A message from our CEO following the AGM

Dear trustees and valued members,

It was fantastic to see so many of you at the 2025 AGM, highlighting a commitment to hockey development across Scotland. Thank you for attending the AGM. Your questions, suggestions, and thoughtful contributions reflected a genuine passion for progress and a shared ambition to shape the future of our sport. On behalf of the Scottish Hockey staff and board, I want to express our sincere thanks. We’ll be sharing a post-AGM FAQ, along with AGM minutes, on or before Wednesday 25th June.

Looking ahead, the Scottish Hockey Board will be reviewing the procedure and time frames for next year’s AGM and have provisionally identified Tuesday 16th June 2026 for that to take place. While we acknowledge the challenges of the past year, we’re fully focused on strengthening our base and building capacity for consistent delivery. We’re committed to working with you, and other key partners, to shape the future of hockey to generate even more positive, inclusive, and exciting experiences for people in sport — building on trust through development, transparency and shared progress.

While challenging, we particularly appreciated the candid conversations around finances and membership fees. The decision not to approve the proposed fee increase does present a challenge that we will need to review carefully in the coming months, but it does send a clear message about the need to strengthen trust, communication, and perceived value.

We recognise that any changes to fees must be clearly aligned with the experience and expectations of our members and clubs. In response, we are addressing operational gaps, taking forward efforts to understand the challenges clubs face through more engagement, targeted strategic reviews, and a focused approach to both internal and external communications. These steps will take time to embed, but we recognise that they are vital for delivering a more transparent, responsive, and accountable Scottish Hockey, and will help showcase all that is great about hockey in Scotland in the future.

Your support on this journey is welcomed and appreciated, and we’d love to see you at our upcoming Shaping the Future of Hockey – strategy engagement sessions, which will take place across the country in July and August, to inform our new strategy. These conversations are about listening, collaborating, and turning insight into action—both for Scottish Hockey and for the clubs, districts, schools, and individuals who bring hockey to life.

We were especially encouraged by the strong support shown for our four new directors and our new president. Their appointments bring fresh expertise in financial planning; communications; governance; strategy; and risk management — all of which will significantly strengthen our board. We also warmly welcome our new president, whose honorary role plays an important part in representing and supporting Scottish Hockey. These additions build on the strength of an already committed and passionate board, with existing directors bringing experience in HR; legal affairs; equality, diversity and inclusion; and sports governance — all grounded in a deep and very active connection to local clubs and hockey in Scotland.

We’ve already taken important steps to mitigate financial risk and are now in a more stable position than we were a year ago. While challenges remain in the second half of the year, we have reduced expenditure, realigned our ambitions to match available resources, and adopted a more collaborative approach — one we hope you’ll continue to support.

Thank you once again for your all your efforts for hockey in 2024 and 2025. We’ll continue to keep you informed of our progress and will share the minutes of the AGM and FAQs from the questions submitted by the 25th June.

Kind regards,

Derek Keir (CEO)

 

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