We all know the popularity and size of some sports, and the participation levels that they regularly gain from almost all age groups from school children upwards, and for the likes of hockey it has long been a topic of conversation about how to turn that trend around – and hockey is far from the only sport that has been having those conversations.
There has never been one quick fix though as a lot of it has always come down to the ease of participation and getting kids and children involved at a young age to foster a love of the stick, and that is naturally difficult when state schools themselves no longer offer hockey in the way they used to, and private clubs are an answer – but again they are just not available (or even affordable) to the vast majority of people.
Participation figures are even starker when you focus purely on girls, as far more now play football than the likes of netball and hockey and if you asked that question of online sports betting companies in this day and age, that would have been the odds on answer.
Whilst that certainly carries positives of its own, it is a blow when viewed through some lenses.
Unfortunately, more recent data again shows that hockey, like a number of more traditional sports, have seen participation numbers further plummet, whereas there has been a surprising rise, in say, skateboarding which has seen significant growth (and publicity from the Olympic involvement). The recent data shows that school hour participation in skateboarding has over doubled in recent times and I find that quite remarkable.
The gap between state and private school participation also continues to be a big takeaway, and again private education sees participation jump by 18% for hockey, but equally 6% for cricket. The widening gap is probably no great surprise when you look at the broadcasting world. Football and rugby regularly appear on free to air or subscription services, and particularly football, newsfeeds rarely differentiate between the two.
However, coverage of hockey is basically non existent, and Cycling’s Tour de France will now go behind a paywall after next summer as well, and it has led some to address the disparity of coverage. Just as there are different variations of hockey, there is more to cycling than just the Tour of France, but so many will never be introduced because the one type dominates – if at all.
In an age when free to air absolutely needs to dominate eyeballs, whether or not the landscape changes is massively open for debate, but if does not, some sports are going to continue to struggle to attract the next generation, and hockey is no different.
