By Rod Gilmour | Editor
After nearly two years away, we are back this week as a print product for readers.
Our concept was first conceived thanks to several meetings and plenty of laughs with respected journalist Graham Wilson, who sadly passed away before the first issue was published.
Determined to see through the idea, The Hockey Paper launched on the back of Team GB women’s gold at the Rio Olympics.
And it is now a thrill to return subscription-only as we chart GB’s Olympic defence ahead of Tokyo 2020 next year. The relaunch is again in Graham’s memory.
One of the main reasons we produced a print newspaper on hockey in 2016 – we are still the only UK print newspaper dedicated to an Olympic sport – was that we felt the sport was not getting the attention it both needs and deserves on a national level.
We sought to change that and we were certainly making headway with our stories and features reaching readers and clubs across the UK before we were sadly forced into going digital only.
We kept the momentum online across one Commonwealth Games and two World Cups and web traffic underlined that there is a market for hockey media.
Of course, many of our features don’t translate well into digital – such as our dedicated new junior section – and so print is extra important.
We will be a comprehensive product featuring the international game, the domestic scene, Masters, more regional focus, umpiring, coaching, the Home Nations and the history of the game.
The Hockey Paper will be printed regularly every fortnight – barring the odd week off when hockey sticks are rested – but what is certain is that we will continue to be a leader for equal coverage across the men’s and women’s game.
We hope you will enjoy our journey and, don’t forget, if you want to make contact with us, have news or feature ideas, please email newsdesk@thehockeypaper.co.uk
