England Hockey 5c supports gender equality

Hockey 5s finals at Wembley SSE Arena will see men's semi-finals and finals played while only women's finals contested.

England Hockey, the national governing body, has sought to defend gender equality across the sport after two Canterbury players spoke out over the scheduling of this weekend’s Hockey 5s Championship at Wembley.

Although Bowdon Hightown will play East Grinstead in the women's final on Sunday at the SSE Arena, the semi-finals were held in Kettering two weeks ago.

Conversely, the men’s semi-finals and finals will be played at Wembley where holders East Grinstead take on Reading, while Sevenoaks face rivals Canterbury.

“Winners and through to the semi finals at Kettering! If we were men it would be Wembley though. #noequality,” tweeted Susie Rowe, whose Canterbury side were beaten by Bowdon Hightown in Kettering.

Her team-mate, Nikki Lloyd, added on Twitter: “Top 4 men’s teams making it to Wembley. Shocking the women still have to playoff & only 2 teams to make it.”

However, the Wembley scheduling is partly down to timings, given that Sky Sports has broadcast the indoor showpiece in the past.

“We pride ourselves on balance of portfolio across each gender,” an England Hockey spokesperson said.

England Hockey added that it was “already bringing the 2016 women’s Champions Trophy and the 2018 women’s World Cup to England”.

The women’s final at this summer’s EuroHockey Championships at Lee Valley will be the culmination of the event, while the men's final, which has already sold out, will be played 24 hours'

At Wembley this weekend, East Grinstead will be looking to add a seventh straight indoor title and will travel alongside the women’s side, who advanced to their first final.

Niall Stott, the East Grinstead captain, said: “We want to keep winning the title for as long as we can. We set the record last year with six consecutive indoor titles and that’s absolutely our aim again for 2015.”