Clear Vision and Strategy

At the 75th General Assembly on Saturday in Villach, the new President of the Austrian Ice Hockey Federation, Dr. Klaus Hartmann, defeated his predecessor Mag. Gernot Mittendorfer by twelve votes, securing a “home victory” at the Congress Center. “Inclusion instead of exclusion” was the triumphant slogan once the result became known.

“Every single part of the Austrian ice hockey family matters to us. With heart and passion, we want to achieve a positive future for ice hockey in Austria. We want to be among the best nations in women’s and men’s hockey. That is why we have aligned our strategy accordingly when it comes to elite sport. In terms of grassroots sport, we want to appeal to a broad base of children and young people with our new recruitment concept,” promises the new President Dr. Hartmann, who is committed to taking care of all areas of the sport. “Visions without actions remain dreams; actions without visions waste time; actions and visions combined can change the world.”

At his side as Vice-Presidents are Dr. Nicolas Stockhammer, Günther Ropatsch and Mag. Yasmin Sarina Stepina, who gained years of experience on the ice as a player herself and will now become the first woman within ÖEHV to hold a position on the Executive Committee. The new arbitration tribunal comprises Dr. Peter Klumpp, Mag. Hannes Arneitz and Dr. Alexander Tomanek.

“Anyone who has ever seen the joy of children and young people on the ice understands my burning passion for this wonderful sport. It is simply close to my heart to pass on to our children the opportunities that sport has given me over all these years and to remain loyal to ice hockey through new challenges,” says Mag. Stepina as she looks forward to her role as Vice-President for youth hockey. “Ice hockey is full of passion, strength, emotion and dynamism. I would not want to miss a single ‘ice hockey day’ in my life, even if there have not always been only highs. Ice hockey is not just a game. Ice hockey is an emotion. An emotion for women and men, for children and the young at heart. It is both grassroots and elite sport. That is what we want to experience together in the coming years.”

“Our team will tackle these major tasks with heart and passion. We are an ice hockey family, where fighting spirit, goals and team spirit are particularly important. Together, we must find a way to lead Austrian ice hockey to long-term success in all areas,” says Ropatsch, who will bring his many years of coaching experience to bear on strategy development for Para ice hockey as well as women’s and men’s hockey.

For Dr. Stockhammer, a successful player and currently a lecturer at the University of Vienna, the focus is on the sustainable professionalisation and qualitative improvement of existing structures in Austrian ice hockey, both at grassroots level and in the elite sport segment: “We need to bring the ice hockey family closer together, overcome divisions and pull in the same direction. This involves reducing bureaucratic hurdles, creating synergies where possible and acting with a focus on success. We have a clear vision and a strategy of togetherness that we want to and will implement. The objective is for ÖEHV to create the framework conditions that will make ice hockey in Austria even more attractive and bring all ice hockey enthusiasts along with us. Austrian ice hockey should attain an outstanding position in the national sporting landscape and be able to compete internationally as well – not only on the ice. We will dedicate all our energy and work to this.”

In the coming days, the newly elected ÖEHV Executive Committee will meet for its constituent meeting and hold its first talks with the staff at the Vienna office.