EPTMy project is pretty simple. I go to places and teach/play hockey for/with communities/teams, of course there's a catch in my plan so its unusual and different. Hockey is a resource intensive game, its also not a game that has the same kind of vision as other sports. While Basketball and American Football are currently trying to break into other markets, the IIHF is the only group that is open to allowing other countries any kind of real chance at hockey. What this means is that hockey being played in countries that otherwise shouldn't have hockey is an oddity. The sport isn't brought there by promoters looking to expand into a market, the sport only comes when people who are passionate about the game bring it and others accept it. Hockey is a flashy game, but there isn't much flash to most of these communities - they are small, tightly woven fabrics of people whose relationships revolve around the unlikely existence of the game they play. In some cases that means that hockey is a tiny sport played by a small community that is extremely passionate about the sport, and it others it means that hockey is actually quite popular but the international community turns a blind eye to the community. My project's goal is to open up the hockey community to the fact that hockey doesn't look like it used to. The top 5 countries (USA, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden) are often the only countries that hockey fans care about, despite the fact that talent and love for the game has spread far beyond those countries. The project is a bit more complicated than this because it includes a country that is dominant in hockey for comparison or a team that should be good but the sport has floundered for some reason, but its the main gist.
I have the letter written and I have my personal statement 75% done. I've been doing a lot of the leg work on my own, but I'd be more than lying if I haven't gotten a lot of help along the way from friends. Today I received a yes from the best hockey team in Spain and a yes from the Moroccan hockey authority and I could not have gotten those answers without the help of my friends in Morocco and Spain. I am still awaiting answers from Finnish teams and for my letter to be translated to Czech and Danish. I have two countries down and I need to get three more. I'm still awaiting responses from some of the teams. Everywhere I go, I want to be practicing with a team or talking with a community, I don't want to be going in cold turkey. My goal is to practice (not get paid, unless they want me to play for the team for real) with teams and play within communities, my goal is impossible to fulfill without the help of others quite honestly.
So this is where I need help for the beautiful people at TL. So far I've applied to teams in Spain, Morocco, Malaysia, Finland, and Argentina. I will be applying to teams in Japan, Korea, China, Bahrain, Cambodia, Denmark, The Czech Republic, Russia, and possibly to Brazil and Colombia if it makes sense to do so. I've gotten people to translate my letter into a few different languages and get into contact with players and organizations elsewhere. The chances I win this award are slim to be quite honest and I need all the help I can get. Even if I don't I'd still probably go through with some of it. I want to get into contact with people who live in Japan, Korea, or China as well as people who can write Kanji, Hangul, or Mandarin. I'd like to get into contact with people who know about hockey communities abroad across the world through the people who frequent this website. Anyone with information, or who can help in any way would be enormously appreciated. I realize this is a lot to ask, but I really want to win this award, and I can't do it alone.
Right now Asian countries are my top priority, but they are not the only priority. I have Europe and Africa down. Should I be unable to get a response from Latin America I will increase one of the other regions on my list to two countries and not one. Anyone who can help me, again, I would greatly appreciate it. This project has taught me that while I can do a lot of the leg work, projects like these are impossible to guarantee without help.
thanks guys
