Širvintos Hockey Club “INTA” in Lithuania was presented with their EuroHockey Club of the Year  2023 award and €1,000 prize money by EuroHockey executive board member Peter Elders as part of the annual Active Vilnius Sports Festival last weekend.

The award is recognition of the range of initiatives used to develop and grow the sport in the small town 50 kilometres north of Vilnius with Club President Zivile Dabrickaite a driving force.

The prize was presented during a hockey event at the club’s pitch where a group of volunteers had arranged all kind of hockey activities for potential new club members.

Peter Elders talked in his speech about the Olympics and challenged the youngsters of the club to dream about participation, saying that this dream can start now.

Elders’ visit was organised by EuroHockey member of honour Leonardas Caikauskas who proved an excellent host. In addition to making the presentation, Elders visited two indoor hockey facilities, the pitch at Vilnius HC Žuvėdra and the offices of the Lithuanian National Association. 

“It was a pleasure to visit Lithuania this week to present the EuroHockey Club of the Year award in person,” Elders said. “To see the range of activity at Širvintos and what is going on in the wider Lithuanian hockey community was a joyous experience.”

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The presentation in Vilnius coincided with the end of summer sports festival where hockey was able to showcase itself to thousands of children in Vilnius’s Lukiškiau Square.

The event ran for three days with the city’s square flanked by musics stands and food trucks with hockey taking its place in the heart of it, attracting many curious people keen to try out the game.

In addition, over 100 potential hockey fans signed up via a special QR code through which they could get contact details for coaches from the Vilnius district, Kaunas, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Kelmės, Širvintos, Joniškis and Šilalė districts.