FEATURE: Who are these people who represent hockey players in the decision making process about hockey development?

FIH management know that the ‘voice’ of hockey players themselves are an important aspect when it comes to making decisions about the future of hockey and game development. Collaboration is an essential ingredient for making management decisions. As in other sports there is a growing presence of country based player associations. Hockey New Zealand is one who has such a process in place. These player representatives have an important role in representing the total hockey player participation base, and in particular, the elite hockey base who are playing international hockey. It was for this reason the Go Hockey News has chosen to write an article to inform interested readers who may until now not known this Athletes committee has existed, who is in it and how can you find out more or contact them.

The FIH recently announced the final members to the FIH Athletes’ Committee following the 2014 Congress in Marrakesh. The members of the FIH Athletes’ Committee serve as a consultative body and make recommendations to the FIH Executive Board, FIH Committees, Advisory Panels and other bodies. Thereby playing a vital role in representing the interests of the athletes.

At the 2014 World Cup in June, for the first time, four of the eight seats on the FIH Athletes’ Committee were elected by the participating World Cup athletes. South Africa skipper Marsha Cox, England’s Annie Panter, Germany’s Moritz Fürste and Australia’s Liam De Young, who are all current or recently retired players will join the Committee from 2015 for the next term. These four will be joined by New Zealand’s Beth Smith and Scott Sandison from Canada who were both re-appointed at the Congress and additionally by Sanaz Heidari from Iran.

Sanaz is the first-ever female representative from the Middle East to join the Committee. She has played indoor hockey for ten years with the last three as a member of the Iranian national team.

Upon hearing of her appointment, Sanaz said: ““I am really excited to join the FIH Athletes’ Committee. This is a great opportunity to be an ambassador for Iran and help promote the development of hockey, women and sport. I have the chance over the next four years to be a voice and ambassador for hockey.”

Michael Green who will continue as Chairman of the FIH Athlete’s Committee for the next term said: “As I said directly after the elections this is a big step forward. For the next term we have representatives from all five continents, an excellent gender balance and a very good knowledge transfer due to the re-appointment of Beth and Scott. In a couple of weeks’ time we will have a Skype conference to define everybody´s role and responsibilities. As the term will end for some members soon, I would like to thank them for the terrific job they have done.”

Every National Association had the opportunity to nominate a candidate, resulting in this year’s candidate list being an impressive snapshot of hockey’s reach across the globe from USA to Iran

“The new election process is all part of FIH’s drive to better involve athletes in the growth of hockey. In line with FIH’s vision to entertain and inspire a global movement of hockey fans and players, athletes have been encouraged to increase dialogue on FIH’s digital and social media channels as well as star in impactful video content online and on TV.

About the FIH Athletes’ Committee

The committee is set to represent the views of the athletes within the FIH, protect their interests and uphold their rights and obligations. The group will also serve as a link between the active athletes and the FIH, as well as to help raise awareness and educate athletes on topics of direct concern.

The members of the Athletes’ Committee will serve as a consultative body and will make recommendations to the FIH Executive Board, FIH Committees, Advisory Panels and other bodies. Their roles will also cover seeking and providing feedback to the FIH on behalf of all athletes, whilst developing and promoting resources and initiatives to athletes such as health and welfare, anti-doping, social media, our need to create stars to attract new fans, career preparation and management. The Committee will also play a central role in liaising with the Athletes’ Commission of the IOC and other sporting organisations to enable the sharing of information and research and ultimately developing the game of hockey.

COMPOSITION

2014-5	FIH ATHLETES’ COMMITTEE MEMBERS
	Marsha Cox \| Twitter: @marsham8 Instagram: @marsham8 Country: South Africa With over 330 international caps in her back pocket, Marsha Cox (nee Marescia), is the highest capped athlete in South Africa across all sports codes. The central midfielder and long-time team captain has been named South Africa Hockey Association Player of the Year on four accounts and was honoured as an FIH All-Star in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Marsha was also a four-year member of the SASCOC Athletes Commission and is currently based in Holland, playing for SV Kampong. Marsha is a three-time Olympian and is set to appear in her fourth World Cup.

	Sanaz Heidari Country : Iran Sanaz Heidari has an opportunity to become the first candidate representing Iran on the FIH Athlete’s Committee. Sanaz has primarily spent her years competing in indoor hockey and has competed for Iran the past four years. The defender helped Iran to a 3rd place finish in the 2nd Asian Indoor Cup and a 4th place finish in the 3rd Asian Indoor Cup. Sanaz holds a Masters degree in English from Azad University in Kerman, Tehran and is currently working as a teacher at an English institute.
	Anne Panter \| Twitter: @anniepanter Facebook: AnnepanterFBHockey Country: England After retiring in early 2014, Anne Panter amassed 108 caps for GB with her most recent achievement being the bronze-medal win at the 2012 London Olympics. First debuting on the international stage at the age of 18, Anne was integral part of the national side for a decade, winning two European Championship bronze medals and a silver at the 2012 Champions Trophy. Anne currently holds a Bachelors of Science in Math and Economics from the University of Nottingham and works as a trader with Goldman Sachs.
	Beth Smith \| Twitter: @beth_smith15 Country: New Zealand After seven years back-stopping the New Zealand Blacksticks, goalkeeper Beth Smith is one of the most decorated female candidates on the list. Beth retired in 2010 from the international stage after appearing in back-to-back Olympic games in Athens and Beijing, as well as two Commonwealth Games, three Champions Trophy’s and the World Cup in 2010. With Beth in goal, New Zealand earned a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which brought her closer to her finale of 105 international caps. On the side, Beth was a part of a number of important programs including the New Zealand Hockey Players Association, the Konica Minolta MVP Programme, Outward Bound and the Sport Wellington Student Ambassador program. Beth is even more impressive in she practised as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand. Beth currently resides in Dublin and recently celebrated becoming a mom in March 2014.
	Moritz Furste \| Twitter: @moritzfuerste Facebook: MoritzFuerste Country: Germany Olympic gold medals from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, a gold medal from the 2006 World Cup, two European Championship gold medals and two World Indoor gold medals (2007 and 2011) adorn Moritz Furste’s trophy cabinet. The German midfielder has 227 international caps and was named the FIH Player of the Year in 2012. During his career Moritz has played for UHC Hamburg, a team he guided to three Euro Hockey League titles (2008, 2010 and 2012) and more recently played for Club de campo in Madrid, Spain. Away from hockey, Moritz has a Masters degree in business and has worked for the past four years for Think, an advertising company that is based in Germany.

