The EuroHockey Development Committee enjoyed a lively get-together in Brussels last week, taking in a range of useful workshops and discussion to plot the course ahead.

The first workshop was led by England Hockey’s Rich Beer, talking about ‘what makes a great club’, looking at club culture and context with a view to giving resources and support for all.

Tom Pedersen-Smith showcased the EuroHockey operational umbrella and what products, services and corporate supports can work for developing national associations.

UEFA’s Teodora Pletosu was a special guest to talk about pitches and infrastructure and the potential joint integration and structural investment into football and hockey pitches for grassroots development.

Pedersen-Smith and EuroHockey Institute Coordinator Cameron Findler outlined funding and grant options and processes, namely Olympic Solidarity, EU Grants and EuroHockey Solidarity grants.

Georgian Hockey’s Tornike Tevdoradze presented on the state of play in his nation and then looked the wider issue of empowering nations of all sizes and how to engage others with limited resources.

In the second phase of the committee’s activities, Scotland Hockey’s Mekala Osborne led a sharing knowledge session, outlining how her nation is delivering their strategy and what they have learnt along the way.

Pedersen-Smith spoke about national association strategy development and setting in place a blueprint for your organisation.

Gino Schilders then updated the committee on the All In and Win project which EuroHockey is a leading partner, looking at equity and inclusion of the LGBT+ community in sport, mobilising ideas into actions.

The meeting closed with a discussion on international relations, strategy and operations for the future of the group.