Is it all doom and gloom for British hockey?

NOTTINGHAM, UK – Since a recent article was published on here, much debate has gone on about how British ice hockey is run and the financial future of certain clubs. Paul Ragan took over the Cardiff Devils after a series of questionable owners left the club in a precarious position off the ice and he has since taken control at Sheffield Steelers too after Bob Phillips was unable to continue as owner and director. In these past few weeks and days he has announced that he will not allow either of his teams to break the wage cap that the league is reputedly going to be enforcing next season. Many fans are sceptical of this as they have seen and heard similar before, but with a high profile owner like Ragan publicly saying that neither of his teams will be breaking the wage cap, it does seem more likely that fans of the EIHL will see a more even league in 2011-12.

It appears to be somewhat of a wake up call for the Steelers fans who have stuck by their club over the last 10 years, In that time there has been a whole host of owners and directors who have turned the club into a mess away from the rink/arena and due to high spending and expenditure exceeding income have caused the club to go to the brink of closure more times than anyone cares to remember. However some fans seem unable to grasp that the club needs to make sure that they are only spending what they are making, if even that much. Any business model should be built around your expenditure at worst matching income and at best being as low as possible, but with the best possible value of product. The EIHL is struggling, despite what some say, to make ends meet with some games this season not getting close to 1000 fans through the door. With 10-12 imports and 6-8 British players to house, feed, water, transport, provide kit for, allow spending money, pay for ITCs, travel over etc, it’s never going to work with so few fans coming in the door spending what they door. It’s very admiral to see so many volunteers and helpers trying their best to generate interest and income for teams up and down the country, not just limited to EIHL either, but a professional league should not be reliant on people giving up spare time to help out.
In a previous article, former GB international Marc Twaite mentioned a whole host of problems and one important expenditure was left off the above list of club outgoings. Insurance. Twaite had his career cut short during the ISL era when he was injured badly during a game and was ultimately left 20% disabled. At the time, he assumed that the clubs insurance would cover him for any operations and medical expenses, so you can imagine his reaction when he found out that there was none!
“My exit from ice hockey in 2001 was a shock to me and was something I never thought would happen and it took me a very long time to get over, Not the fact I received a life-threatening injury and required 2 operations, it was the way I got treated from everybody involved in hockey at that time. Those who I thought would have done something to help didn’t. And those who ignored the fact that the way I was treated was acceptable, was shocking. Everybody has their own opinion and they are welcome to it, but they didn’t live through it like I did. Whether I was playing in the Superleague, as one of only 6 British players out of 190 in the league and under Norton Lea and his Sheffield Steelers is immaterial. I got injured playing professional ice hockey as an employee in the top league in the UK with no insurance. It wasn’t until I got injured I found out about there being no insurance cover or policy for me, even though that was a league policy at the time.
“My team and team Captain Paul Kruse were in Bracknell waiting to face-off a game a bit of time later. There was over an hour’s delay of the game due to the fact I’d been waiting 12 weeks with a life threatening injury, having had 2 surgeries booked and cancelled. They stuck up for me and wanted my issue resolved as soon as possible. They made sure that every player registered was fully insured on paper or the game was never going to start. A fax came through and the game took place. I had 1 surgery through the NHS but waited another 3 years for my second! Still to this day I haven’t received an apology from anybody involved in ice hockey through not being insured and the delay of surgery meant I’m now classed as 20% disabled. That’s what hurts the most. The sport makes out that it’s a big family, but it’s amazing how quickly they’ll drop you when they are forced to spend out for something they don’t want to!”
Twaite went on with other more recent examples of alleged delays to operations due to not having insurance for players and having to wait for NHS treatments.
“I heard Mark Levers waited 3 months for a hernia operation on the NHS, Jonathon Weaver waiting several weeks for knee surgery on the NHS this season doesn’t exactly tell me that there’s an insurance policy in place to this day. Jonathan Philips was booked in for private surgery on his knee but when the club found out the cost, they again got him through the NHS as a much cheaper option. All these guys, in my opinion, were let down by their clubs. If the league had the correct medical insurance policy, they’d be booked in straight away then rehab getting them back on the ice as soon as possible, I mean both Jonathans are teams captains and GB internationals after all is said and done.
“Proof of medical insurance and what policy the Elite League actually have for its employed players has still yet to be confirmed after all these years. Players need to think about that every time they step foot on the ice that if such an accident was to happen that finished their career, what cover they have actually got under the Elite League’s policy? That’s if there’s one at all.”
It’s not just senior players that Twaite fears for “By all accounts junior hockey has made massive strides in recent years and it shows with some of the young talent coming through, not just those who eventually get the chance to shine at Elite League level but those who play in the EPL, ENL and junior leagues. These young guys must be treated with respect, must be fully insured and taken care of, just because they’re only 15-17 doesn’t matter. The club should treat everybody the same and not cherry pick with insuring the best players only. All players at all levels know that it’s a tough and rough sport, it’s part of what makes it exciting. But all we’re asking for is someone to take responsibility and help us out if something goes wrong out there during a game or training. At EIHA games we know there is insurance, as it’s listed on their site, but what about when those kids step up to EIHL games?”.
