University of Bristol Hockey Club

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1 December 2017 Highlights: Ladies 5s remain unbeaten so far in league Men s 1s well poised for promotion back to National League Ladies 1s win 9 out of 11 league games Outstanding Movember effort; over 7,000 Inside this issue: Captains' Messages Men's 1s-3s Ladies' 1s-3s Men' 4s-6s Women's 4s-5s Finally... Club Captain Messages om Davies Men s Club Captain As ever, it has been a busy yet successful first half to the season for the UBMHC, both on and off the pitch. he 1s are well placed to gain promotion back to the National League sitting second with a game in hand, while on a Wednesday the 2s are fighting for back to back promotions. However, the biggest achievement of the term is the Club s Movember campaign which raised over 7000, with Henry Fairey and Josh Hallett leading the way. We have also managed to gain two new main sponsors, Jelf Real Estate and Marsh, along with our ongoing partnership with Lounge. I d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their continued support. he club is well placed going into the second half of the term. Hopefully come Easter, I will be able to report of further successes. Finally, thank you to all the committee and coaches, led by the outstanding Ben Dudley, who work tirelessly to ensure that the UBMHC continues to improve in all aspects. Catherine Allan Ladies Club Captain he first half of the 2017/18 season has been a good one for the UBLHC. Due to a large intake of new members, we currently have over 150 members playing, training and participating in various activities within the sport. he formation of the 6 th squad, which plays regular friendlies against other universities, has given us the opportunity to provide an even larger range of hockey levels for our members. he BUCS leagues are proving tough this year and it hasn t been easy for most of our teams, however, the 5s have had a great run to remain undefeated with a potential league win. WCWHL Saturday leagues have also been going well strong commitment from the players and high-quality performances on the pitch have paid off in some well-deserved results. Offering more opportunities to our members has been an important part of the committee s role this year in October we hosted an Umpire training day and our socials, including the Christmas Dinner, have been great successes. We look forward to the new year and what it may bring, I d like to thank the Committee for all their hard work this year so far.

2 Page 2 Men s 1s P reseason started in late August with the returning players aspiring for promotion in the Saturday league and a strong BUCS campaign. hese hopes gained tangibility, when Bristol emphatically beat Cheltenham 1s, a national league side, 4-0 in preseason. his win was then followed by a strong start in the GoCrea8 Premiership with wins against Wotton under Edge and Cardiff & Met. However, BUCS sluggishly rolled into action, with Bristol beginning the campaign with a 3-3 draw against Cardiff Met, having been 3-1 down at home, and a loss away at Oxford Brookes. hese games were then followed by a temporal dip in overall form that looked likely to end Bristol s aspirations of winning the GoCrea8 Premiership and gaining promotion to the national league. However, a vital win away against Reading university in BUCS reversed Bristol s overall fortunes, and began an impressive run of results that included a 4-0 victory away against Exeter University s 2 nd team and an 8-0 win against Westbury. Next year offers much excitement for Bristol as they currently sit second in the GoCrea8 league, one point behind Plymouth Marjon, and preside in 4 th place in BUCS, one point above the relegation spot and two points off third place. If Bristol can gain some early momentum in the new year, this season has the potential to be special. his season has the potential to be special Men s 2s he 2s battled hard and finished strongly in the Saturday league, but it was in BUCS that they really excelled. Coming back from 2-0 against Bournemouth and a gritty 2-1 win against a strong Swansea side away from home. Special mention to the free-scoring Zach Dunnett and the wall om Carrington in goal for having an excellent half season. Men s 3s he term started with a team that was almost unrecognisable from last years 3rd team, only one member still standing strong. After being promoted last year there was a tough challenge ahead for our Bucs campaign but this didn t faze us. After 6 games we are sitting pretty in joint second place, also still in the cup. Some beautiful hockey has been played and even more delightful goals scored. With Wednesdays seeing free flowing hockey Saturday started a bit differently losing are 6 games but after our young team acclimatised to the rough world of men s hockey we have since won 3 of 4 with an average of 5 goals per game. Hitting form well for our second half of the season.

3 Page 3 Ladies 1s he 1s have had a very strong first half to the season in the West Clubs Women s Premier League, winning 9 out of 11 of our fixtures and now sitting in the top 4 as we go into the Christmas break with only 2 points separating us from the top position. Some tougher fixtures in the South Prem BUCS league sees the 1s currently sat in 5 th place, but with a good result against bottom-place Cambridge our position in the league for next year will be secured. Our best performances in BUCS include a 5-2 win against Cambridge and a hard-fought draw against Oxford. he team s commitment has been great, and everyone has worked really hard we look forward to pushing on in the next half of the season! Ladies 2s A fter a shaky start trying to put together a team of players who worked well together, the 2s have had a promising first half of the season. urn out at training and general commitment has been reflected in the matches and we ve had some really good wins the highlight being when we beat the top team in our Saturday league 2-1! here is still so much to look forward to and all to play for in our BUCS league. here is still so much to look forward to and all to play for Ladies 3s he 3s have had a challenging first half to the season with some difficult BUCS matches to start the commitment to training, hard work in matches and never-faltering morale has led to positive results and our qualification into the quarter finals of the Cup. Our Saturday league has also proved challenging after being promoted last season. However, the 3s have enjoyed the step up and hope to continue playing well in the new year. We finished 2017 on a high and hope to carry this on into 2018

