While Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London will be ringing out with cheers when the Hockey Champions Trophy bursts into life in just a few days time, the national hockey centre offers much more than just a platform for elite hockey.
Another team who has made the Olympic Park venue it’s home is one of the youngest clubs in the UK – the London Royals.
The London Royals is the UK’s first and largest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) hockey club, although as a spokesperson points out:“We are completely open to those of all sexual orientations.”
The club was recently short-listed for club of the year at the England Hockey annual awards and, while it just failed to take the main prize, the nomination is an indication of how far the club has come in a very short time.
This year the club introduced its ‘meet n greet’ events, which have resulted in a further 56 players coming along to try the sport.
The London Royals also entered five teams into the EuroGames in Stockholm, with both the men’s and women’s teams returning with gold medals.
For one young member of the club, the Royals has offered more than just a chance to play hockey.
Sam Golding joined the Royals four years ago. He said: “After watching the Olympics in 2012, I was inspired to join a team sport. I'd grown up around hockey, making it the obvious choice. I went onto the internet and searched for LGBT hockey teams and I was fortunate to find that the Royals trained five minutes from my house every Sunday.
“I turned up one grey Sunday morning in February and was met with the warmest welcome. It was obvious that I had forgotten every single rule there was in hockey but that didn't matter. There was no judgement on my skill or me. Something quite different to most experiences in sport that I've had before.”
Hockey ran in Sam’s family; his dad, Paul, played indoor hockey for England and had played and coached many teams to a high level. Sam says that he and his dad had drifted apart, a situation due, in some respects, to Sam’s sexual orientation.
So it was a major step for both father and son when Paul agreed to become coach for the London Royals – a commitment that involves him travelling from his home in Suffolk to the Olympic Park.
“The LGBT hockey club has really helped us understand each others’ worlds,” says Sam. “I've been exposed to the world of sport and hockey and he's been exposed to people in the LGBT community.”
For Paul, the first session was a real eye-opener. “I just did not know what to expect, it was a great surprise. Whatever standard or age, there was enthusiasm, commitment and, most of all, a great welcome. Everybody wanted to improve at hockey and have fun, whatever the experiences they had in team sport before.
“The improvement was astonishing, so much so that they are already playing league hockey. The club is going from strength to strength. They welcome everybody. They stand for everything that is great in sport.”
As someone who had shunned team sports, finding the experience intimidating, Sam has found his hockey family. “All people want to do is enjoy themselves playing in a team sport. The Royals provide a platform that allows people who have faced challenges in entering sport to access it. It’s because of this dysfunctional hockey family that, despite my earlier best efforts to avoid it, I call myself a hockey player.”
The London Royals is the epitome of inclusive sport and, as such, is a great example of the FIH Hockey Revolution’s aim to generate millions more followers and participants in the game. To find out more about the Hockey Revolution, FIH's 10-year strategy aimed at making hockey a global game that inspires the next generation, click here.
To find out more about the London Royals, click here.
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