Hi everyone,
I am just touching base to provide some timely updates regarding OHI and plans for the current and upcoming competitions in 2025.
As you are aware a new OHI Committee were elected at the AGM in December, and we are busily working to familiarise ourselves with the various requirements of our role, while keeping things moving with the competitions and projects that are underway.
The current OHI committee consists of:
- President - myself
- Vice President - Nic Milne
- Secretary - Stacey Ellice
- Treasurer - Sandra Jones
- Public Officer - Darryn Marjoram
- Interested party - Peter Milne (Indoor Hockey President)
- Interested party - Caitlin Simmons (Assistant Treasurer)
Smith Field Project
Given time constraints and urgent business we have been meeting frequently as an Executive Committee to ensure the Smith Field project continues to move along, under the driving force of Darryn Marjoram, Daryl Kennewell and the many other invested parties working hard behind the scenes. There is much to do, but we continue to move towards the original deadline for works to be completed hopefully by the winter season commencement. We continue to seek sponsorship, so encourage you to get in touch if you can assist with this or have any leads to help our community. Special mention to our incoming Treasurer Sandra Jones who has been working hard to determine our budget situation prior to the upcoming season to minimise the impact of the Smith field project on our fees.
Since December we have much to celebrate. We hosted two successful Indoor State Championships and have had multiple players and officials represent Orange at both State and National level. We have a great deal to be proud of within our community.
The Indoor competition recommenced a fortnight ago, with Twilight recommencing last week. It’s great to see our community back on the field/court enjoying some hockey. Thanks to those sub-committee members who worked tirelessly to get registrations sorted for Term 1.
There are a few important updates, as determined in the committee meetings, that we would like to update on.
Representative Hockey
As President, I have delegated the Representative coordination role to Nic Milne, Vice President of OHI. As you are likely aware, Nic is a very experienced representative player and mentor who has a keen interest and focus on growing our rep program and supporting our players, coaches and officials to represent Orange as best as they can.
Under Nic’s management we are now welcoming expressions of interest for selectors, coaches and managers for all junior age representative teams. To assist with this process we are also seeking representative administrators who can work with Nic and the team with various duties to streamline this process.
You can express your interest by completing this form: https://bit.ly/OHIRep2025
Sub-committees
As a volunteer association we are very aware of the importance of open and transparent involvement of all the members whose game it is that we are overseeing. We would like to explore the return of sub-committees for the various competitions, which allow the members to be involved in the decisions made and help run the competitions they are involved in.
To express your interest in an position for a sub-committee please complete the EOI here: https://bit.ly/OHISubs2025
OHI Umpire Manager
We are currently seeking expressions of interest for an OHI Umpire Manager. This position aims to provide a central point of contact, oversight and support for the competition Umpire Convenors, and the Hockey NSW qualified Lead Facilitators. If you would like to express your interest in this position please complete this form: https://bit.ly/OHIUmpiringMgr
Under 16 State Championships
We were thrilled to be able to announce that Orange has been selected to host the Under 16 boys State Championships in June of this year. This is a great milestone for our community, and we are excited to be able to showcase our facility to teams travelling for this event. In the coming months we will be seeking volunteers to assist with the planning and preparation for this important event.
General meetings will be held quarterly in 2025, with further meetings being scheduled if required. The first meeting for 2025 is scheduled for 18 February, to be held in person at the Hockey Complex.
We look forward to welcoming clubs and members to contribute positively and practically at these meetings, and encourage you to have a voice within our volunteer-based community. On a personal note, I would like to thank our community who have offered support and guidance as we step into new and unfamiliar territory with mutual goals in mind - to provide opportunity to our hockey community.
Thank you for your continued support of hockey in Orange. Without our members we don’t have a competition, so we encourage everyone to get involved where they can.
Scott Hanrahan
President OHI, on behalf of the OHI Committee
