One has stepped down from the president's role and the other has just been awarded life membership, but neither is going to stop contributing to a sport which has been part of their lives since they could walk.
Former New Zealand captain Jenny McDonald finished a four-year stint as president of the Otago Hockey Association this week, while Judith Soper was awarded life membership of the association for her efforts for the sport over the years.
McDonald may have moved away from the head role at the OHA but she is still involved as the president of Southern Hockey.
Southern and Otago were once seen as one but McDonald said a full split had now occurred.
''I want to make the Southern identity strong. With the record we have had with our teams over the last two years, we have an opportunity to get some strong support in behind them,'' she said.
The Southern men's side has made the national league final over the past two years, while its age-group teams have also performed well.
Southern has made two key appointments in high performance and grassroots coaching and McDonald said that could only help the game in the South.
She came on board as president of the Otago association four years ago and helped steer the sport back into shape as it faced the tough combination of increasing costs and stagnant - if not declining - playing numbers.
''We have now got it to the stage where we have a good turf down at the McMillan Centre, a nice facility which can be used by people down there,'' McDonald said.
''We have got a sound financial base. We know what we have and we also know what we are and where we are going.''
McDonald (64) said checks and balances over the past few years had helped the association's financial position. It was now breaking even.
Last year, in Dunedin, there were 1882 players in winter, a rise of 9.5% from the year before. Nationally, there were 48,174 hockey players in the winter, a rise of 4.6% from the previous year.
McDonald said it was hard to run the sport. It had a low profile and playing on artificial turf was great but it had its difficulties.
''Most other sports play on grass and get subsidised 95% by the DCC. We have the artificial turf and though the council helps us out, it is still a big cost for us.''
She said with the growth of younger children playing hockey, alternative turfs need to be looked at to cater for the increasing numbers.
Soper (55) said life membership was a pleasant surprise. It was unexpected but really nice, she said.
She was a person who enjoyed working behind the scenes. Originally from Maniototo, she had played up until last year and also coached for many years. She was the treasurer of the association for the past four years, helping get the books right.
''Things are going well now although it is always hard,'' Soper said.
''We are playing in a sport with a low profile. Fundraising is an issue with lots of wants and needs, but you have to match them with the money you have got.''
