ABOUT THE CLUB
Mission Statement
Founded in 1895 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, our club offers a full range of opportunities for men, women, boys and girls to enjoy field hockey at all levels of play. Vancouver Hawks members are regularly selected to regional, provincial and national teams. Whether you wish to play, coach or umpire, we have a place for you on one of our many competitive or recreational teams.
Developing lifelong involvement in field hockey
Through:
- High quality coaching
- Variety of programming
- Personal development opportunities
- Fun playing hockey and building social connections
We Value:
- Inclusion
- Creativeness and innovation
- Pride in personal achievement and in the club
- Sportsmanship
- Fitness and Health
Purpose
The purpose of the organization is to develop and maintain opportunities for lifelong involvement in field hockey for the residents of Vancouver.
The organization does this by:
- Providing programming for all ages, genders, and abilities, throughout the year;
- Providing development opportunities for players, coaches, and officials; and
- Engaging with individuals and other organizations in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, and Canada to build the sport of field hockey.
Vancouver Hawks Primer
Q. What is 'field hockey'?
A. It is an athletic non-contact stick and ball goal scoring sport played by teams of 11 players on an outdoor artificial surface. It is the world’s third most popular field sport. A number of countries boast professional leagues. There are highly ranked teams from nations on all continents.
Q. Where does Canada stand in the world?
A. Canadian women are ranked 21st in the world while the Men just elevated themselves into the top 10 at the recent World Cup.
Q. What is the Canadian Field Hockey system?
A. Field Hockey Canada is the national body with each province having its own local body. In B.C., this if Field Hockey BC (FHBC). Varsity Field Hockey is played at many Canadian universities by women and men.
Q. How does the Hawks integrate into the national organisation?
A. The Hawks are the second largest Field Hockey Club in Canada. Nine of the current Hawks Men's Premier team are national or ex-national players and last year 35 Hawks represented their country from Junior to Golden Oldies.
Q. What is the playing membership of the Hawks
A. Each year the Hawks play a number of separate seasons, Spring league, senior league, fall league and an indoor field hockey season that spans through fall to spring. In total there are throughout the year some 1200 boys and girls, men and women playing on various teams in various leagues. Players ages range from 6 to 82 years old. This corresponds to (approximately) 13 teams in the senior league, 7 teams in the junior fall league, 4 teams in the indoor sessions, 48 teams in the spring league.
Q. Where is the Hawks home field?
A. The Hawks are unable to play all home games on one field, three fields are needed. Approximately 40% of home games are played at Eric Hamber AT field, 40% at Wright field (UBC), the remainder at Crofton House School (girls/women only) and Andy Livingstone (soccer surface).
Q. How successful is the Hawks organization?
A. The Hawks Club was founded in 1895. It is not unusual for three generations to be involved with the club. Hawks players go on to represent Canada, play at university level and in professional leagues outside of Canada. Senior sides run by other clubs within Vancouver (Meralomas, Jokers etc) are primarily formed with ex-Hawks players. Hawks teams compete successfully in tournaments in BC and internationally. We host touring teams and send touring teams to other countries. We also host exchange players seeking experience in North America.