Three members of Hockey Ireland’s Game Changers Initiative travelled to Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium during the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup, to take part in the FIH Young Athlete & Ambassadors Programme, showcasing innovative ideas aimed at creating a stronger, more inclusive and engaging future for hockey.
The Young Athlete & Ambassadors Programme provides a platform for emerging leaders within the hockey community to present project ideas and contribute to the development of the sport. Participants take part in presentations, discussions and collaborative sessions, developing their leadership, communication and project development skills while sharing ideas with peers from across the hockey world.
Representing Ireland, Caoilin Dunne, Tom Simms and Ellie Andrew each submitted projects and had the opportunity to present their ideas to their peers and a panel of FIH judges.
Caoilin Dunne – Bridging the Gap
Caoilin Dunne presented “Bridging the Gap: Supporting Girls Through Key Transitions”, a project focused on creating opportunities for girls to stay active, connected and confident through hockey.
Caoilin identified the significant challenges facing girls as they move through key stages of education and adolescence, with one in five Irish girls dropping out of sport between primary and secondary school and 49% dropping out during adolescence. Her project seeks to tackle these drop-off points by creating clearer pathways and stronger connections within hockey.
Building on her work with Perform Hockey Academy, which currently provides hockey in a supportive and unpressurised environment for more than 200 girls, Caoilin’s project explores how digital tools could help bridge the gap between school, club and university hockey. A key element is the development of an online platform where players can find clubs and opportunities to stay involved in hockey, whether through playing, coaching, umpiring or supporting the sport. The ambition is to make it easier for girls to remain connected to hockey, even when moving to university, changing location or entering a new stage of life.
Caoilin’s project went on to be named the winning project at the programme, earning the opportunity to work with FIH to develop the idea further.
Tom Simms – FIH Songbird
Tom Simms presented “FIH Songbird”, a youth-led communications concept designed to make hockey easier to understand and engage with.
Tom’s project recognises that hockey is a complex global system of federations, competitions, programmes, pathways and people. While the opportunities within the sport are extensive, they are not always easy for individuals to understand or navigate.
FIH Songbird proposes a youth-led communications team that would connect people inside FIH with the wider hockey community, beginning with the questions that people actually want answered.
The proposed pilot would bring together young people to identify important questions, connect with the people within FIH who can answer them, and create accessible long-form conversations that could then be developed into shorter videos, written answers and FAQs.
At its heart, Tom’s project is about creating a simple pathway from understanding to engagement, contribution and ultimately growth – helping people see where they fit within hockey and what they can do next.
Ellie Andrew – Breaking Boundaries, Building Belonging
Ellie Andrew presented “Breaking Boundaries, Building Belonging”, an ambitious proposal to develop Hockey4All across Ulster and create more opportunities for young people with disabilities to participate, progress and belong within hockey.
Ellie highlighted the current gap in provision, with no regular Hockey4All sessions or clubs offering Hockey4All in Ulster, despite clear interest in the programme. Her vision is to build a sustainable Hockey4All ecosystem connecting schools, clubs, coaches, umpires, teachers, volunteers, families and wider hockey communities.
The three-year project would focus first on building, then growing, and ultimately embedding Hockey4All within Ulster Hockey. Plans include school outreach, hockey sessions, coach and umpire education, pilot camps and competitions, stronger links between schools and clubs, and ultimately embedding Hockey4All within Ulster Hockey’s structures.
Ellie’s ambition is simple but powerful – to make hockey a sport where every young person has the chance to play, enjoy the game, find their place and progress.
The participation of Caoilin, Tom and Ellie at the FIH Young Athlete & Ambassadors Programme is a fantastic reflection of the ideas, leadership and ambition emerging through Hockey Ireland’s Game Changers Initiative.
Their three projects demonstrated three different ways of growing the game – supporting girls to remain involved, making hockey more accessible and understandable, and creating more inclusive pathways for Hockey4All. Most importantly, all three showed what can happen when young people are given the opportunity to identify challenges within their sport and develop their own ideas for change.
Congratulations to Caoilin, Tom and Ellie on representing Hockey Ireland on the international stage – and a special congratulations to Caoilin on being selected as the programme’s winning projects.
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