Social media, even though a new phenomenon, has gained much interest in the last decade and has been a frequent topic of researchers. Sport marketing has also been a popular topic in academia, especially in North America. This thesis will address the use of social media in Nordic ice hockey clubs, including the exploration of their social media strategies and effectiveness. Previous research has not concentrated on ice hockey in Europe, nor has it examined their social media strategies. The study is seen to be necessary, especially given the large differences in the European and North American sport cultures and business models. The research was conducted through a qualitative multiple-case study by gathering data from both secondary sources as well as through semi-structured face-to-face interviews carried out with ten ice hockey clubs from both Sweden and Finland. The questions of the interviews were formed by the concepts derived from previous literature and the authors’ own experience. The results indicate that Nordic ice hockey clubs are still partly struggling with their social media strategies and that with the implementation of a clear strategy, including segmentation, the clubs would be able to take advantage of the relationship marketing and branding possibilities offered by social media. In line with this, the authors argue that the social media strategies of ice hockey clubs are not as effective as they could be and suggest further actions for managers to achieve higher social media effectiveness.

Thesis (M Sport Sc (Sport Science)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to research and document the origins and activities of the University of Stellenbosch Women's hockey club. The core of this study is therefore about the development of the Women's hockey club from 1903 to 1992. Although a lot has been written about sport at the University, most of the information was not preserved and therefore there are gaps in their sport history. This study focuses on sport history and therefore the historic-scientific method was implemented using only primary resources such as the minutes of meetings, reports and interviews with players. The introduction focuses on the development of world hockey and the different forms of the sport that was been played in different countries. Followed by an overview of the development of hockey sticks and ball as well as the evolution of hockey in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The development of women’s hockey in England and the USA as well as the International Federation for Women’s Hockey Association (IFWHA) was discussed. The second chapter is about the history of women’s hockey in South Africa especially the origins of women’s clubs and associations. After that the interprovincial tournament was explained. The All South African and Rhodesia Women’s Hockey Association, their constitution and the South African Hockey Union were discussed. Attention was also given to the Springbok-emblem and tours to and from South Africa. The third chapter explains the methodology of the study as well as the purpose, formulation of the problem, method of research and evaluation of the resources. The fourth chapter discusses the club’s beginning from 1903 to 1958, as well as their hockey fields. The reason why those particular dates was used was because there was no minutes or reports for those years. Therefore there had to be relied on secondary resources. The history of the women’s hostels is explained in chapter five as well as the results of the hostel hockey. The first-years-tournament, hostel league and the Prestige-tournament also formed part of hostel hockey. In chapter six the inter-university tournaments from 1940 is discussed. After each tournament a SAU-team (Protea-team) was chosen to tour overseas or in South Africa. The origins of indoor hockey are described in chapter seven followed by the indoor hockey league at Stellenbosch. In chapter eight the club and league activities are discussed from 1959 to 1992. Individual activities and school camps are highlighted that were presented by the Women's club. Attention was also given to tours and tournaments which the teams undertook and a few coaches that stood out from the rest. Finally the social aspect of the club was examined. The top achievers of the Women’s club, who were all SA-players, are discussed in chapter nine. The study is concluded with a summary of all the important facts and findings. Appendix A to G covers all the SAU-players, players who received sport-colors, the national tournament results, coaches, club awards and provincial players. In 1992 the men’s and women’s hockey clubs merged and became known as the US-hockey club. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die studie was om die oorsprong en gebeure van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch se Dameshokkieklub na te vors en te dokumenteer. Die kern van die studie handel dus oor die ontwikkeling van die Dameshokkieklub vanaf 1903 tot 1992. Alhoewel daar wel oor die universiteit se sport geskryf is, is die meeste van die klubs se inligting nie bewaar nie en daarom bestaan daar nog groot leemtes in die sportgeskiedenis. Omdat die onderhawige onderwerp sportgeskiedkundig van aard is, is die histories-wetenskaplike metode gevolg. Primêre bronne was hoofsaaklik notules, bestuurs- en voorsittersverslae asook onderhoude met oud-spelers. Die inleiding verskaf ’n oorsig van die ontwikkeling van hokkie regoor die wêreld en die verskillende vorms wat deur verskillende lande gespeel is. Daarna is daar aan die ontwikkeling van die hokkiestok en -bal aandag gegee asook hokkie gedurende die negentiende en twintigste eeu. Die ontwikkeling van vrouehokkie in Engeland en die VSA, asook die Internasionale Federasie vir Vrouehokkieverenigings (IFWHA) word bespreek. Die tweede hoofstuk handel oor die geskiedenis van vrouehokkie in Suid-Afrika. Daar word aandag aan die oorsprong van vroueklubs en –verenigings geskenk, sowel as aan interprovinsiale toernooie wat gespeel is. Die “All South African and Rhodesia Women’s Hockey Association” en hulle grondwet asook die Suid-Afrikaanse Hokkie-unie word aangeraak. Daarna word die ontstaan van die Springbokembleem vir hokkie bespreek asook toere wat na en van Suid-Afrika plaasgevind het. Die derde hoofstuk handel oor die metodiek van die studie. Dit dek die doel, probleemstelling, navorsingsmetode en die evaluering van die bronne. Die vierde hoofstuk handel oor die vroeë geskiedenis van die Dameshokkieklub vanaf 1903 tot 1958, asook die ontstaan van die hokkievelde. Die rede vir hierdie afbakening, is omdat die notules en verslae vir daardie jare ontbreek en daar dus op sekondêre bronne staatgemaak moes word. Die geskiedenis van die dameskoshuise word in hoofstuk vyf bespreek en daarna word die uitslae opgesom. Die eerstejaarstoernooi, koshuisliga en Prestige-toernooi vorm almal deel van koshuishokkie. In hoofstuk ses word inter-universitêre toernooie vanaf 1940 bespreek. Na afloop van elke toernooi is daar ’n SAU-span (Proteaspan) gekies wat verskeie toere onderneem het. Die ontstaan van binnenshuise hokkie op nasionale sowel as universiteitsvlak word in hoofstuk sewe behandel. In hoofstuk agt word die klub- en ligabedrywighede vanaf 1959 tot 1992 bespreek. Prestasies van individue word uitgelig asook skolekampe wat aangebied is. Aandag word geskenk aan toere en toernooie wat die spanne onderneem het, ’n paar afrigters wat ’n groot aanwins vir die klub was asook die sosiale aspekte rondom die klub. Die toppresteerders van die Dameshokkieklub, wat almal Springbokspelers was, word in hoofstuk nege behandel. Die studie word afgesluit met ’n samevatting van al die belangrike feite en bevindinge. Bylaes A tot G sluit al die SAU-ererolverteenwoordigers, spelers wat erekleure ontvang het, die nasionale toernooi-uitslae, afrigters, klubtoekennings en ’n lys van provinsiale spelers vir veldhokkie en binnenshuise hokkie in. Nadat die Dameshokkieklub vir 89 jaar afsonderlik gefunksioneer het, het die mans- en damesklub in 1992 saamgesmelt om die US-hokkieklub te vorm en is dit steeds hoe hulle vandag bekendstaan.

