Chichester Personal Trainer

LETS NOT SLEEP WALK INTO LOSING OUR SPORT
This is the reality…
Hockey in England is not declining in demand—it is being designed out of the system through the loss and conversion of suitable pitches..

📉 What’s actually happening

Across the country, sand-based and water-based astro pitches—the only surfaces suitable for competitive hockey—are:

* Being converted to 3G football pitches
* Lost during school and council redevelopment
* Left to degrade without reinvestment, then replaced with football-first facilities

This is not isolated. It is systemic and accelerating.
⚠️ Why this matters (impact)

Every pitch lost has a cascade effect:

* ❌ Fewer training slots → clubs capped or turning players away
* ❌ Junior pathways shrink → long-term talent loss
* ❌ Women’s and Masters hockey hit hardest → reduced access to peak times
* ❌ Increased travel → dropout in grassroots participation

➡️ One pitch lost doesn’t remove one team—it can destabilise an entire local hockey ecosystem.

📊 The structural imbalance

This is not a fair fight:

* Football can use 3G surfaces almost anywhere
* Hockey requires specific, non-negotiable surfaces
* Funding streams (via The Football Association and partners) heavily support 3G rollout
* Equivalent, scalable funding for hockey surfaces is limited

➡️ Planning and funding decisions are unintentionally excluding hockey

⸻

🧠 The critical moment (why now)

Most UK astro pitches built between 2005–2012 are reaching end-of-life

At resurfacing, decision-makers choose:

* ✅ Replace like-for-like (retain hockey)
* ❌ Convert to 3G (lose hockey permanently)

👉 This is the tipping point—and hockey is losing it

⸻

📍 What this looks like on the ground

* Schools removing hockey-compatible surfaces from community use
* Councils prioritising higher-revenue 3G installs
* Clubs squeezed onto fewer pitches → unsustainable scheduling
* Regions already reporting access bottlenecks and player loss

Please save our PITCHES!!🏑🌟🏑

Sign the Petition Preserve traditional sports pitches for inclusivity and the environment

Save our hockey pitches!
This is for hockey - the most inclusive and multi-generational sport in the country! 🏑🌟🏑

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