As we head towards July and an expected further opening of indoor sport we are providing an update around 2020/21 registrations & competition.

Club Registration

No club has or will be charged a club registration fee in 2020/21 year.

Member Registration

With some teams in NI now back training and the expected return of ROI teams next month, we would like to remind clubs and individuals that they need to ensure they have the relevant 2020/21 member registration completed, this runs until 30th September 2021. Players are not insured to train or play without it. Registration can be completed here.

With the disruption caused to the 2020/21 season both in terms of competition and training it is IHI's intention to extend any 2020/21 member registrations to the 2021/22 season, however this decision cannot be confirmed until September. At a minimum any member that registered for 2020/21 will be offered a discount to 2021/22 registration. 

Competition

Firstly, we have taken the decision to officially cancel the 2021 Playoffs.  We wish to build on the success of the 2019 Playoffs in Gormanston Park, and not take steps back by hosting smaller and separate events. The organisation of such a large event takes months of planning which we do not have especially since there is still uncertainty around capacities, etc in the months ahead.

While we would normally have to take the decision to cancel the regular season already we are exploring the potential for condensed league competition or other smaller competitions in the months of July/August/September. Clubs will be given at least 1 month of training opportunities before competing.

We all know it has been a long year with limited playing opportunities so we want to give interested members the opportunities to do so as and when we are allowed. As well as that, it has been well documented the Longford Rink has come very close to closing down during the lockdowns, so we would want to support them as much as we can, and organized competitions is the strongest way IHI can do that. 

While we do not have a solid date for indoor competitions in ROI yet, we are working on the assumption it might be allowed for the next easing of restrictions in August. In NI, indoor competition can currently occur but is dependent on venue number restrictions, the current limit on The Rink, Portadown does not make competition feasible yet.

League Co-Ordinator, Artem Muskulidi has written to all clubs asking for feedback around summer competition plans. If you did not receive an email or wish to find out more details please email artem.muskulidi@inlinehockeyireland.org

As stated we cannot guarantee that we will be able host any particular competition let alone what type. We will attempt to schedule any appropriate type of competition if we feel that the situation on the island would allow us to do so.