Firstly I hope you all had a splendid Christmas and on behalf the club a happy new year to you all. I’m pretty sure we had a break for a few weeks but hockey never seems to sleep. Once the outdoor break kicked in, indoor began. The Women’s 1st team took part in the East regionals, played well but were not able to force their way through to the National finals this weekend. The Men’s team under the leadership of evergreen James Southgate head south this weekend for to the National League tournament. Elsewhere the boys Under 16 won the East Regionals triumphing against perennial winners Old Loughtonians meaning that on the 11/12 they take part in the national finals. Furthermore, there was a massive UK Hockey indoor tournament in Nottingham on the 27-30 December. Boys and girls U12, U14 and U16 took part and took on some of the best teams in the country (including Ipswich) and the teams took on Surbiton, Wimbledon, Sevenoaks and a host of other top recognised teams. Kudos to all the players and to the parents who dragged their bleary eyed loved ones up to Nottingham the day after Boxing Day. Spare a thought for the parents who enjoyed the Travel Lodge at Nottingham for 3 nights! All in all, as a club we have invested time and effort into our indoor and look forward to a continued bright future.

Back to Tuddenham and the coming season, please look out for notifications from your captains about training dates.

Next up, I’m looking for some new year help.

1) Have you noticed that the only official social pre-Christmas was the U14s Disco? We really do need a social secretary – it’s not a committee position it just involves organizing 1 or 2 socials Jan-Mar and helping with the club dinner (dates to follow). Alternatively, would your team like to organize a quiz night for the club, or a bingo evening or race night? We’d love your help and with a booming membership we really should be showing face with a good party or two.

2) After 2 seasons of helping organise teas, Farran Douse is stepping down - thank you so much Farran for all your help here and for also your help organising over 50 DBS checks for our teams and juniors. It has not gone unnoticed. We'd like to find someone else to help organise teas, it requires checking the number of teas and ordering in the food. You could even be the person to move us on from Jacket potatoes! The classic hockey tea - sausage roll, chips and beans! Can you spare a few minutes each week to help? Farran had a very effective system in place.

Post Christmas, stability I think is the order of the day, one promotion and zero relegations across the 11 adult teams (yes 11!) would be super. Team of the year remains up for grabs. I’m sure the weather will also scupper a number of fixtures in January so be prepare for slip dates.

Again, welcome to 2025 everyone and I look forward to seeing you at Tuddenham soon.

Best, Wardy