Grove Menzieshill announced EHF European Small Club of the Year

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The European Hockey Federation (EHF) has announced Grove Menzieshill HC as the EHF European Club of the Year 2016 for small clubs.

It is a massive achievement for the club as it continues to progress and create more opportunities for people to play hockey.

Grove Menzieshill HC is a small but proud family hockey club, with strong ties to its community. In 2014, the appointment of a Youth Development Officer was instrumental in delivering new development initiatives for the club. The creation of a Youth Ambassador programme is a key component in their success, as they are actively engaging the next generation to promote hockey and grow club membership. Grove Menzieshill HC has also made it a priority to educate and develop their officials and umpires.

After working in partnership with Scottish Hockey’s Development Team to submit their nomination, the EHF considered their candidacy as reflective of its mission to value and recognise strong, well-organised clubs across Europe.

They are the second Scottish club to win the award, and with two Scottish wins in two years this back-to-back success shows the growing achievements of hockey clubs in Scotland.

In Scottish Hockey’s accreditation programme Grove Menzieshill has gained silver accreditation, which insures clubs are safe, well organised and efficient with a focus on membership growth and retention.

Grove Menzieshill is also a recipient of sportscotland’s Direct Club Investment (DCI), which supports the development of world class club sport. Direct club investment is unique as it offers investment to support club development over a period of 2-4 years, giving the club time to embed significant developmental change.

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A spokesperson from Grove Menzieshill said:

“Grove Menzieshill Hockey Club is a club that prides itself on having close ties to the local community. The club regularly deals with local schools and businesses as well as enjoying involvement with community activities. To be recognised in this way by two different governing bodies is fantastic, showing that not only are we the top club locally, but our efforts are being noticed at a European level too.

“This award demonstrates that the club is going in the right direction. As a member of Forthill Community Sports Hub we are actively pursuing this community involvement.  The next step for the club is to develop our own facilities and we will be seeking partners to support this project. It is only through investment in the sport that we can offer hockey opportunities to all players, coaches and officials at all ages and levels.

“Our targets are to have all our teams playing at the highest level possible, to continue to grow our community programmes, to produce talented players for recognition at district and Scottish level, and maintain our successful in-schools programme. We have a core group of volunteers who have bought into a strong club vision and have been committed to achieving our ambitions.

“The club is delighted to receive this award, as it recognises the value of those volunteers’ work, time and efforts to generate success. A huge thank you must go to Sport Scotland and Leisure & Culture Dundee, but especially to all of our volunteers and members, it is their efforts that continue to make Grove Menzieshill Hockey Club a great club to be part of.”

David Sweetman, CEO of Scottish Hockey, said: “I’d like to offer my congratulations to Grove Menzieshill on this success, it’s great to see the club recognised for the hard work it has done. Strong clubs are vital to the strength and growth of the sport; we want them to be strong, vibrant organisations in order to attract and retain members. We hope this award will inspire all our member clubs across Scotland.”

Photos: Duncan Gray & Mark Pugh

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