Michael Gibney is one of the world's hockey’s heroes, taking his love of the game to one of the growing hubs of hockey activity – the South American country of Chile.
With the Hockey Junior World Cup taking place in Santiago, Chile between 24 November and 4 December and both the men’s and women’s national senior sides storming into Round 2 of the Hockey World League, the sport's development in Chile is progressing fast.
Michael moved to Chile from Great Britain when he was 25 years old having played hockey for Old Silhillians Hockey Club since he was just 11. The move across the seas was precipitated by an invitation to help train young players at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago. As Michael says: “That was where I began to see the fanaticism and passion that drives hockey in Chile.”
Michael moved from Santiago to Concepcion three years ago. The city is south-west of Santiago, in central Chile, and Michael was struck immediately by the difference between access to hockey opportunities in the capital city compared to access in the surrounding regions.
“There is no doubt there are important hockey clubs in Concepcion and the surrounding area, with dedicated trainers and there is a growing hockey legacy in Chile but the quantity of games per month was quite depressing. The same teams played each other quite regularly.
“There has clearly been an increase in recent years to help push the quantity of games played but one of the main issues is the necessity to travel to either Santiago or Viña del Mar in long journeys to only play two games. The time and cost of these journeys create a barrier that essentially stops the growth of hockey.”
Determined to do something about the situation, Michael and fellow hockey enthusiast, Christian Cifuentes, put their heads together to come up with a solution. Michael recalls, “The Liga Bio Bio was created over a cup of coffee.”
The hockey duo got together with local hockey contacts and soon eight club teams and three university teams were initiated into a local league – The Liga Bio Bio. All the matches were played on the school fields at Saint John’s School and in September 2015, eight months after the league was created, the University of Concepcion was crowned inaugural league champions.
A second season saw the league grow in size with teams from Los Angeles – a city that is an hour’s drive from Concepcion – also joining the hockey party. The league continues to grow.
Michael says: “This season, we have been astounded by the inclusion of teams from Temuco, which is four hours from Concepcion, which has brought more competition to the league and started to show that hockey is an important past time for many people in the southern regions of Chile.”
In addition to the league, there is also a monthly Liga Bio Bio Festival for young players. More than 100 youngsters from seven schools turn up for the event, ensuring, as Michael points out, that hockey is played by the next generation.
Liga Bio Bio will continue to grow and Michael and Christian’s vision is for the local hockey structure to spread to regional leagues and competitions. “We would love to one day become part of a regional league set-up with finals being played with teams in Santiago and also opening up the reality of playing more games and developing links with more communities to ensure better access to hockey in Chile.”
This project is very much in-line with International Hockey Federation's 10-year Hockey Revolution strategy, specifically in line with one of its Big Goals to increase the degree of professionalism in the sport. For more information about the Hockey Revolution, click here.
For more information about hockey in Chile, visit their National Association's website: chilehockey.cl
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