NORWICH CITY HOCKEY CLUB

A lot has happened in the last 2 months

Since the January newsletter fund-raising has continued with the mini-hockey section leading the way. The junior and adult members now need to follow suit. It will be a long haul raising funds to pay for the clubhouse, but we all need to contribute to the fantastic facility we now have in place. Tim Aldous and TRF are working hard to get the clubhouse up and running as we would like to see it with a fully functioning bar and catering facility. The bar is now fitted out and is to be stocked in time for some of the events we have on the horizon. The provision of catering for teas is not likely to be in place until next season. However, teams are at liberty to do their own catering for after match teas in the Clubhouse if they wish, but do remember to cancel your teas at Bob Carter and inform Tim Aldous of your plans so that he can make the necessary arrangements in relation to the clubhouse.

 

The mini-hockey section held a Sponsored Dribble in January and raised over £2000. A Sponsored Hockey Marathon for the Junior and Adult sections has been organised for Saturday 22 April and the target is to raise £5000.

 

Discussions are currently under way for an end of season event. If you have any views on whether this should be a Dinner Dance as in previous years or something less formal e.g. Disco and finger buffet please speak to David Woodward 01603 811502/07714 099886 or e-mail social@norwichcityhc.co.uk. Any ideas on venues or the type of event would be most welcome.

 

On the umpiring front Paul Gallop is doing his usual excellent job providing umpires each week though with only a limited number of qualified umpires within the club his life can sometimes be very difficult. In order to help Paul and ourselves we need to encourage more members to become qualified. It is worth remembering that for each Saturday match you umpire you are entitled to a £10 fee.

Our aim is to encourage members to umpire at a young age so that umpiring is undertaken alongside playing. A few junior members have attended Young Umpire Days at Harleston and Dereham over the the past two seasons. This season Paul is arranging for a Young Umpires Day to be held at Taverham on 7 May with a target audience of 10 – 13 year olds. On a personal note Paul has been progressing up the umpiring ranks and has been gaining good reviews for his performances. He has been umpiring Division 1 and Premier B matches regularly and later this month has a Premier A game. In addition Henry is also umpiring Premier B and Premier A matches so it is good to know we have some quality umpires within the club and who we can discuss rules and rule interpretations with.

 

On the playing front all teams have now been knocked out of cup competitions, the boys under 15 team being the last to fall when they lost 7-1 (Chris Jones) to Dunmow HC in the National Plate competition.

In the League the Ladies 1^st XI look set for a top half finish in East Division 1 North, their inability to score goals recently has let them down a little in recent matches. The Ladies 2^nd XI in the Norfolk Premier are also set for a top half finish as their run in sees them play teams below them who they beat in the first half of the season. The Ladies 3^rd XI are just above the relegation places, but should be good enough to avoid the drop from Norfolk Division 2.

 

The Men’s 1^st XI are in 5^th place in Premier B a position they should maintain to the end of the season. Consistency has been a problem following the loss of a few players during January, though they did beat league leaders Bury St Edmunds and have given several 2^nd XI players (Nick Jones, Chris Wardale, Tom Hindle and Adie Land) the opportunity to play and they have performed well. The 2^nd XI in Division 3 North East are currently on course for promotion having lost only two matches, both to undefeated league leaders Ipswich & ES having won the remainder of their matches this side of the break. Stop Press – Congratulations to the 2^nd XI who have just achieved promotion with three matches remaining. John Grange and Dave Fletcher have been drafted into the squad from the 3^rd XI. This has had a little bit of an impact on the 3^rd XI who have lost their last two matches and have just lost touch with the top two teams in Division 4 North East, but promotion is still an outside possibility. In Division 5 North East there has been talk of a need for drug testing as the Vets (5^th XI) continue to confound the pundits lying in a heady 4^th position as a result of a number of good performances. The 4^th XI in the same league are having an up and down season, following a disappointing run of results they then had a run of good results which took them up to mid-table, but have now tailed off once again and are flirting with relegation. A good finish to the season is required to be sure of avoiding relegation. The 6^th XI in Division 6 North East also had a string of poor results to start with, but were fielding a young side. An influx of players, both adult and older juniors has added some strength to the team pulling them off the bottom of the league and with a little luck they could finish in 6^th or 7^th place.      

