-general-meeting-agm/ or via the Documents section of the FHBC website at https://fieldhockeybc.com/documents/.

The AGM Package includes the following documentation:

  • Meeting Agenda (also previously posted as a separate document)
  • Minutes from the last AGM February 9, 2022 (also previously posted as a separate document)
  • Notice of Motions (also previously posted as a separate document)
  • Notice of Board of Director Elections (also previously posted as a separate document)
  • Reports from the President and Executive Director
  • Board Executive Reports
  • Audited Financial Statement to August 31, 2022 (also previously posted as a separate document)

FHBC looks forward to welcoming you to the virtual 2023 AGM on the evening of February 8, 2023. A further notice as to how members can access the virtual 2022 AGM will be circulated on February 7, 2023. This notice will be principally targeted at those who wish to attend but are not carrying a vote – those voting will receive direct notification. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out and contact us at info@fieldhockeybc.com should you have any questions regarding the 2023 FHBC AGM.

Yours in sport,

Mark Saunders
Executive Director
Field Hockey BC
February 3, 2023

 

FHBC Virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) – Third Notice of 2023 AGM Calendar Timelines

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You can download the PDF version of this communique here

Further to the first and second AGM notice circulations on January 3, 2023 and January 17, 2023 respectively, FHBC is sending out a third of four planned community communiques in preparation for the upcoming VIRTUAL Field Hockey BC Annual General Meeting on February 8th, 2023 (6.30pm). This third notice draws particular attention to the deadline for the submission of forms associated with VOTING at the AGM.

For those members wishing to attend and carry an individual vote or carry permissible proxy votes at the 2023 Virtual FHBC AGM, the following deadline has been set for the submission of an appropriate form or forms:

  • Deadline for Submission of Proxy Forms to FHBC: February 3, 2023
  • Deadline to Register as an Individual Voter: February 5, 2023

Submission of PROXY VOTING FORMS

FHBC has posted TWO forms associated with voting via Proxy at the 2023 FHBC AGM:

  1. The first form is a PROXY FORM LIST that a proxy holder is responsible for completion and submission to FHBC by the deadline of February 3, 2023.
  2. The second form is a PROXY VERIFICATION FORM/SUBMISSION that requires a member signature confirming the identity of the proxy holder who will carry their vote at the 2023 FHBC AGM.

The Proxy Holder is responsible for the SINGLE (all at one time) SUBMISSION of BOTH the PROXY FORM LIST and the SIGNED PROXY VERIFICATION(S) to FHBC by the deadline date of February 3, 2023.

For SIGNED PROXY VERIFICATION(S), members can utilize the posted PROXY VERIFICATION FORM and return this to the Proxy Holder, OR members may submit the following standardized information to the Proxy Holder by other means (for example as a photo file):

  • Title: 2023 FHBC AGM
  • Member Name:
  • Designation of Voting Right to Proxy Holder (Proxy Holder Name):
  • Member Signature:

Both the PROXY FORM LIST Template and the PROXY VERIFICATION FORM Template can be accessed via the FHBC website from the FHBC AGM main page https://fieldhockeybc.com/annual-general-meeting-agm/ or from in the General Meeting Documents section of the FHBC website www.fieldhockeybc.com/documents/ under the heading 2023 FHBC AGM.

All VOTING Form submissions are to be returned to info@fieldhockeybc.com by February 3, 2023

Submission of an INDIVIDUAL VOTER FORM (for those members NOT carrying votes via proxy)

For members wishing to attend the 2023 FHBC AGM and vote as an individual, FHBC has created an INDIVIDUAL VOTER FORM that can be accessed from the FHBC website either at the FHBC AGM main page https://fieldhockeybc.com/annual-general-meeting-agm/ , or from the General Meeting Documents section of the FHBC website www.fieldhockeybc.com/documents/ (under the heading 2023 FHBC AGM). INDIVIDUAL VOTER FORM SUBMISSION is required by a deadline date of February 5, 2023.

All VOTING Form submissions are to be returned to info@fieldhockeybc.com by February 5, 2023

Uploading Voting Information in advance of the 2023 FHBC AGM

Following receipt and processing of a Voting Form Submission, FHBC will upload all relevant detail into the voting software being utilized for the 2023 Virtual FHBC AGM and communicate thereafter to those carrying votes on how they can access the voting software and cast votes at the AGM.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out and contact us at info@fieldhockeybc.com should you have any questions regarding the 2023 FHBC AGM.

Yours in sport,

Mark Saunders
Executive Director
Field Hockey BC
January 23, 2023

 

FHBC Virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) – Second Notice of 2023 AGM Calendar Timelines

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You can download the PDF version of this communique here

Further to the first AGM notice circulation on January 3, 2023, FHBC is sending out a second of four planned community communiques in preparation for the upcoming VIRTUAL Field Hockey BC Annual General Meeting on February 8th, 2023 (6.30pm). This second notice draws particular attention to the deadline for the submission of Formal Motions ahead of the AGM and also acts as a similar reminder of the deadline for submission of Nominations to the Board of Directors:

  • Deadline for Submission of Formal Motions: January 19, 2023
  • Deadline for Submission of Nominations to the Board of Directors: January 19, 2023

Submission of Formal Motions

FHBC has posted a Formal Motion Submission Form on the FHBC website that can be accessed from the General Meeting Documents section of the FHBC website www.fieldhockeybc.com/documents/ under the heading 2023 FHBC AGM. To submit a Formal Motion, please complete a Formal Motion Submission Form and return the form by January 19, 2023 to info@fieldhockeybc.com.

FHBC Board of Director Nominations

The following four FHBC Board of Director positions are up for election in 2023:

  1. Vice-President
  2. Domestic Director
  3. Marketing Director
  4. Athlete Program Director

FHBC has posted the terms of reference for each position above and the applicable nomination form in the General Meeting Documents section of the FHBC website www.fieldhockeybc.com/documents/ under the heading 2023 FHBC AGM. To nominate an individual for any of the Board of Director positions above, please complete a nomination form and return the form by January 19, 2023 to info@fieldhockeybc.com.

In addition and as a polite reminder, the full calendar outline for the submission of information and documentation ahead of the virtual FHBC AGM is as follows:

  • AGM Date: February 8, 2023 at 6.30pm
  • Deadline for Submission of Nominations to the Board of Directors: January 19, 2023
  • Deadline for Submission of Formal Motions: January 19, 2023
  • Release and Posting of Proxy Form Template: January 20, 2023
  • Deadline for Submission of Proxy Form to FHBC: February 3, 2023
  • Deadline to Register as an Individual Voter: February 5, 2023
  • Deadline to Register Questions in advance of the AGM (Optional): February 6, 2023
  • Virtual AGM Trial Run (Internal): February 7, 2023

The timeline above recognizes the level of complexity required when considering a virtually hosted AGM and in particular sets realistic submission deadlines designed to enable FHBC to pre-load election, motion, and voting detail into the supporting technology. Once such detail has been pre-loaded sufficient time remains for FHBC to communicate with members (most specifically voting members) as to how such technology will be utilized both in advance of and at the AGM.

FHBC intends to provide further AGM update/reminders scheduled for membership dissemination on January 20, 2023 and January 30, 2023. Each AGM update is intended to provide guidance as to due process ahead of pertinent calendar deadlines.

In the meantime, please do not hesitate to reach out and contact us at info@fieldhockeybc.com should you have any questions regarding the 2023 FHBC AGM.

Yours in sport,

Mark Saunders
Executive Director
Field Hockey BC
January 17, 2023