Gympie and Districts Hockey Association strikes back

After the glory days of the 80s and 90s, membership had dropped away until clubs were forced to close.

But with typical Queensland persistence, and thanks to people like regional coaching director Ben Fitzpatrick, loyal hockey enthusiasts came together, and the sport is now back with a whack. 

All players are combined into the one club - Gympie and Districts Hockey Association - which creates four teams across all age groups for males and females.

Always thinking about how to improve the club and benefit the game, Ben came across Good Sports on social media one day and decided to look into it.

“I stumbled across it on social media one day and thought we should be a part of this,” Ben said. “It’s a good social and community-based family club. We thought Good Sports was a good fit for us.”

A short time later, following a quick and easy accreditation process, the club was not only signed up to the free program, but was also $1000 better off after winning a join-up competition running at the time. 

Good Sports a great fit for Gympie and Districts Hockey Association

Ben said the club already ticked nearly all the boxes around player welfare and behavior policies.

“A lot of the things Good Sports advertise and talk about, we already do. Like the alcohol and the smoking policy, and even mental health and bullying. We try to get on top of things like that and educate our members, which you have to these days.”

“We’re always trying to improve our culture and the behavior of our members, and I’m pretty pleased to say we’ve already got a good culture here. We want to make sure its welcoming for new players and our existing members as well.”

Ben also said the Good Sports signage and merchandise helped bring important messages to members’ attention and helped keep everyone aware of the program.