Membership Fees

Trudie has now sent out reminder letters to all those that still have Annual Subscriptions out standing. These should be sent to Trudie Cunningham immediately at the address below.

 

6 Old Chapel Road, Freethorpe, Norwich, NR13 3LU.

 

Some questions have been raised regarding Annual Subscriptions, Match Fees and Mini-Hockey Coaching Fees so here is a brief outline.

 

Mini-hockey members (those under 13) do not pay an Annual Membership fee; their coaching fees, payable each term, are deemed their membership fee. The coaching fees contribute towards pitch hire, tournament entry fees, hosting the Norwich City tournaments, the Schools Festival and equipment (balls, bibs, GK kit).

 

Annual Subscriptions for juniors and adults are the fees for joining the club and contribute primarily towards affiliation fees that the Club has to pay to the National, Regional and County Associations plus league entry fees.

Match Fees are to primarily to cover the costs of pitch hire, teas and travel costs, umpires fees.

In addition to the costs mentioned above the income from both match fees and annual subscriptions has to cover the costs of kit (balls, training equipment, GK kit), administration expenses, trophies, etc.

The club endeavours to keep the cost of playing as low as possible, but with a turnover around £35,000 this can only be achieved if everyone contributes the appropriate fees.

 

Taverham Fundraising

 

Fundraising is now well underway with with almost £8000 raised in the last two months, £2,500 from the Mini-Hockey Sponsored Dribble, £200 from a Virgin Vie evening and a donation of £5,000. Lots more is still to be raised and more fund raising events are planned. You can help by Buying-brick-if you haven’t already done so, finding a business to support us, joining the Club and Ground Lottery or by raising sponsorship for the Hockey Marathon

 

Sponsored Fancy Hat Dribble

The mini-hockey section held a Sponsored Fancy Hat Dribble on Sunday 15 January, 10.00am – 11.30am at Taverham and it was an extremely successful event with everyone having a thoroughly enjoyable morning. The aim was to raise £1000, a figure that was well exceeded. Sponsorship raised almost £2000 with a raffle raising a further £175. In addition another £450 was raised through the sale of bricks in the Buy-a-Brick scheme. A fantastic effort and well done to everyone involved in organising and supporting the event.

 

Virgin Vie Evening

The Ladies held an enjoyable Virgin Vie evening in the clubhouse raising over £200.

 

Buy-a-Brick Scheme

The sale of bricks to members and friends is now underway. Bricks are available at £50 (Platinum), £25 (Gold) and £10 (Silver). So far the scheme has raised around £1000, but a number of individuals have not received application forms and this is now attached to this newsletter along with a Gift Aid Form that will allow us to reclaim tax – an extra 22%.

 

Business Sponsorship

We are also looking for businesses to sponsor us. There are four levels of support - £5000 (Platinum), £2000 (Gold), £1000 (Silver) and £500 (Basic). If you know of a business that would be willing to support us please contact Richard Innes 01603 759653 (Home), 01603 703152 (Office), richard.innes@homecall.co.uk. Details can be found with this Newsletter.

 

Club & Ground Lottery

The Club has been running a Club & Ground Lottery for a number of years. The initial funds raised by the lottery were used to provide our contribution to the development of the pitch. The Lottery issues monthly prizes and a larger annual prize that is drawn at the Annual Dinner Dance (or equivalent) event. We would all urge all members and parents to join for the monthly sum of £1.50 which can be paid by cash, cheque or standing order. An application form is attached.  

