EIHA chairman Ken Taggart says they will come back stronger after the decision to reject a single UK governing body for the sport.
A motion to establish the new single governing body received a 61% vote in favour, which fell short of the 75% required to be passed. The EIHA will now focus on reviewing its own governance.
Taggart told the official EIHA website: “The membership have made their decision.
“We will take a short pause to reflect on the work required to update the Company Articles for the EIHA as a stand alone body.
“Our first immediate challenge is for the Return to Play of all our teams within Covid-19 restrictions, and the filling of our operational roles to support our players and teams in coming back to the sport.
“We have an enormous amount of work ahead for the Board, and the teams will also be involved as the process moves forward.”
The outcome was slammed by many fans, who had been hopeful that a unified approach would help take the sport forward – though now fans may feel it might take a sizeable win on genuine online lottery sites to make it happen!
Michael Wright on Twitter said: “Awful decision and one that could impact long term ice hockey in the UK massively. Would love to know which self-serving individuals voted against.
Chris Cooper added: “Hockey in the UK will never be taken seriously unless everyone comes together to formulate a plan for the long term sustainability. This decision is madness.”
Janet Thacker: “This is a huge disappoint(ment) and questions need to be asked about why it was voted against, a massive setback for hockey in the UK.”
Jamie Lewis: “Been crying out for a single governing body for years. This is why hockey in the UK will never reach its potential.”
Though there were some people who questioned the motives behind the merger, and whether it was as positive as some would suggest – and that there wasn’t enough proof it would be.
For now, the issue will return to the sidelines – and will continue to be lost while focus rightly remains on getting teams back on the ice following the pandemic.
