A Vacation Message to Our Hockey Neighborhood
Expensive Pals,
As we shut out 2024, I need to take a second to precise my immense pleasure and gratitude for the outstanding progress we’ve made collectively this 12 months. It’s been a 12 months of development inside our system as we proceed to put the foundations for a sustainable, profitable and accessible future. As we mirror on 2024, there’s a couple of key moments that stood out specifically. I’m excited to revisit a few of our key achievements with you.
Occasion Internet hosting and Competitions
In 2024, we had been proud to host two main continental championships: the Indoor Pan American Cup, which we hosted in Calgary, Alberta, and the Junior Pan American Championships, hosted in Surrey, BC. Because of a collaborative strategy with companions from throughout the neighborhood, each occasions proved massively profitable. The Junior Pan Ams proved a particular spotlight with each our junior males and junior ladies qualifying for subsequent 12 months’s Junior World Cup – properly achieved to all concerned!
Along with worldwide occasions, FHC continued to broaden the nationwide internet hosting portfolio. In whole, 4 nationwide tournaments had been held in 2024. Starting in Summer time with the annual youth nationwide championships, the place the U18 occasion was held in Surrey, BC adopted instantly by the U16 Championship in Calgary, Alberta. The involvement of all three Atlantic provinces within the U18 occasion, with PEI on the rostrum was a selected spotlight on discipline whereas Area Hockey Alberta’s ‘Hoe Down’ get together on the beneath 16 occasion was definitely an off-field spotlight!
One other off discipline spotlight this 12 months was the Corridor of Fame celebration. Held in Richmond BC, we had been honored to welcome lots of our esteemed neighborhood members to the ceremony. It definitely showcased the easiest of our sport from coast to coast and the event was a beautiful alternative for mates far and extensive, younger and previous, to reconnect over shared hockey tales. Congratulations to our Lessons being celebrated at this occasion.
Transferring into Fall, FHC was excited to steer the inaugural FHC USPORTS Nationwide Match, hosted in York, Toronto. Congratulations to all 4 college finalists and to the College of Victoria for getting gold! As FHC takes on management of the USports portfolio, we sit up for continued development within the coming years. One other occasion which is able to proceed to develop in our nationwide internet hosting portfolio is the Canadian Masters Cup. This thrilling occasion occurred in Brampton, Ontario and our because of the neighborhood for supporting!
All through 2024, our senior nationwide groups continued to showcase their abilities on the worldwide stage. They demonstrated excellent resolve within the Olympic qualifiers, sadly arising brief for Paris however exhibiting that our younger groups are properly heading in the right direction for 2028, with each groups ending strongly later within the 12 months on the Nations Cup. In the meantime our youth and improvement squads additionally traveled throughout the globe as we proceed to construct a robust expertise pathway—visiting the Netherlands, Scotland, Wales, Malaysia, and Japan. The expertise pipeline additionally continues to exhibit unbelievable development at grasp’s stage. This 12 months we had been delighted to ship seven masters groups to Auckland for the WMH Masters World Cup. Nicely achieved to all who pulled on our Canada shirt this 12 months!
2024 Highlights
- Males’s Nationwide Workforce: A notable victory over #14 ranked Korea, ending fifth on the Nations Cup.
- Girls’s Nationwide Workforce: A robust sixth place end on the Nations Cup, with a formidable win over Korea.
- Dwelling Internet hosting in collaboration with provincial and membership companions: Profitable supply of IPAC and JPAC.
- Masters World Cup: Canadian groups excelled, with six of our seven Nationwide Groups ending within the High 10 of their respective division.
- FHC USports: College of Victoria secured their sixth consecutive nationwide title and first-ever Area Hockey Canada USports college event title.
- Junior Groups: Following house performances at JPAC, the lads’s and ladies’s junior groups have certified for the 2025 Junior World Cups.
In issues of governance, FHC continued to prioritize improved governance of our system. All through 2024 we as soon as held month-to-month PSO member conferences. We engaged the neighborhood in updating the danger administration registry by way of a collection of workshops and continued to strengthen the board with skills-based Director appointments. The board additionally started the method of growing the brand new Strategic Plan which is able to come into impact in 2026 and contain broader engagement by way of 2025. We sit up for working with you! Lastly, FHC labored with the boarder sport neighborhood to contribute positively to the Way forward for Sport Fee. This fee is charged with reimagining a greater high quality, secure and properly ruled sport system to serve everybody and it was an honor to contribute. Let’s see what this holds for 2025 and past.
Gratitude and Acknowledgements
In fact, none of those highlights could be doable with out our crew of groups who contribute tirelessly in so some ways.
A heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and companions—The Indian Maharadja, OPRO, GTR, The Cove, Coast Physio, Boulevard Journey, and all our sport companions—for his or her unwavering assist. Particular because of the provincial organizations of British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario for his or her dedication in internet hosting occasions with us. Because of the Alberta neighborhood as a stand out of their assist in delivering an amazing IPAC house internet hosting – the primary in Alberta! We additionally deeply admire the continued assist of our membership companion West Vancouver, in addition to our neighborhood membership organizations for JPAC: India Membership, Panthers and Dashmesh, in addition to assist golf equipment Lions, Gobind Sarvar, United Brothers, Sikh Video games, West Coast Kings, Elite, and plenty of others. A real neighborhood effort made the JPAC occasion a convincing success. Moreover, we’d prefer to thank our worldwide companions in Japan, Malaysia, and Europe who we proceed to construct sturdy worldwide commitments with for the betterment of our great sport.
Thanks additionally to our great board of administrators, committee members and our small however very mighty workers crew. You make life a pleasure! A particular because of Olympian Deb Whitten who stepped down from the board after 6 years of service. Luckily, Deb continues to contribute to governance by way of her involvement on committees. Because of Deb and different outgoing Administrators: Nick Sandhu, Derm Coombs Ben Martin and Krissy Wishart.
Wanting Forward to 2025
As we glance towards the brand new 12 months, we’re excited concerning the challenges and alternatives that 2025 will deliver. It should be one other enormous 12 months, together with:
- A concentrate on World Cup qualification for our senior groups.
- Our Junior Nationwide Groups may have two high tier worldwide occasions: with an inaugural Junior Pan Am Video games in Summer time earlier than the Junior World Cup in December
- Continued growth of the expertise pathway youth and improvement excursions
- A Masters concentrate on persevering with to construct success at Pan American competitors
- Supply of a brand new competitors construction and expanded home alternatives
- Strategic evaluation of the present Strategic Plan and supply of a brand new FHC Strategic Plan to serve 2026 – 2030
We’re dedicated to constructing on our successes and pushing for even better accomplishments in 2025. For the reason that unification of the lads’s and ladies’s associations in 1991, we’ve got not had each qualify for the World Cup in the identical 12 months. That might be a spotlight for 2025! Each groups will take part in World Cup Qualifying and have the superb alternative to qualify.
On behalf of Area Hockey Canada, I want you all a joyful vacation season full of peace and happiness. Thanks in your continued dedication and assist of our sport. Collectively, let’s make 2025 one other unforgettable 12 months for Canadian discipline hockey. The Area Hockey Canada workplace will probably be closed from December 21-January 5.
With kindness,
Susan Ahrens (CEO) and the FHC Workforce
