I’d like to thank all of you who came along and made our inaugural quiz night such a success a few Saturdays ago. It was so great to see players, parents, supporters and guests from ALL sections of the club mixing in together and having fun – exactly what these events should be about, though we may need a bigger venue next time! We raised c£500 from the evening which will help support cap ex on kit and equipment amongst other things. In particular I’d like to thank Neil Forsyth and Natalie Groome for pulling the whole thing together, Tom & Linda Forsyth for acting as quizmasters/scorers, Kath Edwards for organising the dessert bar and Henry Patteson & Lauren Leyland for organising the raffle (as well as those who donated desserts and raffle prizes) Below are details of upcoming dates for your diaries . I’d draw your attention to the Race Night at Kingswood Village Hall on 19 March and look forward to seeing you there.

Also, it would be wrong of me not to mention the ongoing success of the junior tournaments we run at the pitch on Sundays through the year, designed to complement to Glos HA run tournaments at Cheltenham. I can't speak highly enough of these tournaments. As well as providing great hockey opportunities for our kids, they enhance our reputation in the wider hockey community too. From my perspective they also exemplify the #oneclub vibe we continue to strive for: so many volunteers helping out from all sections of the club and great to see our talented teenagers 'putting something back' by coaching or umpiring as well. If you are a senior player or parent, haven't helped out this year and don't umpire, coach or hold any other office, why not volunteer to help out? You'll find it very rewarding. Cathy York - an amazing job of pulling it all together and Katherine Edwards - thanks for co-ordinating the ‘pop up’ clubhouse effort.

In addition, I’m delighted to say that in response to the number of players looking to get a game each Saturday, this week we’ll be fielding a Men’s 5th XI (yes, 5th!) for the first time. Thanks to Alan Hooper for all his hard work in trying to secure some additional fixtures, no mean task mid-season. We look forward to welcoming North Somerset HC for a friendly at midday on Saturday.

It’s a little cold outside at the moment isn’t it? Don’t forget that all manner of club stash including - amongst other things – beanies, hoodies and baselayers, are available from our colleagues at Goose & Gander on the corner of Market St. http://gooseandganderltd.com/collections/wotton-under-edge-hockey

Upcoming Events:

Sunday 7 Feb – Mens Trophy, Round 3. The Mens 1s entertain Tulse Hill & Dulwich HC from London in the next round of this high profile National competition . Come down and cheer on the boys (1230pb) as they take the next step on the road to Lee Valley, with the final at the Olympic Park in May. Separate email with more details/build up to follow.

Saturday 19 Mar – Race Night Fundraiser/Social at Kingswood Village Hall. More details to follow but please save the date.

Saturday 16 April – Annual Dinner-Dance & Awards at Tortworth Court Hotel. Our big end of season black tie event, tickets likely to be on sale early/mid Feb.

Also, look out for the launch of our bonus ball lottery and more details of our end of season events for both juniors and badgers/vixens in due course.

We will endeavour not to clutter your inbox with too many emails and will also try and keep the website (www.wottonhockeyclub.org) updated as much as possible. There are other ways to keep up with what’s going on at the club:
• You can follow us on Twitter @wottonhockey or like our new ‘public’ Facebook page (just search ‘Wotton-under-Edge Hockey’).
• There is also an unofficial closed group for members and supporters for exchange of more informal chat and banter (search ‘WuE HC – the place dreams are made’).
• Your captains, team contacts and managers will keep you up to date with details and arrangements for their respective squads. In this regard, do please log in to the website and ensure your settings are set to receive emails, if there are any problems with your website access please contact myrahockey@gmail.com

Finally, if any of you have any RED shirts or socks from the mens’s change strips lurking in kit bags, car boots, under the bed (!) etc then please can you return these to your captain ASAP, several of these seem to have gone ‘walkies’ since the pre Xmas games…

Thank you once again for all of your support. From the high flying Mens 1s to our amazing under 8 ‘Wolfcubs’ and all of the teams in between, we all wear the royal blue with pride and love being part of one club!

With best wishes for the rest of the season,

Stuart Emms
Chairman, Wotton under Edge HC