The warmest of greetings as our one-hundred-and-third season approaches.
I know that for myself and for many of you the afterglow and the sense of immense satisfaction lasted a long time after the Centenary Gala Dinner finished at Runneymede in April. It was also amazing to have the juniors’ centenary celebrations run in the afternoon prior – I suspect that this will be something that we might consider making a permanent arrangement going forward.
The centenary celebrations were all the more poignant for the enforced wait! Even after a busy summer league season some of you might not have had a chance to rub shoulders with the Gala Dinner sub-committee organisers. As the season cranks ups and you do bump into those who did such a magnificent job, it would be a nice gesture to remind them of our grateful thanks.
It was wonderful to see Lynne’s immense contribution to our club so appropriately recognised on the evening – a special reward for a special person. Well done, too, to all the award winners and particularly to Peter Cottrell for having his years of dedication recognised as he became the first recipient of the Centenary Plate.
It is people that make hockey clubs, and it was great to see so many club legends at the Gala Dinner.
But now on to the new season! The ladies will be back in more familiar geographic territory this year in London. As the Ladies’ 1s start on the league campaign trail again they will be defending an amazing two-and-a-half-season unbeaten run! Keep it going. The obvious trivia question must be who were the last team that managed to beat our Ladies’ 1’s and when? A prize for awaits from yours truly for any correct answer and for the record of the team since!
The men return to action after a season of adjusting to a step up in standard after joining the London Area league. The men can look forward to the 2022-23 season with alacrity. We held our own last year and we can approach this season with confidence.
As regards last year, well done to men’s coach Sam Druce for his amazing impact after Christmas and to ladies’ coach Jackie Parsons for not being bested all season long. Wonderful stuff.
On the junior front, it was most heartening to see so many of our young players taking to the field of play in the adult teams on Saturdays. I very much hope this progression continues into 2022-23 and beyond. A sure sign of a strong and flourishing club.
Club Day this season is on 17 September (more information elsewhere in the newsletter). Last year’s format was amazing and I am sure we will again kick off the season with another storming day.
A word of thanks must go to Neil Smith for embracing the challenge of coaching and mentoring our rookie umpires over the summer with some gusto. I was great to see some aspiring umpires rise to the challenge. It was also amusing to see some of our stalwarts giving cards rather than receiving them. Poachers turned to gamekeepers springs to mind. Also, well done to Neil for his recent umpiring assessments. Neil has achieved the rare distinction of being graded to do both ladies’ and men’s National League games at the highest level.
There has certainly been a buzz about the place since the centenary so let’s keep that positive energy one and all!
It is great to hear that we have received some enquiries from young ladies in the aftermath of England’s gold medal-winning performance at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Their performance might well inspire a new generation of hockey players. As regards Birmingham, I saw all across social media and on television images of a Welsh supporter dressed as an enormous daffodil. The person definitely looked familiar. Any clues?
Have a great season and see you at Club Day.
As always, it is a privilege and an honour to be your President.
Ian Jenkins (Sherpa)
President
