Stephen Downham appointed Hampshire Chairman

I am delighted to announce that Havant Hockey club member Stephen Downham has become Hampshire Chairman on the retirement of Mike Ward at the recent Hampshire AGM. Stephen and indeed his family have been long term and much valued members of our club and I could not be more pleased that a member of Havant has taken the top job in Hampshire Hockey.

Stephen  first played for Havant in 1968 as a goalkeeper, whilst at school. He played soccer at school and also played hockey when the opportunity arose.   Having left school Stephen played soccer for Emsworth in the Sussex Premier league, but in a cup match had his ankle broken and to recover his sister, who played for Havant ladies, suggested he came for a runout with the mixed run by Gwynedd Davies. In the first season he played left back in front of a young keeper (Bill Jones). As a frequent scorer he then played up front where he played much of his club hockey. 

Over time he played for every men's team in the club, in every position. Following a back injury playing in Holland, he had to stop playing, so took up the whistle and has been umpiring for the County for over 14 years . He has recently been coaching umpires and this season has been appointed a few times for NUPA as match delegate for both East and West Conference games ( Men and Women) .

Historically Stephen first joined the Hampshire committee about 1982, when Mike Ward was President . Peter Coote was also on the Hampshire committee in those days. Between 1982 and 1992 Stephen was County Secretary and for part of that time he was also County Treasurer. All this was before the men and women merged. More recently he joined the County committee in 2009 and since 2011 has served as Chris Bond's Deputy as County Discipline Officer. 

During all this time Stephen has held several club positions, some more than once, including Club Captain and Secretary. 

Chris Pickett
Club Chairman

Author - psym
Date - 02/06/19

Clubmark award confirmed

On behalf of the Executive I am pleased to announce that the Club has obtained the England Hockey CLUBMARK accreditation at the first pass.  

This is the latest quality standard to be offered by England Hockey and carries with it considerable advantages.  CLUBMARK opens doors to our marketing and recruitment of players of all ages and levels and it provides a high standard to offer to sponsors, partners and potential funding sources.  For further background on this award please follow the link

The standard was achieved via outstanding teamwork from a number of members.  The Executive played a vital role by actively supporting and contributing to the variety of evidence required to make the grade.

As coordinator, I wish to thank in particular Peter Symonds and Barry Bradley for their commitment and sustained input during the assessment of our evidence.  This achievement compliments the Club’s vision and ambition to be a progressive and high achieving Club.

Geoff Newbold
Clubmark Coordinator

Author - psym
Date - 28/05/19

New SJB courses available over the Summer

Another opportunity to learn from Olympic Gold Medallist, Steve Batchelor this  Summer.  To book onto the course please  follow this link

For details of their other courses please visit https://www.sjbacademy.com/
Author - psym
Date - 24/05/19

Pro League at The Stoop

England Hockey are looking to make the game at The Stoop, which sees both the Men and Women face New Zealand, a very special day.  There is an opportunity to make this a record breaking event.  If we fill The Stoop this will be the biggest gate for a Men’s match outside The Olympics 😉. If we were to fill The Stoop there would be more people than there were at last year’s Women’s World Cup Final, can you imagine what the atmosphere will be like?

Tickets are selling well but we would like to ask for your help to circulate to your membership and post on social media. We would like to encourage clubs to bring teams, groups, familiy and be part of this fantastic day.  Filling this stadium is a very exciting prospect and it could pave the way to more opportunity to put hockey on the road and in more stadia going forward so you and your club could be part of changing hockey and they way people access it going forward.

Here is the link please do your bit and get everyone talking about The Stoop.

https://hockey.seetickets.com/event/gbr-v-nzl-women-men-/twickenham-stoop-london/1266212

Author - psym
Date - 23/05/19

Dinner Dance - The Photos

Take a look at the gallery of photos from the 2019 Dinner Dance




View the Gallery




Author - bbra
Date - 16/05/19