HKHAWS 15-16 Circular No. 9 - Premier and Division 1 league structure

To: Convenor of Affiliated Clubs (Women’s)

Cc: HKHAWS Committee

Dear Convenor,

After much deliberation it has been decided to adjust the league structure of Division 1 and the Premier. The goal of the committee is to improve the level of women's hockey in Hong Kong. In order to do so more players should be playing at the highest level and we would like to increase the Premier to 8 teams to fulfill this goal. This season will be a transition year and we would like to try something new.

The season will begin with 6 teams in the Premier, HKFC A and B, Shaheen A, Valley A, KCC A and HKCC A, and 10 in the 1st division. The Premier teams will play 2 rounds to start with and the 1st division will play one. After completion of these rounds the top 2 teams in the 1st division will be promoted to the Premier. At this time the Premier will be split into top four and bottom two plus the top two 1st division teams, and will play another round of games. Whether they play a second round after that is still to be decided. The 8 teams that are left in the 1st division will play their second round of games as normal. The 1st division will have a winner of the first round and a winner after two rounds.

Looking ahead to the 2016/17 season, the intention is to keep at least 8 teams. These teams could include the 8 teams finishing this season in the Premier or the winners and runners up of the Division 1 second round. A decision will be made by the WS Committee at the end of this season's league, based on the performance of the Premier and Div 1 teams. During this season the WS Committee will be consulting with the Convenors of all Clubs having potential 2016/17 Premier teams and developing strategies for strengthening the standard of hockey at the top level. We really hope that you will help us fulfill this goal and continue to maintain the spirit of the game. If you have any questions, ideas or feedback the committee is happy to discuss our long term goals with you.

I hope you all have a good season!

Kind regards,

Rhona Barr

Chairwoman

HKHA – Women’s Section