There was an Ice Hockey Players Association that disappeared a few years back, with no replacement forthcoming. It’s this and the lack of action from the governing bodies to work together to move the sport forward that seems to anger Twaite, and others like him, the most.
“I’ve been trying to make change for over 10 years since I retired and how I was treated as a Great Britain International has given me the inspiration to fight for justice. With my situation, along with that of Paul Berrington another former GB International player who also had his career cut short through injury, I have been in constant contact with MP’s Paddy Tipping, Mark Spencer, Minister of Sport Richard Cabourne, Gerry Sutcliffe and Hugh Robertson and my European MP Chris Heaton-Harris. I got my issue as far as a summit meeting called in 2006 but there was no representative from the Elite League turn up to face some strong questions how to take the sport forward. Eammon Convery, chair of the EIHL, had an excuse that his flight was delayed even though everybody got there the night before as it was a very important meeting! It seems like the EIHL don’t want anyone to interfere with the way the sport is being run at the moment.
“Neil Tunnicliffe, sports consultant and former director/consultant for a number of sports, wrote a report paper on ice hockey in February 2007. This was funded by the government at the time on the problems and issues ice hockey had. This report paper has been totally ignored and again those that chose to ignore the paper with facts and figures still find the same problems arise each and every season within the Elite League and others.” It’s not just insurance that is a problem within the EIHL “I truly believe if the Elite League was run correctly on a governing level, and taking into account the British players as there main assets, the sport could move forward and be a league to be proud of years to come. What I don’t agree with is when 3 referees call me and ask me how do they think they can get their money that’s owed by the league just this season! My answer was I’ve been fighting my own case 10 years, but I’ll fight for you too and help you get your 2 months salary paid up to date. After making a few calls and a statement on Facebook they came to an agreement with a little help from Paul Staniforth, a VAT inspector and ice hockey official, and as far as I know, everyone who was due money has now been paid”. It’s not all bad though is it Marc?
“No, not at all. I’ve heard good things about the set-ups in places like Swindon, Coventry, Chelmsford and elsewhere. It’s great to see teams like that working with clubs from other leagues to help players develop. In the last couple of years the likes of Aaron Nell and likely James Griffin will be moving from the EPL with the Swindon Wildcats up to the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze. Lower down the likes of Aaron Connolly, Liam Chong, Robbie Brown and others are all getting chances at EPL level and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see those guys getting full-time EPL contracts soon. Why are players like that likely to move up leagues and improve? Because someone gave them a chance and they took it. That’s the main thing we need to ensure happens now – giving players a chance. Not every chance or opportunity will work out, but there are talented players out there who can and should be playing higher up, but can’t for one reason or another. If we just made it easier for them…We need to make sure that we have as higher level as possible teams playing in all areas of the country. If you go south of Coventry, there is no Elite side anymore since the demise of the Racers a few seasons back. How are kids playing for the likes of Wightlink, Basingstoke, Romford, Lee Valley etc meant to play Elite hockey when they have 5-6hr round-trips for training and games? That’s just not possible in a sport that’s already expensive to partake in.”
Many fans have said since part 1 was published that it was just a bitter ex-player ranting and venting frustrations. Twaite commented on this too
“Yeah, maybe it is to an extent, but there are also plenty of things I’ve said that fans have been saying for years. The sport cannot afford to keep going the way it is. If it does, we won’t have a sport in a few years and we’ll be back full circle and full of non British players over here and teams going bust each summer. The fans need to start making their voices heard and taking a stance. There are some good fan groups out there working hard, but to be effective they need to be visibly seen to be doing things and getting things done. We’re not saying we need miracles, but just enough pressure on those at the top to say ‘look, this won’t work because of x, y, z’. There are plenty of good owners out there who do want the best for the sport as a whole and not just their team, but like with many instances in this sport, they don’t get their voices heard, as they don’t have the loudest voices or the most money.
“Nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. It’s just the people in the sport right now seem to make too many mistakes over and over again. With a strong independent governing body you wouldn’t have all this. They will be responsible for their actions and do things a little more professionally and be accountable to all stakeholders in the sport. I’ve seen what the likes of sledge hockey are doing in this country and they have an excellent set up going. A governing body assisting teams being set up. A pathway for the best to play against the best and be selected for GB. As well as that they have plans for where they want things to be in 5-10years time. This sort of thing seems to be an alien concept to many in the upright version of the sport.
I’m sure with the right people as the backbone in ice hockey in this country and with the structure right, we would all see a bigger and better Great British Ice Hockey League that we can all be proud of. That I think is what we all want to see, it’s just we all have different ways of getting there and too many are set in their ways and won’t compromise”.
In the final part of Marc’s interview, he discusses in depth the injury he sustained and how it came about and what came out of it in terms of change.
 
Pro Hockey News and the writer thank Marc Twaite for his time.
 Got a comment? pete.lewis@prohockeynews.com
The views expressed in this article are those of Marc Twaite and not necessarily those of the author or of Pro Hockey News.