4 Page 4 he team has come together and now we are flying Men s 4s he first half off the season has been a mixed bag for the 4XI of the UBMHC, with some signs of real promise sometimes being overshadowed with frustrating losses. Following on from an incredible season last year the goal for this season is to find our feet and establish ourselves within the leagues. At Christmas we are firmly in the mid table on our Saturday league, in the quarter final of the cup and safety on Wednesday is looking very likely. owards the latter end of the year, the team has come together and now we are flying. he highlight of the year so far has been drawing 3-3 to Exeter 5s who had beaten us 7-2 at the start of the season. If we carry on with the same commitment and drive to succeed we will surely cement ourselves as a team that deserve to play with quality sides that we face week in week out. Men s 5s E l Cartel have had a mixed start to the season. Having been promoted last year the Saturday league has proved to live up to the tough expectations. Many a team would lose heart with a win rate of 18%, travelling across the south west to play beautiful hockey and somehow every time being pipped at the death. Not the 5 s however. Our outstanding BUCS record remains intact, undefeated in our BUCS group we travel to the likes of Swansea and Cardiff in the new year with high hopes. We also commence our Cup run in 2018 playing Bath Spa 1 s. With our strong fresh contingent, superb commitment and general good blokes, we continue to improve, individually and as a team. Despite some hefty losses we bounce back every week, and this is of huge credit to the boys of El Medellin Cartel. It has been unforgettable! Men s 6s he Bristol 6th XI have had a mixed season on the pitch, including two pastings by the Medics, a close affair with the Vets, with help from the Ladies 6s, and an entertaining game v Bath. he moment of glory, though, must be the first ever victory by the 6s in club history, defeating fierce local rivals UWE 5-3. What a glorious day. Highlights off the pitch include magic fresh's sensational illusions, Harry Wiseman s abominable performance at the Olympics and Captain Fergus's record breaking fantasy hockey tally of -17 points in a single week. Congratulations to Oliver Wakeling on becoming 6s top ever scorer with 3 goals. It is an impressive feat, and a record which is unlikely to be broken for a long time. Special thanks to Aussie fresh, Charlie Hosken (Can t fresh), who returns to Australia after contributions at the back of the pitch and the forefront of socials. We will see if we can organise more matches next term, but if not, thank you to everyone involved in the 6s this season. It has been unforgettable!

5 Page 5 Ladies 4s I t s been a tough start to the season in a new BUCS league for the 4s, due to our stormer of a season last year leading to promotion. With a huge influx of bright face first years, it was difficult to initially find our feet (or a consistent team of the same players playing every week!), but 3 months on we are a much more settled squad. While we haven t been winning every week on the pitch, we have been winning off the pitch with socials every week our team has bonded amazingly and from that our team cohesion during games has seen vast improvements. We hope to start the new year a-fresh and get some points in the bag! All the girls have put in a fantastic effort throughout the season so far and I couldn t be prouder Ladies' 5s he 5s have had such a successful season, we remain undefeated, having only drawn one match. his is a real testament to the effort and commitment that the girls have put in all season. We currently sit at the top of the league with 5 goals in hand over Exeter 6s. Achieving promotion would be the best finish to this season. All the girls have put in a fantastic effort throughout the season so far and I couldn t be prouder. Hopefully 2018 will bring much of the same, as we look to continue to dominate the league and keep our unbeaten record, something that has rarely been achieved in the UBHC s history. Ladies 5s celebrating their unbeaten season so far Finally... W e very much look forward to welcoming everyone back after a period of well earned rest and relaxation following the Christmas and New Year period. With all the great achievements that the club as a whole has already accomplished, we now look to kick on even further and have another successful season both on and off the pitch. here are several opportunities for promotions, as well as the potential for nail-biting finishes to stay up. Regardless, we are sure that there will be many more excellent opportunities to go and watch some quality hockey, so do please come down to Fortress Dingle. A few things to look forward to this half of term will be the Alumni weekend from the 16th-18th of March. he following Wednesday (21st March) we are also planning on having our annual Derby Day versus Bath. Please do come along and support. We now look to kick on even further Make sure to keep following and supporting us across all social media channels to keep up to date with the latest club news. Also, take a look at the website for weekly match reports and team news. hank you all for your continued support! Here s to a fantastic 2018!