Santo Dominigo Club Development Workshop
4th, 5th and 6th December 2004

­The Club Development Workshop for the Americas of the Pan-American Hockey Federation (PAHF) was held from December 3 to 6, 2004, at Don Juan hotel in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.­
­Continuing with the club development programme set up by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the workshop was given by Argentines Ana M. Vinue-Romanelli (member of the PAHF Development Committee) and Jorge Querejeta (America's CDO).­
Wendy Stewart and Jesse Kular of Canada, Yvette Pederson and Asif Hosain of the US, Panama's Rogelio Medrano, Angel Rivas, Aamer Naveed Babar, Araceli Nolasco and Wendell Cabreras, all from the Dominican Republic, represented their respective countries at the event.­
Independently of the difference in languages - English and Spanish - the participants shared and took part in all scheduled activities. Romanelli presented her speech in English, which was complemented in Spanish by Querejeta, while the papers were presented in Spanish, being simultaneously translated into English by Ana.­
The workshop included all chapters of the Club Development Manual: how to create a club (or a better club), club management, youth development and “how to put it into practice”. The participants joined sessions on club structures, parents orientation session, junior recruitment sessions, the recruitment of volunteers, board structures, fundraising, sponsoring, marketing and promotion. On the pitch they followed a skills circuit, which was enjoyed by all!
It was an enriching experience and a challenge for all involved, thanks to the interaction with the different realities of each country. The participants agreed that the workshop was complete and very adaptable to their respective realities.­
­The contribution of the participants via very good ideas and suggestions not only enriched the previous proposals but also opened up a spectrum of possibilities never imagined before.­
­The proposal of club development is clearly focused on the sport's social integration and the family as a way of life. The suggestions were supported by both NGOs and government departments (as in the case of Canada and Panama), showing a positive effect from different angles.­
The interaction of the group was so deep that at the end of the workshop the need to keep continually in touch became clear, leading to a new meeting being scheduled to exchange experiences about what each participant would organize upon return to their respective countries.­
The practice session of the workshop was organized on Sunday 5 at the Santo Domingo National Stadium, with more than 50 junior players taking part with their coaches, receiving a class on stick skills from Jesse Kular and Asif Hosain.­
The enthusiasm continued on Monday 6 when Kular and Hosain were invited to participate in the national championship as judge and umpire, respectively.­
­At the end of the workshop, all the group was invited to the Opening Ceremony of the women's and men's National Superior Championship-Christmas 2004, at the National Stadium, with government, National Olympic Committee, PAHF and Dominican Federation officials also present alongside the sponsors.­
It was demonstrated in this workshop that it doesn't matter if countries are developed or developing or if they have different languages since taking part in these activities really paid off for them. It means creating a win-win situation.­
Ana M. Vinue de Romanelli-PAHF-DCC­
Jorge Querejeta - FIH-CDO-America.­

Text: Ana Vinue.­
Correction, edition and translation: Graciela H. Ortiz (Member of the PAHF Communications Board).­

December 4^th- First practical activity- I Agree /I disagree- Jorge Querejeta explaining to participants

Organizing working groups and giving guidelines for presentations

Rogelio Medrano (Panama) presents Club Structure

Wendy Stewart,Aamer Babar,Jorge Querejeta at working groups time

Wendell Cabreras, Asif Hosain, Rogelio Medrano, Angel Rivas -  Groups interaction

Wendell Cabreras, Asif Hosain, Rogelio Medrano, Angel Rivas supervised by conductor Ana V de Romanelli on First results

Yvette Pederson (USA)– Presenting her proposal on Board Structure

Wendell Cabreras, Asif Hosain, Jesse Kular, Jorge Querejeta, Wendy Stewart and Angel Rivas (back) listening Yvette’s presentation-Will it work?

December 5^th-Asif Hosain (USA) teaching drills at the practical session to young Santo Domingo hockey players.

Jesse Kular (Canada) teaching young players

Santo Domingo Senior Coach,Rogelio Medrano, Aamer Babar,Jesse Kular, Santo Domingo Junior Coach, Yvette Pederson, Asif Hosain, Jorge Querejeta, Wendy Stewart, Ana V.de Romanelli. Team organizer

Team organizer and young hockey players. We made it happen!!

Workshop participants, conductors, Dominican Hockey Federation board members and PAHF president Mr von Ondarza

Buenos Aires- Argentina - February 2005

Santo Domingo Club Development conductors Ana V de Romanelli and Jorge Querejeta working together on the WHO article