 

Sponsored Hockey Marathon

A sponsored hockey marathon for the 13 year olds upwards and adult members has been scheduled for 22 April. Please put this date in your diaries now. We would like to involve as many members as possible throughout the day with a fundraising target of £5000. An element of the sponsorship raised will be donated to the Quidenham Hospice. A Sponsor Form will be available shortly. Please make every effort to attend part of the day, raising as much sponsorship as you can so that you have played your part in raising funds for the new clubhouse.

Young Umpire Day

The Young Umpire Award is designed for young players aged 10 - 13. It is based exclusively on Mini Hockey (7-a-side hockey for U13's) & fun to do from start to finish. It is a fun introduction to umpiring, where the youngsters get to practice blowing the whistle, learn about where to stand, learn signals and rules and get the chance to umpire a mini game at the end of that day. The Young Umpire Day takes place on Sunday 7th May 10am until 4pm at Taverham High School, The day costs £8.00. This event is supported by: England Hockey, East Region Hockey Association, East Region Hockey Umpiring Association, Norfolk Hockey Association, Norfolk Hockey Umpiring Association, Norfolk Hockey     Development Group. An application form will be added to the 'news' section of the Norfolk hockey Association website (www.nhua.co.uk) very soon. If you wish to participate in this day, and we would encourage our junior members to attend, then please book early as this event is open to all clubs within the county and the previous two event have been very well attended.

Norfolk Hockey Umpires Association Level 1 Umpire Award
The next Umpires Level 1 Course takes place on Sunday 19th March, 10am - 4pm, at Pinebanks, Norwich. Cost is £25 (£18 for under 18s) and the club is willing to contribute to the cost as we desperately require more qualified umpires, ladies and men, to cover our umpiring requirements. Don’t forget that you are paid £10 for each Saturday match you umpire. This is a good qualification to have on your CV if you are applying for sixth forms and university. For younger members (15 upwards) that attain this award we would start them off umpiring junior games and then progress them to adult matches when suitably experienced.  
The course is classroom based, with a theory paper at the end of the day. If you would like to apply or would like more info please contact: Liz Ellis (NHUA Level 1 Administrator)     Tel: 01328 700242    e-mail: Jlpeartree@aol.com

Level 1 Coaching Course

We have two club members, Nigel Cushion and Richard Sparrow, attending the Level 1 Coaching Course that is running this month. With the number of juniors we now have, approaching 100 mini-members on Sunday mornings, and around 30 junior boys attending Thursday evenings we could use some more qualified coaches

For those of you that may be interested in coaching (playing members or parents) the next Level 1 Coaching course - the basic coaching course is being held at Harleston on Sundays 4, 18 & 25 June, 10.00am – 5.30pm.  

The course cost is £135 per candidate. An application form is attached with this newsletter Deadline for applications is Friday 5th May. It may be possible to apply for grants towards the cost of the course and the club is willing to contribute to the cost of the course for those that will be helping with club coaching.

 

Leadership Course

It is envisaged that the Leadership Award will provide the voluntary sector with greater insight into hockey, and provide more volunteers as we prepare for 2012. It is aimed at those with little prior knowledge of the game, but would like to become more involved, particularly parents and young players. It is open to candidates from 13 years plus to develop their knowledge in three main areas of hockey, Umpiring, Coaching and Managing. The course lasts for 14 hours (generally 2 days). Norfolk would like to run two Leadership courses this year and are looking for club’s that may have sufficient candidates to host one. If you are interested please contact Ali Wardale 01603 812216 or aliwardale@aol.com. I already have names of a few interested participants.

    

Club Kit

A new stock of club shirts has arrived priced at £25. Please contact Ali Wardale 01603 812216 / 07798 862956 if you require a shirt.

The initial stock of rain jackets that were for sale have almost all been sold (3 left) and the adults and juniors now look a little smarter and are advertising the club, which has resulted in one new member. Further jackets have been requested and an order will be placed with Gilmour Sports shortly. The jackets are priced at £25 and can be ordered/reserved through Ali. A number of small jackets will be ordered this time for purchase by the juniors.

