‘Newsletter February 2017 ‘

EGM

As you know the Club has to decide very soon whether it wants to join Wycombe High School in the pitches and clubhouse project.  Please make every effort to attend the meeting on Saturday February 25 as this decision is going to affect all of us.

Website

The Club is looking for a new website administrator.  Anyone wanting to know what’s involved should contact Maeve Aalen [email protected] who has been combining this role with the far more demanding task of Club Treasurer.

News

Two former WHC juniors, Liam Ansell and Liam Sanford, have joined Ian Sloan in the new GB senior squad.  All three are off to South Africa in a couple of weeks as part of an 18 strong England squad to play four matches against South Africa and Germany.

Thanks to Heidi arranging courses we have several newly qualified Level 1 umpires but the Men’s section is still lagging.  It has been good to see former WHC player Andy Mansfield involved in courses and assessments.  Anyone new to or considering umpiring should look at the excellent online training videos on the England Hockey website.  Players could also learn a lot from these and then at least have some basis for criticising their umpires.

On the pitch

Weather postponements mean that there will be league matches into April.  By now most teams are two thirds or three quarters through their league programmes and promotion and relegation issues loom.  The men’s 1’s and 2’s have promotion chances but are both separated from other teams only on goal difference.  The ladies 2’s are at risk of relegation and in their case are separated from the team above only by goals scored.

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Women

The Ladies 1’s are in a good position, currently 4th in table but with too big a points gap to push for promotion. The 2’s have had a difficult season and are only 2 points above relegation but they have a good squad. The 3’s are continuing to consolidate in the league with a brand new team.  The 4’s have a squad of 45 registered players!  This is includes most of the junior girls over 13 years and returners. We have approached other clubs for friendly games so that so that everybody gets a game.  The vets got knocked out of the Cup at the weekend.  Due to the excess of numbers there is the potential of looking at a 5th team again for next season.  We are going to lose a lot of the U18’s next season so we have to be careful with how we manage the teams. 

Men

It was good to welcome Budgie back after a long term injury. If goals are your thing then the 1’s has been a team to watch with 22 goals in six since Christmas though rather too many have been conceded.  The Marlow game started with six goals, 3-3 in less than twenty minutes, before calming down to a 4-5 defeat.  Stephen Sloan is equal top of the goal scoring chart with 20 and is in line to feature as a ‘hotshot’ on Wycombe radio.  Having just beaten the then leaders Eastcote the 1’s have to meet two of the teams above them so it’s all to play for.  The 2’s are well placed with an excellent goal difference that may stand them in good stead at the end of the season.  Chris Goodchild with 17 is chasing Stephen Sloan for the Britnell Trophy.

U18 Girls

You will have read about another outstanding season for this exceptional squad.  Currently they have reached the quarter finals of the EH Plate competition.  Indoors they were runners up on penalties in the Indoor Hockey UK tournament at the Copper Box at New Year before coming third at the National Indoor Finals.

Let’s hope that they will prove an inspiration for the younger girl’s teams that have been having difficult seasons.

U18 Boys

The team has reached the quarter finals of the EH Plate competition.  Our thanks to Lisa Bennett who has stood down as manager.  Brian Krasner has stepped up.

U16 Boys

The team plays in the Mercian League U16 Challenge West.  They are currently topping the division having lost only one match in six, a 3-8 defeat by Slough in October avenged by a 2-0 win in February.

Junior tournaments

WHC hosted a successful U10’s tournament at Cressex.  These events are very well supported by parents and provide a ready if modest source of fundraising.  Thanks to all helpers.  The second internal ‘Four Nations’ tournament at the end of January was another great success despite the pouring rain.  The quality of hockey was extremely encouraging for future seasons.

Finance

1. Please ensure that you pay your monthly fees promptly.  That there should be £10K outstanding reflects very poorly on the club when we need to demonstrate our suitability for Clubmark and as partners to Wycombe High School.

2. Join easyfundraising and you can collect free donations for us every time you buy something online.  It won’t cost you a penny extra so please help us to raise funds.

It’s easy:

1. Head to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/wrlhc/ and join for free.

2. Every time you shop online, go to easyfundraising first to find the site you want and start shopping.

3. After you’ve checked out, that retailer will make a donation to Wycombe Hockey Club for no extra cost whatsoever!

Top Tip: It’s even simpler if you get the Donation Reminder. When you shop online you’ll receive a reminder on a retailer’s website to collect a donation. Shona says this really works!!

Get the reminder at: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/donation-reminder/

Any e nquiries to  Shona at [email protected]