This thesis aimed to enhance understanding of the nature of knowledge bases possessed by elite sports performers which underpin perceptual-cognitive and decision making skills. Two main theories were considered; Active Control of Thought (ACT*) and Representational Redescription (RR). The purpose of Study 1 was to examine the anticipatory ability of elite and non-elite players in football and hockey. The results indicated that elite players in both sports were quicker and more accurate in their expectation of pass destination. Study 2 aimed to understand the extent to which knowledge is transferable. The results indicated that elite players’ knowledge is relatively domain specific although some elements of underlying task strategy may transfer. The objective of Study 3 was to explore the means by which elite and non-elite players in football and hockey identify and differentiate between possible decisions. Results showed elite players’ rationale was based on deeper theoretical principles whilst non-experts utilised relatively superficial information and naïve theories. Study 4 focussed on problem representations of elite and non-elite football players. Results revealed elite players’ representations were more pertinent, connected and articulated in a more effective manner. Overall, the findings from the current thesis provide advanced understanding of the knowledge bases responsible for perceptual-cognitive and decision making skill, and such understanding may assist attempts to enhance athletes’ performance and support future research.

Ångermanland has at the last five years lost 420 hockey players. This is a qualitative study that focus on investigating the main problems of dropouts among young hockey players and how ice hockey associations in Ångermanland act to find solutions to the problem. The main questions of the study are: How can the dropout problems in Ångermanland be understood or explained in terms of youth operators' perspective and what are the potential strategies that the ice hockey associations are using to deal with the dropout problem and what approaches to youth hockey is reflected in the youth operators' statements? The study was based on semi-structure interviews with 6 different ice hockey sports clubs in Ångermanland. The results showed that the leadership programs ought to be more educational, and more oriented toward understanding the children instead of mainly technical learning objectives about how to shoot, dribble, and skate. The main reason that hockey players quit playing

Authors: Michelle Karlsson and Johanna Rydberg Titel: How organizational culture can look like in sport organizations – A qualitative study about how Karlskrona Hockey Club’s administrative personnel’s potential culture. This study is written because of the reason that today’s sport organizations have become more like traditional and profitable businesses, which makes the administrative personnel work more important for the organizations. Earlier studies have been made, but the focus is on the players or the members in the organization and also on their development. We want to concentrate this essay on the administrative personnel’s potential culture and their contribution to the organization. Our research questions are 1) How does the administrative personnel’s work look like in a sport organization from a cultural perspective?, and 2) If, and which, culture pursues sport organizations and the administrative personnel? To answer these questions we have used theories from Edgar H. Schein and Mats Alvesson, who are leading cultural scholars. We turned to Karlskronas Hockey Club as a case study where we made six individual interviews and general observations that became our empirical basis. The chosen theories and the collected empirical data were later interconnected and used for further analysis. The main conclusion of our analysis, based on the theories, is that sport organizations culture are dependent on what context and state the organization is in. In our case study Karlskrona’s Hockey Club is a relatively new organization with a lot of new employed people who influence the culture. The theories, taken from Alvesson and Schein, explain the effects when new people get employed. The culture that exists among the administrative personnel is therefore under consistent development and has a hard time finding stability. Nowadays sport organizations need to focus on the budget and economy to survive, but profit isn’t the main purpose. People working in sport organizations are driven by commitment and interest for the sport and members in the organization.

