Comment from the Editor

Hockey – what’s that?!!!

Yes - here we are again, after a hopefully rejuvenating summer, raring for the

new season to begin. Energy levels are replenished, injuries rested and

recovered (even after the summer league hockey) and of course we have been

keeping up our fitness levels.

I don’t intend to write much in this newsletter but to leave you to read

some of the reports from the AGM and a quick look at the summer

activities. The club has been busy with members occupying their time in

a variety of ways.

Mandy

The start of the season is upon us with

the Club day on Saturday September

3rd, starting at 12.15pm.

Please arrive at 12pm so we can start

promptly on the pitch at 12.15pm.

We would love to welcome new players

so please do bring along anyone who

would like to return to hockey or those

that would just like to give it a go.

All welcome, all standards.

Please stay afterwards for a gossip and

snacks.

Dartford HC went to the Dartford Festival this year in an effort to bring hockey and an

awareness of the club to the community. We have to thank Jenni Davis and her Dad for all their

efforts putting together our ‘Try Hockey’ pitch. Also thanks to the members that went along and

helped out over the weekend – Julie Hoad, Dawn Gibbons, Kirsty Payne, Michelle Billing, Carol

Griggs, Hannah Tegan Blake, Claire Payne and Sharon Turville (apologies if I missed anyone).

It was a truly fantastic effort and hopefully we will see a reward from their efforts on club day.

It certainly looked the part. Again magnificent Je nni!

The Annual General Meeting May 2016

All the naughty girls in the back row, no-one wanting the front row but as you can see from those

in attendance it was enthralling!

Many Thanks to the work done by all the outgoing committee but especially to those standing

down from their roles - Becki McWhinnie (unable to continue in the role as fixture secretary due

to working away from home; Sam Craig for her work as tournament secretary (although Sam is

continuing on the committee but in a different role); and special thanks to Kirsty Payne

(Webmaster), Jenni Davis and Jane Cooper (Social secretaries) who had held their roles for many

years. Also a big thank-you to the members who have volunteered to take on the vacant positions

and to those that have agreed to continue in their roles. Without people taking on these roles the

club could not run - Unsung heroes one and all.

The new Committee for the season 2016-2017 is:

Chairperson: Julie Hoad Secretary: Dawn Hall

Treasurer: Rose Spencer Fixture Secretary: Carol Griggs

Membership: Gen Francis WebMaster: Sam Craig

Welfare Officer: Keeley Wicks Publicity: Mandy McWhinnie

Social Secretary: Position unfilled Tournaments: Claire Payne

Presentation of awards for the Season 2015-2016.

The Player’s Player award is awarded in each team and voted for by the team for the player

they consider to have contributed the most to the team over the season.

The Trophies were presented by the Chairperson Julie Hoad.

The Captains Player is again awarded in each team but chosen by the Captains. It is given to

the player in their team that they felt had stood out in some way or supported them either on

or off the pitch.

And finally the awards that are decided upon by the committee…

And the Reports from the AGM for the Season 2015-2016 (for all the reports please see the

website)

The Noreen Walsh Trophy for the

most improved young player:

Hannah Tegan Blake

Crackenford Cup (formerly the

Vera Benbow Trophy) for services to

the club: Julie Medley

Chairperson's report 2015/16

Unfortunately the start of the 2015/16 season proved to be challenging for the Club due to the departure of a number of players, which resulted in some movement of players within the squads. However I am pleased to report that all three teams quickly settled and I would like to thank all players affected by those early changes for their co-operation and understanding.

There have been issues in the League about opposition teams fielding "ringers" and throwing games which, this year, particularly impacted on the 3rd team. Whilst it is difficult to prove, the Committee, with the agreement of members, will raise its concerns about this with the League.

Looking forward to next season I am disappointed to report that it will be necessary to change the start times of our home fixtures. This is due to the School accepting a booking from a local football club, which means the start times will be put back to 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm. We are not sure what impact, if any, this will have on our teas at the Pub.

The Committee had intended to survey members for their opinions on the current workings and future direction of the Club. Unfortunately this has not yet been done, but I would like to progress this as soon as possible to enable the Committee to have a better understanding of what members want from their Club.

Attendance at training has been disappointing despite the fact that it is free of charge. The Committee is not sure why and would value feedback from members. Should training be held on a different day of the week or perhaps should we look for a new coach? Dave has done remarkably well but we were once advised to change coaches every 3 years. Also the School has decided to charge for the use of the pitch for training, when previously it had not, so it may be necessary to start charging members for training. However the Club does have healthy financial reserves, which are probably a little on the high side, and so it may be possible to fund the cost of training in the short term.

