The Story So Far

There are two strands to the story of where we are today – one hockey fan’s crusade to make a difference, and the case of two former players who felt that they were insured inadequately.

In January 2007, hockey fan Dave Cunningham started debate on several ice hockey forums about what could be done to unify the sport. Having received an almost overwhelming positive response, he set about making some contacts within the sport and finding out more about some of the real issues.

Dave talked to everyone from those directly involved with running the sport – administrators, owners and those who had previously been involved, to those indirectly involved – journalists, players and fans. He gathered together a small group who had indicated a high level of engagement and a willingness to be involved, and together they began to move forward.

A real coup was a meeting with Gordon Brown that took place in early February. Mr Brown had made himself aware of the situation and was fully up to date with what had occurred in the process so far and agreed to pass on the work produced by Dave and the team to the DCMS.

Prior to this, Mark Twaite and Paul Berrington both suffered from career ending injuries and felt that they were not adequately insured for their injuries and the subsequent loss of income. Having failed to reach agreement with the owners of the clubs involved, they brought the matter to the attention of their MPs who raised it with Richard Caborn, Minister for Sport.

Mr Caborn then called the key parties together for a meeting in December 2006 – invited were the Ice Hockey Players Association, IHUK, EIHA and EIHL SIHA? . At the meeting, Mr Caborn asked UK Sport to conduct a preliminary investigation into the governance model of the sport, with particular reference to the insurance element.

At this meeting, those who represented the sport gave an undertaking to fully participate in this process. In a letter to a committee member of the BIHFA, Richard Caborn stated: ‘the sport signaled their agreement to cooperate with UK Sport to determine what issues currently need addressing and what further governance work in Ice Hockey may be necessary, either at structural level or at operational level’.

The initial review was due back to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on 9th February.

The DCMS was due to come to a conclusion in early March, after the UK Sport preliminary review had been received and considered. A letter from the DCMS was sent out in April to the parties at the original meeting to confirm the findings and the points for review.

It was felt that given the DCMS had highlighted that further work needed to be done, that there should be a formal body to collate and represent the interests and views of the fans. Dave and the team therefore felt that a formal organisation should be put together ready to respond. By learning from previous supporters associations, a great deal of detailed thinking was put behind getting the basics right.