Though it came as little surprise, Rob Sheekey of Goulburn was recently confirmed as Hockey ACT's new chief executive officer.
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Sheekey has been the acting CEO since June, but was thrilled to officially accept the role now.
"It's kind of surreal, in a way, that everyone else knows now," Sheekey said.
"[Otherwise] it's pretty much business as usual. I'm proud to be offered the position full-time by the board."
As he has had six months to prepare for the role, Sheekey does not expect much to change with his full-time appointment, but he said it was "always a shock" to accept the position.
"There's always some learning curves," he said.
"You have things you're not really prepared for and it's a learning experience, but that's the great thing about the interim title over the last few months. From a hockey point of view, I feel very confident I bring a skillset, along with the great team [at Hockey ACT], that can help build the sport."
As he has worked with Hockey ACT since 2003, Sheekey is aware of the challenges he will face while trying to further ingrain hockey in Canberra, which is already saturated with a number of high-profile sporting competitions.
"Our participation is in a really good place. It's been steady and that's going to be a focus of mine," he said.
"Growing hockey not only in Canberra but in the surrounding regions is going to be a big focus, to see if we can increase our membership numbers in what is a really difficult market.
"Here in the ACT, we have so many large competitions here, so we're really up against it. But we've got some really exciting things like Hockey One to push the case forward and help build the profile of hockey."
As a longstanding member of the Goulburn hockey community, Sheekey has had an ideal view of the relationship between hockey in Canberra and the surrounding regions.
Another of his goals is to shore up the vastly-improved relations in these regions and ensure players are given as much opportunity as possible.
"I think one of the really pleasing aspects of hockey is that we're working collaboratively better than we have previously," he said.
"Part of my job will be working with Hockey NSW. Unfortunately, in the past, we've let relations break down over borders, and some kids have been lost in the cracks."
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