Hockey in the Community
The Hockey in the Community schools league took place in February and March for years 7 and 8. The girls competition was won by Minster School and the boys’ competition was won by Nottingham High School. Both teams were presented with winner medals.
Beeston ladies’ 1stXI finished a credible sixth place in their first season back in the Premier League and the men’s 1stXI finished third and qualified for the playoff finals which are due to be held on the 13thand 14thApril at Lee Valley.
The February half term World Class Players 2 day camp was coached by Stephen Wood, Simon Hujwan, Gareth Griffiths, Henry Croft, Mark Wadsley, Carrie Hanks and Bridget Kiddle. The camp was attended by over 100 children and was the most successful to date.
A new initiative of 1 to 1 coaching with 1stteam players and coaching staff was started in February and the response has been very positive. A new summer academy for children aged 8-16 is due to take place on Thursday evenings starting in May. To book a 1 to 1 coaching session or a place on the summer academy please visitwww.worldclass.hockey
The Centre hosted the county In2hockey U10 and U12 boys and girl’s tournament in February. The Beeston boys and girls teams in both age groups won their leagues and progressed to the regional finals which are due to take place in April and May.
Beeston HC featured on Notts TV’s sports week once again in March with Gareth Griffiths, Carrie Hanks and Bridget Kiddle all interviewed on the show.
The Hockey Centre continued to host a number of Academy Centre training sessions and competitions on Sunday afternoons in February and March.
Following on from the girl’s hockey term before Christmas, the boys at Nottingham High School played an increased number of fixtures on Saturday mornings from 9am-12pm against other schools. The feedback from the visiting schools about the facility and hospitality has been very positive.
The 11 a side Sunday afternoon mixed league concluded in March 2019. Beeston were the winners of the competition. As a result of the success of the mixed league there will be a summer mixed 7 a side competition held on Friday evenings from April to June. Nottingham Players HC are also hosting their annual mixed 7 a side league in July.
The annual summer leagues start at the end of April. There are 10 teams entered in to the men’s masters 6 a side league and 20 teams entered in to the men’s 6 a side summer league. The men’s 11 a side summer league will take place in July and August once again and the ladies 7 a side summer league runs from June to August.
Great Britain star and Olympic Gold medalist, Maddie Hinch, is hosting a 2 day goalkeeper camp at the Hockey Centre in July. To book a place on the camp please visit www.maddiehinch.com/coaching/
STICK EU Project
The 4th meeting for the STICK Project was hosted by the University of Antwerp and KHC Dragons in Belgium on the 18th and 19th February 2019.
During the meeting, the STICK consortium analysed the local dissemination events’ results that took place at each consortium’s country during February. The purpose of these events was to share the project’s first results, explain the academic/hockey exchange pilot programme, and see how it would work with other sports. The dissemination events were attended by representatives from sports clubs, sports governing bodies, and dual career and international relations officers from universities, as well as high dedication student-athletes and their parents. The results from these dissemination events were discussed and collated in order to arrive at a joint conclusion for the benefit of the programme.
The consortium also analysed the selection procedure for the pilot programme and approved the final institutional agreements that will be implemented for the new pilot mobility exchange programme during the upcoming academic year/season with the selected athlete/students. The group also discussed and approved the internal evaluation procedure for the pilot programme in order to monitor all phases of the academic/hockey exchange programme.
To conclude the meeting, the STICK team planned the next steps and actions to be taken for the project and the group began to plan the final stages of the project, including the International Sport Multiplier Event to be held in November 2019 in Brussels. At this event the final project results will be shared with all European stakeholders such as the European policy makers, the European Commission, other Universities, European Sports’ Federations, etc.
The next meeting will be held in Dublin and hosted by Pembroke Wanderers HC and Dublin City University in June 2019.
Events
This year’s hockey Varsity series fixtures between Nottingham Trent University and The University of Nottingham were unfortunately cancelled due to the frost in January.
The Hockey Centre once again hosted the annual Big BUCS Wednesday hockey competition in March. The event was attended by over 1500 spectators. Exeter University won the men’s championship and Loughborough University won the ladies championship, whilst Cardiff University won the men’s trophy and Nottingham Trent University won the ladies trophy.
An increased number of hospitality events were held during men’s 1stXI fixtures in March. These included guests from the Victoria Hotel in Beeston, Beeston HC Vice-Presidents and a sponsor’s lunch on the final men’s home game of the season against Wimbledon.
The David Ross Educational Trust hockey spring cup returned to Nottingham once again in March. The event was well attended from schools across the region.
The Centre is hosting a number of events over the coming months including the England Hockey Investec women’s and men’s promotion / relegation playoffs (weekend 1), England Hockey In2Hockey U13 schools and U12 club national finals, AOC Games, Midlands U10 In2Hockey regional boys and girls finals, Civil Service men’s and ladies’ championships, Men’s County Championships, annual Sikh Union men’s 6’s, the U13 Boys UK Lions tournament and new for 2019, the U13 Girls UK Lions tournament.
Repairs and improvements
The cafeteria on the ground floor has been refurbished and redecorated. A new floor has been laid and new lighting installed. The unused bar opposite the shop has been removed and replaced with a corner unit including a breakfast bar with stools. The old plastic red chairs and tables have been replaced with modern new tables and benches which were supplied by Office Innovations. The makeover has been well received by the members and visitors and looks fantastic!
The large number of the bushes that were planted along the boundary fence to University Boulevard had died and have now been replaced with new plants.