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September 2024 marks the start of Witham Hockey Club's 100th year as a hockey club, a truly landmark achievement and we have plans to make it our biggest and best year yet!
One of these plans is a weekend Centenary Festival to kick off that season and bring together everyone, old and new, as we begin to celebrate the past one hundred years with a friendly competition amongst local clubs and friends of WHC. This Centenary Festival will run on 13th-15th September 2024 which will encompass the wealth of people and history of the club by providing three traditional grass pitch tournaments spanning the generations; a walking hockey mixed 7s tournament on the Friday, a mixed 7s tournament on the Saturday and a juniors tournament on the Sunday.
Each day will be full with a food and drink available throughout, followed by evening entertainment on the Friday and Saturday. They'll also be a beer tent serving a selection of beers, ciders and wine, so no matter your preference you'll be able to celebrate or drown your sorrows.
For those joining us on the Friday and Saturday there will be the option to camp on the Friday and Saturday nights. Helpful to either those who wish to be fresh for competition or don't want to travel (or stumble...) too far. There are a number of hotels nearby should you prefer more comfort.
Rules, Eligibility, & Info of Note
We are able to confirm the information and rules that these games will be played against, this will be found on our website in due course but see below for the time being:
The team entry cost for Friday and Saturday is £100 a team.
Walking Mixed 7s (Friday 13/09/2024): Quarter size pitches, squads of 12 with 7 players on the pitch of which there must be at least 1 male/female. E.g. 1 females and 6 males, 4 females and 3 males, etc. This 'looser' ratio being opted for due to consideration that a closer to 1:1 ratio may be more difficult to field amongst our older players. There are no goalkeepers and there will be a shooting zone instead of a 'D'. Short corners and flicks are replaced with challenges. As you'd expect no running is allowed and one foot must be touching the ground at all times. Umpires will be provided. This is effectively standard walking hockey rules but the pitch and squad size is larger to accommodate mixed 7s. The Friday walking hockey mixed 7s is aimed at our most 'experienced' retired, veterans and less mobile, please keep this in mind.
09:00 - Arrival
09:15 - Captain's briefing
10:00 - Tournament starts
17:00 - Approximate end time
(timings subject to change)
Senior Mixed 7s (Saturday 14/09/2024): Standard hockey rules on a half size pitch, squads of 12 with 7 players on the pitch, one of which must be a goalkeeper and the there needs to be at least 3 males/females on the pitch. Of key note and in-keeping with it being a friendly tournament after each game each team will need to leave a suitably experienced player behind to umpire the next game. They don't need to be a qualified umpire, just safe and have a fair understanding of the rules of hockey.
09:00 - Arrival
09:15 - Captain's briefing
10:00 - Tournament starts
18:00 - Approximate end time
(timings subject to change)
Juniors Mixed 7s (Sunday 15/09/2024): The Juniors on Sunday will be two age categories; Under 10s and Under 12s and they will the same rules as the Seniors Mixed for squad size & composition and gameplay. Umpires will be provided. Entry is by invite, however please contact us if you would be interested.
(All the above is subject to change but it is unlikely that there will be any major differences)
All skill levels are welcome on any of the days, whilst competitive hockey will be played this is a friendly tournament and should be fun.
Contact
Any questions or queries please check out the website or email us at:
centenary@withamhockeyclub.co.uk
