German hockey has bucked the trend over other sports and has grown membership despite the pandemic.
Data from the German Olympic Sports Confederation revealed that 800,000 had relinquished memberships across sports in Germany. Hockey and ice hockey are the only team sports that have grown, according to the survey.
Anne Krause, German Hockey Federation’s vice president sport development, said: “This is an encouraging sign that we have done some things right in hockey.
“Many volunteers and committed people in the clubs tried to ensure that there were always motivating offers for the active and especially for the youngsters.”
Earlier this year, German hockey officials revealed a healthy set of numbers in terms of participation and growth.
The 64,646 members in 2001 has grown to 83,912 by 2020, an increase of 30 per cent. The federation has put this down to initiatives to attract more females to the sport.
“Young girls have discovered hockey as a sport for themselves,” Maren Boyé, director of sport development, said. “Hockey has simply addressed the female area on many channels. We have gone a good way as a sport.”
Statistics over the last five years show more girls than boys in hockey for the seven to 14-year-olds. Two decades ago it was very different with almost twice as many boys as girls, while the male area regains the upper hand in the 19 to 26-year-old age group.
In the current set of statistics, there are also 370 clubs in Germany. In 2014, there were twelve more with 382.
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