Liam de Young | Twitter: @LiamDeYoung Instagram: @liamdy
Country : Australia
Recently surpassing the 300-mark for international caps, Liam de Young has racked quite the hockey resume. Medalling in all three of his last three appearances at the Olympics (two bronze and one gold in 2004), Liam is a decorated hockey player for the Kookaburras. This Australian midfielder isn’t done yet as he is about to add his fourth World Cup after a gold performance in 2010 and two silvers in 2006 and 2002. Tack on that he has appeared in eight Champions Trophy events and you have one of the most decorated Australian players on the list. To top it off, Liam also holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Commercial Law & Sports Administration from Curtin University.

Scott Sandison Twitter: @scottysandison Instagram: @scottysandison
Country: Canada
Scott Sandison has 178 caps for Canada and during that time he has played in two Commonwealth Games (2002, 2006), an Olympic Games (2008) and a World Cup (2010). In recent years, Canada has been enjoying success in the Pan American competitions, picking up a gold medals at this year’s Pan American Indoor World Cup qualifier, a gold in the 2009 America’s Cup and a gold at the 2005 Indoor Pan-American games. Scott’s involvement in hockey goes far beyond the medals he has won. As a coach he has worked with Ontario Senior Men; Spanish club CD Terrassa’s under-16 boys; and Old Loughtonians, in the English
regional league.

Chair of the Committee: Michael Green michael.green@fih.ch
Secretary of the Committee: Sandra Harik sandra.harik@fih.ch
There is an Athletes’ Members Forum : To find out more click here http://www.fih.ch/en/thecommittee
Also if you wish to know more about FIH athletes committee or bring to their attention any matter of question tto you then email athletes@fih.ch

Source: adapted FIH news

2014-5	FIH ATHLETES’ COMMITTEE MEMBERS
	Marsha Cox \| Twitter: @marsham8 Instagram: @marsham8 Country: South Africa With over 330 international caps in her back pocket, Marsha Cox (nee Marescia), is the highest capped athlete in South Africa across all sports codes. The central midfielder and long-time team captain has been named South Africa Hockey Association Player of the Year on four accounts and was honoured as an FIH All-Star in 2007, 2009 and 2010. Marsha was also a four-year member of the SASCOC Athletes Commission and is currently based in Holland, playing for SV Kampong. Marsha is a three-time Olympian and is set to appear in her fourth World Cup.

	Sanaz Heidari Country : Iran Sanaz Heidari has an opportunity to become the first candidate representing Iran on the FIH Athlete’s Committee. Sanaz has primarily spent her years competing in indoor hockey and has competed for Iran the past four years. The defender helped Iran to a 3rd place finish in the 2nd Asian Indoor Cup and a 4th place finish in the 3rd Asian Indoor Cup. Sanaz holds a Masters degree in English from Azad University in Kerman, Tehran and is currently working as a teacher at an English institute.
	Anne Panter \| Twitter: @anniepanter Facebook: AnnepanterFBHockey Country: England After retiring in early 2014, Anne Panter amassed 108 caps for GB with her most recent achievement being the bronze-medal win at the 2012 London Olympics. First debuting on the international stage at the age of 18, Anne was integral part of the national side for a decade, winning two European Championship bronze medals and a silver at the 2012 Champions Trophy. Anne currently holds a Bachelors of Science in Math and Economics from the University of Nottingham and works as a trader with Goldman Sachs.
	Beth Smith \| Twitter: @beth_smith15 Country: New Zealand After seven years back-stopping the New Zealand Blacksticks, goalkeeper Beth Smith is one of the most decorated female candidates on the list. Beth retired in 2010 from the international stage after appearing in back-to-back Olympic games in Athens and Beijing, as well as two Commonwealth Games, three Champions Trophy’s and the World Cup in 2010. With Beth in goal, New Zealand earned a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, which brought her closer to her finale of 105 international caps. On the side, Beth was a part of a number of important programs including the New Zealand Hockey Players Association, the Konica Minolta MVP Programme, Outward Bound and the Sport Wellington Student Ambassador program. Beth is even more impressive in she practised as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand. Beth currently resides in Dublin and recently celebrated becoming a mom in March 2014.
	Moritz Furste \| Twitter: @moritzfuerste Facebook: MoritzFuerste Country: Germany Olympic gold medals from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, a gold medal from the 2006 World Cup, two European Championship gold medals and two World Indoor gold medals (2007 and 2011) adorn Moritz Furste’s trophy cabinet. The German midfielder has 227 international caps and was named the FIH Player of the Year in 2012. During his career Moritz has played for UHC Hamburg, a team he guided to three Euro Hockey League titles (2008, 2010 and 2012) and more recently played for Club de campo in Madrid, Spain. Away from hockey, Moritz has a Masters degree in business and has worked for the past four years for Think, an advertising company that is based in Germany.

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