The 2022/23 hockey season is now upon us! Over the summer, the committee have been working hard to ensure the club is prepared and I wanted to provide an update on some of the things we have been working on as well as a general update on the club.

Firstly, on behalf of the club I would like to send our condolences and thoughts to the Royal Family, following the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II. As a mark of respect, during all fixtures on the 17th September, players will wear black armbands and observe a 2 minutes silence.

The club has significantly raised its profile on social media with all club info and news now posted on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and website. If you are not following us already then please have a look!

I would like to personally thank the Lawrence family, who along with their now famous big red gazebo have been out and about this summer at various roadshows and events promoting the club. We are already seeing the fruits of this with many new members signing up for our junior and adult sections.

Work is continuing behind the scenes, on the new AstroTurf and Pavilion projects and I remain confident that we will be replacing the pitch next summer in time for the 2023/24 season.

JUNIORS

Our Junior Programme for 2022/23 has already kicked off with record numbers attending the sessions so far, including many children who are brand new to hockey which is great to see.

We are continuing with our Wednesday 5-6PM Junior session this season to continue to provide an alternative to weekends. We are currently struggling to find coaches for this session, due to the increase in demand and really do not want to lose it from the calendar. If you are available to help the club out with this session then please let us know, it would be greatly appreciated.

We are currently arranging several junior fixtures for this season, including for our newly formed Under 16 and Under 18 teams, as well as our Under 8s, Under 10s and Under 13s.

This season, we have been extremely fortunate to have found a sponsor who has kindly sponsored some new junior shirts, meaning that for the first time, each paid up junior member will be given their own playing shirt to keep.

SENIORS

Senior training, under the guidance of our new head coach, Drew Harvey, has been going since August, with really strong numbers attending the sessions. Several pre-season friendlies have been played, with the first league games on the 24th September.

We are delighted to confirm that we will be entering a Ladies 4th Team into the league this season, bringing our total number of adult teams to eight. At a time, when generally participation in sport is declining and a number of clubs are reducing the number of teams they have, this is a fantastic achievement for the club and one we are very proud of. We are still looking for additional players for this team, so if you know anyone let us know!

Unfortunately, through no fault of the club, the league fixtures for the season have been significantly delayed and have only just been released. These can now be found on Teamo. We are still awaiting confirmation of timings for all fixtures, but these will also be posted onto Teamo ASAP.

As a gentle reminder, please ensure you mark your availability on Teamo for the relevant team each week. This makes the selection process for captains much easier.

One aspect of club life I would like to see us improve is the number of people staying for teas after a fixture. We are extremely lucky to have top notch teas provided for us and it is therefore important that as many people as possible from each team stay behind after their game to enjoy them. It’s also a great way to build team morale!

SUBS AND MATCH FEES

As a polite reminder, subscriptions for the season are now due. These can be paid on Teamo in the normal way. It would be greatly appreciated if you could settle your subs ASAP as this is the main source of income that the club has. Subs will be kept at the same rates as last season, with the option to pay monthly again available. If you wish to do this, please contact Claire Burton.

Match fees should be paid on the day of fixtures and ensuring this happens makes captains tasks much easier. Again, this will be done via Teamo, with the same rates as last season.

We are acutely aware that the cost-of-living crisis in the UK is showing no sign of going away, and should you wish to have a confidential conversation about anything financially related please contact myself on 07590 328641.

SAVE THE DATES

The club is always looking to improve its social calendar, with Nat Ward kindly taking on the role of Social Secretary. Nat, along with a team of people will be organising several events over the next year. Some dates for your diaries are:

Oktoberfest – Saturday 29th October

End of Season Dinner – Saturday 22nd April

Hockey Festival – TBC

Summer Ball – Saturday 5th August

Chairmans Day – TBC

CLUB KIT

Club Kit can still be purchased via the Mr Cricket & Hockey Website under the ‘Club Shop’ section. As an initial placeholder, for the 2023/24 season, the club will be looking to redesign its club kit due to our current sponsorship deals expiring and the need for more playing shirts. As this should coincide with the opening of the new Astro Turf, we will be taking this opportunity to try to align our kit with the cricket section and take a more ‘one club’ approach. More info will follow on this in due course but do please bear this in mind before purchasing significant amounts of kit for this season.

SPONSORSHIP

Sponsorship remains a crucial revenue source for the club, and we are always looking for new sponsors. We already have 11 players who have found a player sponsor for the upcoming season, but we need more! Further info can be found on all social media pages.

On behalf of the committee, I would like to thank you for your ongoing membership of Wisbech Town Hockey Club and look forward to seeing you all on the pitch or in the bar very soon.

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Matt Esser

Wisbech Town Hockey Club Chairman

WTHC SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER