The 98th season is nearly upon us and despite the high temperatures, pre-season senior training is in full swing. I do hope you have enjoyed the wonderful summer and you are looking forward to a new and exciting season. We managed to fill all the vacancies at the AGM in June and warm welcome to the new officers and captains. Ruki continues in her role as Ladies Club Captain and G has taken over as Men’s Club Captain.

Planning for the new season is nearly complete and we finally have the senior league fixtures from England Hockey. Please ensure that you are registered with GMS (no need to re-register if you are already set up from last season) – any queries, please refer to Sarah Allan.

The league fixtures start from 24th September with a series of friendlies lined up throughout September. For those teams not involved in friendlies on 3rd September, we will be having a club day and further information to follow. Good luck to all teams and please support your captains as it is important we all get off to a good start. Again, we will be using a combination of Eton Willowbrook and Windsor Boys School for matches. We are currently in discussion with Eton regarding additional pitch time for am Saturday matches, which I hope we will have a formal response from Eton in early September.

Kev and Nat have been very busy organizing the Junior hockey and just finished a series of summer camps. The Junior section will be up and running for the new season from Sunday 18th September and further information to follow. Massive thanks to Kev and Nat for your help and organization. Junior section is growing and going from strength to strength and can not happen without the support of all the coaches, helpers and parents. Any new coaches/helpers will need to be DBS checked and please liaise with Sarah Walker our Welfare officer to ensure this happens. It is also important to review and cover the safeguarding guidance from England Hockey.

Matches cannot happen without umpires and we need to continue expanding our umpiring pool. Please put your name forward and undertake the England Hockey online course and let Mike Jones, Umpiring Co-Ordinator, know. Respect for umpires is critical - please ensure you have read and understand England Hockey Code of Conduct. On disciplinary note, we have had several instances where players have fallen below the standards accepted by the club and this will not be tolerated. We will be clamping down hard on any player who steps out of line and Andrew Hayward, our Disciplinary Officer, amongst others, will be on your case.

Subs and match fees were agreed at the FGM and please ensure you pay promptly using Pitchero. Our costs are rising, especially for pitch hire and floodlights, so we need to ensure we have enough money in our account to cover our initial outlay.

Lucy and Dev are continuing as Social Secs and will forward a list of the social events for the season in due course. If you have any ideas, please let them know.

All for now and enjoy the build up to the new season.

Best Regards

Stuart Wright

Chairman Windsor HC

23.08.22.