She is now one of the two candidates for the position of FIH President, the elections to take place next month.

planetfieldhockey’s Andrew Griffiths talked to her at Mona Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, while watching the Women’s Americas Cup.

Andrew Griffiths: Why are you here in Jamaica?
Els Van Breda Vriesman: I’m here to watch the games. (Women’s Americas Cup, qualifying tournament for the World Cup and World Cup Qualifier).

AG: What do you think of the games?
EVB: I am very surprised to see Uruguay playing so well – they have really come from nowhere. This was worth my trip here, just to see Uruguay play. And I also think hockey will take off here (Jamaica) now – it is great that they have an artificial pitch.

AG: What do you think of the disparity between the best and worst teams here?
EVB: It is a problem. The continent is so big, there are always problems with getting teams to tournaments. But we are getting more artificial pitches – and we have to accept the problem before we grow up – there is the same disparity in Europe.

AG: What about the idea of having two pools of teams. (A recent proposal to the Pan-American Hockey Federation Competitions Committee has suggested splitting the teams into two groups)
EVB: It will not help to change to an A and B pool. Because the teams like Uruguay need the competition to improve. It is also kind of a gift for Argentina to have their full team here. They know they will win, and they know the big disparity. But they want to be champions, and also that they have to do something for the development of hockey in America.

International Hockey

AG: How did you get to where you are in hockey?
EVB: Well, I was coaching junior teams at my club, and became a club representative. The Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB) asked me to join the Board, but I said no initially. But two years later they asked me again, and my husband said, ‘If they ask you twice, you should do it,’ and so I decided to go for it. I have moved on from there, to the FIH.

AG: How has your experience been working in the FIH?
EVB: I have enjoyed it tremendously. I noticed that you can really make things happen – especially on the women’s side of the game. The women’s game was far behind the men when I joined – they had no Champions Trophy, for example. But now they are almost level with the men.
   One of my goals has been to put  women on the map as much as the men. I think we are almost there – the only thing is to get two more teams at the Olympics – to increase the number of women’s teams from 10 to 12. Hopefully this will happen in Athens.

AG: Is this likely to happen?
EVB: It is a matter of the IOC deciding that they can host 32 more athletes in the village – other sports may have to reduce their numbers. It is difficult – handball is also asking the same. The IOC will evaluate your sport – have you done your promotion, etc – we have to file a report, and it will be considered next May. The other thing is that it is possible that Greece doesn’t have a women’s team taking part in the tournament. It is just a possibility right now.

AG: You are a candidate for the FIH presidency right now – the election is in April. What are your goals?
EVB: My real targets are to change the atmosphere and administration of the FIH. To work more as a team. And a crucial thing is better marketing. We are very poor at marketing. In Holland, the marketing has been very good. We need to invest more in marketing and television before the rewards are given.
    For example, we could set up our own television production for of hockey events, possibly for small events – the big events are no problem, but the small events are sometimes too expensive for small countries.
    In Holland, we started off by paying to be on TV every Sunday. And now we get money from having the game on TV. But the target is not so much to get the money, but to get on television. In Holland hockey is on TV just before the soccer, so it is prime time. This helps to attract people to the game – it is still growing there – 140,000 people playing now, and over 400 artificial pitches.

AG: What are your thoughts on hockey coverage on the Internet?
EVB: It is a new experience and it will help countries who cannot afford to get hockey on television. It helps tremendously to let people know what is going on. It is even better on TV – but if that’s not possible then (the Internet) is second best. Actually, you cannot compare, especially with the interactivity – you don’t have that on TV.

AG: What about the FIH’s use of the Internet?
EVB: We have been a little sloppy with this. Our own website has not been well developed, and I want to change that, and have an active program. For example we need to promote our development programs – we could have our second-hand artificial pitches for sale – there are many things. This is one of the things on my platform – to do more with the Internet.

For more information about Els Van Breda Vriesman's campaign for FIH President, visit her official website at: http://www.knhb.nl/elsforpresident