The mini-hockey members now look very smart in their sweatshirts, though they can be ordered in larger sizes. If you are interested in ordering one please contact Nickki Cushion 01603 260573

Mini-Hockey

The mini-hockey section goes from strength to strength as new members continue to join. Membership is nearing the 100 mark and the pitch is starting to look a little crowded on a Sunday morning. This has given rise to thoughts of splitting the session into two in order to alleviate the problem, a situation that will be considered over the summer. However, such a move may require additional assistance with coaching from club members or parents. Any offers of assistance can be directed to Sarah Anthony 01953 454393 or Ali Wardale 01603 812216 / 07798 862956.

It is great to see so many parents using the clubhouse on a Sunday morning, it already seems to be engendering a good community spirit, even though there is no spirit available yet!!

Managers/Coaches/Captain required

It is at this time of the year that we start to think ahead to next season. One of the perennial issues raised is that of managers for the Men’s and Ladies 1^st XI’s and even 2^nd XI’s. GB does a fantastic job coaching us on Wednesday’s and attends matches on Saturday’s whenever school commitments permit, however, the ideal would be for both the Ladies and Men’s 1^st XI to have a regular manager. If you are interested or you know of anyone that would be interested in these roles, then please contact Ali 01603 812216 or aliwardale@aol.com. 

 

A manager/captain for the Ladies 4^th XI is also required. This is an important team in the structure of the club, which provides the transition for those coming out of mini-hockey to move into adult hockey. A willing parent could undertake the role of manager, a task that consists of arranging the team.

 

A manager is also required for the boy’s colts team, which plays it’s matches on a Sunday morning. Again this team helps to provide matches for the boy’s that have moved out of mini-hockey and are in the transition between mini-hockey and adult hockey.

If you are able to assist in any way please contact Ali 01603 812216 or aliwardale@aol.com.

New Members

The club is always on the lookout for new members so if you know of anybody that may be interested in playing please let us know.  Although we are approaching the end of the season we are already aware that we will lose a number of members to university and therefore will require new members to fill some of the vacant spots. This is particularly likely in the Men’s 1^st and 2^nd XI, so we would like to find new players for these squads before the start of next season. The ladies are still searching for new goalkeepers and we also require new players so that we can run the Ladies 4^th XI on a regular basis next season. Enquiries can be made via e-mail to membership@norwichcityhc.co.uk or direct to the captains.

What’s happening in the world of hockey

If you would like to keep abreast of events in the world of hockey then there are some key websites that will enable you to do this. England Hockey has a very good website www.englandhockey.co.uk that provides lots of useful information for all levels of hockey and is updated pretty much every working day. You can subscribe to e-News bulletins. England Hockey has entered into a 5 year agreement with Fixtures Live www.fixtureslive.co.uk to view results and fixtures for many leagues across the country including the Ladies Martin & Acock Norfolk League. However, the East Region still have their own website www.east-hockey.co.uk that contains the Ladies and Men’s East fixtures plus other relevant regional information.

Communication

E-Mail address – keep in touch:  If you have received a printed copy of this newsletter, but now have an e-mail address by which we can contact you please e-mail enquiries@norwichcityhc.co.uk with your e-mail address. If you have previously advised your e-mail address and have still received a printed copy, it may be that either you have changed your e-mail address, your mailbox is full or we have encountered another problem with your mail address. Please check your mailbox and advise enquiries@norwichcityhc.co.uk of your e-mail address again. You will receive more information via an e-mail address and earlier. If you have changed your postal address, e-mail address or telephone number please do let us know so that we are able to keep our records up to date and contact you.

New Hockey Magazine

Push is a brand new magazine for everyone who has an interest in hockey and replaces the old Hockey Sport magazine. Fun, informative and full of interesting features you’ll find Push is the essential read for the whole hockey family. If you would like a taste of the magazine then visit www.pushhockey.co.uk. Annual Subscription is £25 for 6 copies. The first issue contained an article of former Harleston player and current England international Richard Alexander transformed into James Bond.

 

 

Editor – Ali Wardale