It is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing away of Peter Darke.
Peter had a major influence on hockey in South Africa and the careers of thousands of their top hockey players.
In the late 1970’s and early 80’s, Peter served on the South African Men’s Hockey Association(SAMHA) and the SA Hockey Union(SAHU), the umbrella body with the SA Women’s Hockey Association (SAWHA) when mini hockey was introduced into South Africa.
In the late 1970’s SAMHA had resolved to establish mini hockey in South Africa to strengthen and broaden the base of the game. Under Peter’s supervision, Cees Tania, the top Dutch coach, considered by many as the father of mini hockey, relocated to South Africa to help implement the roll out of the programme.
The efforts of Peter and Cees were immeasurable and the top players who learnt the basics of the game via mini hockey before going on to play international hockey, include Gregg Clark, Craig Jackson and Greg Nicol.
Steve Jaspan, Chair of FIH’s High Performance and Coaching Advisory Panel paid tribute toPeter: “A team man, whom I knew could be thoroughly depended upon, he graced the South African Hockey Executive for close to 10 years. We won’t easily forget his dry sense of humour nor his massive contribution to the game in South Africa. “
Our thoughts and condolences are with the Darke family.
