Hockey Global Youth Marathon

Ghana Celebrates International Hockey Federation (FIH) Second Global Youth Hockey Marathon on Saturday, May 17, 2003

1. Background:

In a bid to highlight the importance of young people’s participation in hockey to ensure its future, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) launched an event in 2000 that focused on the youth.

The International Year of the Youth was therefore celebrated in 2001 and sought to promote hockey to children and youngsters up to the age of 18 years with the aim of making the game of hockey better known as a high performance as well as a recreational sport for boys and girls.

Though the international year of the youth was planned as a one-year event, it was anticipated that the outcome of the celebration would leave a positive effect for youth hockey that would hopefully precipitate a conscious effort to continually pursue the organization of events of a similar nature. The main strategy for youth development has therefore been to pursue knowledge sharing and exchanging experiences of how to promote hockey amongst youngsters in clubs, schools and communities.

This effort has yielded dividends as many of the continental and national federations have embarked on or intensified their youth development programmes. These programmes have continuously stressed the assets of the game such as it being an Olympic team sport, a recognized game played at any age and at any level, from a fascinating high performance sport played by very skillful athletes to a very enjoyable recreational sport that keeps one’s body and mind in harmony.

2. Youth Day Celebration After Year of the Youth:

In 2002, Ghana celebrated the World Youth Day in October with a series of activities that focused on the youth. The main objective was to give the youth a voice and to learn from them, the way in which they thought hockey could be developed from their perspective. The event was successful and was graced by high profile personalities that included the Ambassador of the Royal Netherlands in Ghana.

The events of the day were to a large extent under the full control of the youth as they took charge of managing teams, officiating matches and organizing other activities. The youth were also taken through some skills drills and practices by an FIH accredited coach who was conducting a regional workshop for national coaches drawn from Ghana and Nigeria.

3. Youth Day Celebration 2003 – Global Youth Marathon:

The strategy of sharing as adopted, will be pursued during the 2003 celebrations. The objective of Celebrating the day is to bring together young hockey players in the Greater Accra Region, to acquire skills and knowledge through sharing of their experiences and interacting with youth trainers, and will be celebrated under the theme ‘Exchange’. The GHA expects that al least 200 young boys and girls drawn from some schools and communities in the Greater Accra Region would participate in the day-long activities scheduled to commence at 6:30 AM. Some of the schools that will participate include Independence Avenue JSS, SDA JSS, St Martin De-Porres JSS, Holy Trinity Cathedral SSS, while the communities will include Tema, Palladium area and La.

The GHA anticipates the participation of the Honourable Minister for Education Youth and Sports and his Deputies and other dignitaries from the Ghana Education Service and other public and private sector institutions in the celebration of this Global event.

In this respect, and in the light of the theme for the celebration, the following programme of activities have been planned:

Programme of Activities:

Morning Session:

a. 6:00 am – 6:30 am - Arrival of Participants and Officials

b. 7:10 am – 9:30 am - Skills Workshop (to be conducted by National Coaches)

c. 10:00 am – 12:00 noon - Skills Competition (all participants)

Lunch Break: - 12:00 Noon – 1:00 PM

Afternoon Session:

a. 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM - Mini hockey Matches (six-a-side) – based on age groups

b. 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM - Match - Youth Team A versus Youth Team B (U-18)

c. Closing Ceremony

d. Refreshments