Are Ulster players being encouraged to declare for GB?

Fears are growing within Irish hockey circles that talented young Ulster-based players may be lost to Great Britain. An item posted on the website of the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association (IHA) this week has sparked concerns that the northern province’s young players are being encouraged to follow the lead of former Irish international Iain Lewers in declaring for Great Britain. The item, headlined ‘Beijing may be over, but London 2012 beckons for Ulster’s U18’, outlines the northern province’s participation in an U18 tournament in front of Great Britain selectors scouting for the 2012 Olympics.

They will play England, Scotland and Wales at the UK Schools Games in Bristol, a tournament that replicates Olympic conditions, including spectacular opening and closing ceremonies. The article states that “for the selected boys, this is an opportunity to showcase their talents on a national level in front of Great Britain selectors who are using this tournament as a chance to identify players for the London 2012 Olympic Games.” A spokesperson for the IHA said the national body cannot yet clarify its position on the matter: “We cannot comment on this issue until we have all the facts.” The Ulster squad competing at this weekend’s games at the University of West England includes a number of players who recently helped Ireland win the Four Nations Trophy against the same opposition in Cardiff. Under eligibility guidelines established in the early 1990s by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and International Hockey Federation (FIH), all athletes affiliated to the IHA, who comply with international eligibility rules, can play for Ireland. Should they wish to represent Great Britain, Northern Irish-born players must first switch allegiances to England, Scotland or Wales. However, players who have already been capped by Ireland must spend three years in the international hockey wilderness before making the move. To this end, Lewers, who has declared for England, cannot return to international hockey until July 2011.

Senior figures within the game believe the issue runs deeper than Lewers’ defection last month, and there are private fears of losing young talent which Irish hockey has invested time and money in nurturing. Aside from Lewers, the highest-profile defection in recent years is ex-Lisnagarvey hotshot Chris Gregg, who represented Ireland up to U18 but switched allegiance to England prior to being capped at senior level. The issue of which country Northern Irish players should ply their trade for has repeatedly arisen in recent months. In June, Northern Ireland’s Sports Minister Gregory Campbell lent his support to controversial calls from Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) colleague Alastair Ross for the establishment of a Northern Ireland hockey team to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Mr Ross, who is an MLA for East Antrim and a former member of the management committee of Lisnagarvey, also believes Northern Irish players should not be prevented from representing Great Britain at the Olympics. Belfast-born HGC star Lewers recently told Southern Fried that a belief that top-level structures in Irish hockey were “somewhat lacking” was a primary motivation behind his decision to declare for Great Britain.