1- Hi Michael, can you tell us more about In Line Hockey Ireland, what is your activity?
Inline Hockey Ireland or IHI, is the governing body of inline hockey in Ireland being affiliated to FIRS and CERS. IHI oversees all inline hockey activities in Ireland from leagues and tournaments to the growth of the game and referee development. We run competitions all the way from U10 to Elite League, with teams competing from both sides of the Irish border.
2- Do you have plans for the representation of Ireland in european/international events in the future?
As we are still a relatively young hockey nation our main focus for the coming years is the grow the sport of inline hockey both in terms of participant levels and standard of play, with the ultimate goal having representation an international events. The introduction of a new Irish U18 League this season, under the guidance of new Juniro Development Officer, Aigars Brencis, will aid in the development of a national U18 side, that would be looking to compete at European events over the coming years.
3- In Line Hockey Ireland is proposing to its referees a training, with the support of CERS In-Line Hockey. Can you tell us more about this project ?
One area of required development noted by the IHI committee was to better support and develop the referees in Ireland. This led us to reach out to CERS for guidance and help with this, leading to Stephane Angelique being assigned to our case. Stephane has agreed to advise and help put in place a refereeing structure that will lead to continued development and support. Stephane will also be aiding us with referee training courses, the first of which is taking place on 24th and 25th September 2016 in Longford, Ireland. This course will see both experienced and inexperienced referees receive a level 1 course with both on court and off court sessions, and is the first step in our new refereeing journey. The new structure will allow referees to climb up the levels, and we hope too to send referees to future International and European events. We are very grateful to Stephane and CERS for making this happen, and I know Stephane and ourselves are excited to welcome him at the end of the month to share his knowledge with us.