Sadly this year we have lost another past member, Yvonne Kearney, who lost her battle against cancer. Yvonne played for the Club for a number of years during the 80's and 90's.

This year we also saw Sid finally hang up his whistle. This was marked with a special presentation attended by many players and the press. He will be greatly missed.

Finally I would like to thank all Committee members for their commitment and hard work during the season, and to the Captains who work tirelessly throughout the season.

Julie

1st Team Report 2015/16 The 15/16 season was a game of two halves. A bit like an old car it took us a while to warm up

but once we got going there was no stopping us! There were a few squad adjustments required

but everyone banded together to make it work. We finished 3rd in the league which was a

fantastic effort, with the top scorer Trudi (helped by 6 goals against Uni of Kent). With a thin

squad people went out of their way to make themselves available with lots of holidays being

booked Sunday - Friday and mad dashes away after games to meet other commitments. Becca

McWhinnie did a fantastic job as vice-captain as well as taking on the mantle of fixtures

secretary and sourcing umpires for games (with a bit of help from Mandy). Louise, Gen and Jane

continue to commute in for games from Surrey even the 210 mile round trip to Deal hasn't put

them off.

Footnote: I am really looking forward to the new season – I have been reliably informed that

hockey is now cool (Thank-you Team GB) and I hope you all enjoy the forthcoming season.

Katie

2nd Team report 2015/16

Dartford 2s were newly promoted to division 3 and after a hard fought season we finished in 9th

place. We played 22 games: won 6, drew 2 and lost 14 games; scoring a total of 33 goals this

season. We had a difficult start to the season losing the first 6 matches but then managed a

draw and then a few wins to help turn things around. We grew in confidence and settled down,

managing to get a few more wins and another draw to secure our position in Div 3!!

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone that umpired for us!! Also a big thank you to

the players from the 3rd and the 1st team that helped us out this season and also thanks to Dolly

(Claire Payne) for captaining the first half of the season. We had some great new players join

Dartford this season who have done really and settled into the club.

Kerry

Thank you Kerry has stood down as captain for next season. Many thanks for

your work this year.

Third team. Report 2015/16

We played 21 matches and unfortunately lost all of them. However with only 8 teams in the

division every team was played 3 times and with only one notable exception, we improved on

the result each time. Some of the matches have been a little brutal but results aside we've had a

good time. Although we might not have scored many goals we have actually played some good

hockey despite an ever depleting squad, including a couple of matches with only one defender.

There are many thank-you’s to make. Thank-you to all the third team players, particularly those

who took a role in collecting money or looking after the tea boat; thank-you to Jenni my vice

and also to all the umpires: Mandy, Julie, Kerry, Claire, Caroline and most notably Frances.

Thanks to Kerry, Jacqui and Caroline for doubling up at Burnt Ash at short notice and Claire for

umpiring and her negotiation skills. Thanks to our keepers, in addition to Michelle, Keeley and

Karen have both taken a turn as have Dawn and Julie. Thanks to all those who drove and sorry to

those squashed in the back seat of my mini. Final thanks go to someone who isn't here tonight.

Thanks to my husband Derren for his patience and support during my captaincy.

Kirsty

Kirsty has stood down as captain for next season. Many thanks Kirsty for all

your work as the 3rd

team captain over the years.

Umpires: As always we are indebted to those who have umpired for us this season.

Without them we would not be able to play. Sid Clench was sorely missed and the

club struggled at times to find an umpire, at times spending hours on the phone

sourcing external umpires. Julie Medley in particular was a star, umpiring

practically every week for one team or another, sometimes giving up her playing

commitments to do so. Frances Carter was a stalwart for the 3s and Julie Hoad,

Mandy McWhinnie, Caroline Moore, Claire Payne, Debs Pearson, Sharon Turville and

Kerry Walsh shared the rest. Apologies if I have forgotten anyone!

Summer Hockey 2016

The club entered two teams into the summer hockey league at Gravesend. Both of the summer

squads are made up of a mixture of players from all 3 of the winter league teams, enabling the

club to bring the teams together to play sociable yet competitive hockey. This helps us to re-

engage with and to meet with other players that we just don’t see over the winter season

through no fault other than not having a club base and playing matches at a variety of times.

This was the second year of mixing the teams and I think everyone is agreed that it is a great

idea. It’s actually good for your hockey as well as you have to think about what you are doing,

getting use to new styles of play, different strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes playing

different positions to what you are used to. Both teams finished in the middle of the table. Many

thanks to Jacqui Rodrigues for organising us all into the squads and getting the ball rolling for

the initial matches. Not an easy job especially as the club had very late notice of the whole

event this year. Thanks also to the various members who helped by taking on the role of

‘Captain for a match’ so that it was not all down to the same person. Very much a club effort.