Context: ​Nowadays, the ice hockey is one of the main sports in Sweden and year by year the number of people that practice it is raising. For practicing the accuracy of the shot there are not a lot of devices in the market and the ones that already exist use high definition cameras and complex sensors which makes them very expensive to the amateur practice of the sport. Objectives: The main aim of this project is to build a prototype of a hockey goal able to detect and measure the speed of the hockey puck when it goes into the goal. In this paper, we present a solution for detecting and measuring phase using different sensors and a Kinect camera. For the position there have been used laser emitters with photoresistors and ultrasonic sensors, and for the speed detection there have been used a doppler sensor, HB100 and the Microsoft Kinect camera. The goal is to show that there are cheaper solutions than the ones used in the professional world. Method: Using a Arduino board we will divide the project into two phases, the detection phase and the speed measure phase. In the first phase we will detect the puck using two methods and at the end we will compare them to know which one is more appropriate to apply in order to have as much accuracy as possible. The first method will be using photoresistors and lasers so when the Arduino board detects a huge variation of the photoresistor it will mean that the puck has crossed the goal line and a LED will turn on. The second method will be using ultrasound sensors which detect the distance to and object. We will put the sensors on the top of the goal and the will measure the distance to the floor, if this distance changes it means that the distance calculated is the one to the puck and not the floor so a LED will be turned on. In the second phase we will calculate the speed of the puck using two methods and we will compare the results. The first method will be using the HB100 sensor which will be fixed on the top of the goal. The sensor will print on the screen the speed values of the puck when it goes into the goal. The second method will use a Kinect camera to detect the puck and calculate the speed detecting it in two different places and knowing the difference of time between them. Results: ​We will do some test for each phase and method and finally we will calculate the accuracy of the method, compare the results and decide which is the best method for achieving the objectives.

Ett självständigt arbete på grundnivå inom produktutveckling av kälkhockeykälken / An independent degree project in product development of the sledge hockey sledge

The purpose of this study is to examine the symbolic use in sports and thus discuss the limits of what can be seen as religion and what can be said to be sacred and profane in our time. Data were collected through participant observation during and in connection with the ice hockey games in Löfbergs Arena in Karlstad. Collected data is then analyzed based on Émile Durkheim's theory of the elementary forms of religion. The results indicate that the club badge and club colours of Färjestad BK can be interpreted as totems both before, during and after a ice hockey game. The symbols appear in a number of different contexts, and in some more exposed than others. They share largely the function of the totems in the Australian and North American tribes that Durkheim studied because it bind together and create identification between the fans of Färjestad. Färjestad's symbols are those that to some extent create and maintain sacred and profane, maintain the group and at the same time separates it from others. / Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka symbolanvändning inom sport och därigenom diskutera gränserna för vad som kan ses som religion och vad som kan sägas vara heligt och profant i samtiden. Data har samlats in via deltagande observationer under och i anslutning till ishockeymatcher i Löfbergs Arena i Karlstad. Insamlad data har sedan analyserats utifrån Émile Durkheims teori om religionens elementära former. Studiens resultat pekar på att Färjestad BK:s klubbmärke och klubbfärger kan tolkas som totems både inför, under och efter en ishockeymatch. Symbolerna uppträder i en rad skilda sammanhang och är i vissa mer exponerade än i andra. De delar till stor del funktion med de totems Durkheim studerade hos australiensiska och nordamerikanska stammar, i den meningen att de binder ihop och skapar identifikation Färjestadfansen emellan. Färjestads symboler är de vilka i viss utsträckning skapar och upprätthåller heligt och profant, upprätthåller gruppen och samtidigt avgränsar den från andra.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Title: Comparison of the ice hockey players working relationship in Czech Republic and abroad Goals: Comparison of duties and rights of individual work-legal relations for ice hockey players in the first two best national competitions in different European countries. Method: For the treatment of this topic has been used secondary data analysis and desk research in economics, management, and professional sports. For qualitative research sample of hockey players and managers interview method was used. Results: They simulate application of individual abroad work-legal relations into the Czech conditions, even commentaries and comparison to nowadays conditions. They suggest more favorable conditions for the national competition. Key words: professional sport, ice - hockey, professional ice - hockey player, non- amateur ice - hockey player, self - employed - definition, right and duties, players contract, dependent activity - rights and duties, work contract, ice - hockey league.