DHC goes Walking The annual walking weekend saw

members exploring the beautiful countryside near

Alton on the South Downs. The joy of not going too far

is that people can just pop down to join us as proved

by Julie Hoad, escaping from her ‘building site’ home

to enjoy hot running water and wine! Many Thanks to

Gen for organising, Rose for doing the bulk of the

cooking and Jane for leading us around the walks and

not getting us lost!

Always follow the Countryside

code and climb over the stile

You must of course ensure

you take on enough liquids.

Jane Austen House

– yes we do the

occasional piece of

culture. Making friends

with the locals!

Until next time!

We even found some

hockey balls!

Which brings us to next year….. Join us for the annual Dartford hockey tour - without the hockey! It is an opportunity to get to know other club members whilst enjoying walking in rural areas. Last year we stayed in Alton in Hampshire and previous years we have visited areas of the South Downs, Dorset and the Brecon Beacons. It is always good fun, reasonably physical and involves good food and liquid refreshment. For the 2016-17 season we will book accommodation for 3 days over the first May bank holiday. Destination to be decided but we tend to limit the amount of travelling to a couple of hours so it’s not too arduous on the Friday evening. The costs vary depending on availability of accommodation. This year we took a holiday cottage and self-catered which kept the costs to about £150 each in total. Other years it has been twin hotel rooms on a B&B basis with evening meals taken in local hostelries and you would need to budget about £250 - £300 for this. Taking a cottage, or any self-catering means that we all need to muck in and this is part of the fun - again, ask anyone who came this year. As the cottage was successful we would aim to book another one but this means that we need to book early. Find out who has joined us in the past, talk to them and let me know if you are interested. I will be asking for deposits of £100 each by the end of September. This is non-returnable as we need to pay for the accommodation. If you find you can't come closer to the date then you are free to sell your bed to another club member who would then take responsibility for the remainder of the costs.

If interested contact genfrancis70@gmail.com Gen

And also Over the Summer….

Many members managed to get tickets for the Champions Trophy hockey

at the Olympic Park, meeting up at the refreshment stands before watching

the very exciting hockey. Get your tickets early for next year’s event OR

join Kirsty Payne as a Hockey maker.

Read her story of the tournament experience:

Another summer, another tournament! This summer saw the best in the

world return to the Olympic Park in London for the Champions Trophy.

England hockey needing its hockey makers more than ever as they took

on the men's competition at short notice. Those of you who went or

watched saw the new hockey maker uniform of red polo shirts and jackets, a good choice of

colour! It was a great atmosphere but two very different tournaments, the men were very

focused until finals day and you would often see them running through the park in the early

mornings. The women more friendly and relaxed but still focused. It's fair to say GB women

didn't play their best, but having watched them train they clearly intended to up their game for

Rio. And what a prediction... We can see they certainly did up their game. A

fantastic and nerve-wracking achievement taking the Olympic Gold.

The German bench,

complete with towels! The women's gold medals

The mascots waiting to go

on, big cats need big balls!

But obviously you will talk hockey while you are there. Whilst taking to IT support it turned out

we both played in Kent, this is how the conversation went….

Me - where do you play?

Her - Herne Bay. You?

Me - Dartford. Which team?

Her - 2nds. You?

Me - 3rds

Her - WITH THE CAKE LADY!!! Ophelia, you are famous!

And finally a plea from Kirsty

Hockey makers were in short supply this year, volunteers are

greatly needed for these events. If you can help for future

matches and tournament s, even just for a couple of days, it's

worth it. Free uniform, mixing with top athletes and watching

matches for free when off shift. Here is a list of events next year

if you can help out.

And…

Several members of the hockey club get involved in playing mixed hockey for a side run by Claire

Payne “Dolly Mixtures”. They had a busy and successful summer playing a few tournaments

although the Dolly’s do play all year around

And finally…..

Congratulations to Laura Southgate and husband John on the birth of her

baby daughter. As you can see the kit doesn’t quite fit – maybe we need a

new range?

Looking forward to seeing you back playing this season Laura

Remember keep up to date with your club

visit the website http://www.dartfordhockeyclub.co.uk

Join the Facebook group

Follow us on Twitter @DartfordHC

Well done Kirsty Payne for all your brilliant work and good luck Sam Craig with keeping it going.

If there is anything you would like to put on the website or the Facebook group please let Sam

know. Email: contact@dartfordhockeyclub.co.uk

I wish you all the best for the new season. See you on Club day! Mandy