Things are looking up!

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City on the winning trail...

Things are hotting for many of the City teams in the East and Norfolk leagues. Leading the way are the ladies 4th team, who are currently a massive 11 points clear in the M&A Norfolk Ladies League Division 3. This is an excellent achievement for a team who were mostly playing in the development team last year. They are closely followed by the ladies 1st team, 7 points clear in East Division 2NE, who are hoping for a quick return to the division above; the ladies development team, despite all being new to the league this year, are also topping the table, leading by a point with a game in hand over their rivals.

On the men's side, its a close affair for all of the first four teams. The men's first team have set a fierce pace alongside local rivals Dereham in East Premier B; although a disappointing defeat last weekend to Dereham, they will look to continue to press hard at the end of the season. The Mens 2nds, 3rds and 4ths have all been competitive all season and all are in with a good chance of promotion this year.

This all means its a close run affair on the "bragging rights" for top team in the club this season. The ladies 4's currently lead the way with an 80% win rate, closely followed by both ladies development and ladies 1st team.... but who will win?!

Up for the Cup!

The league successes have been matched on the field by the cup teams. Two teams that would love to see your support are, firstly, the Men's over 40s, who will play Peterborough in the last 16 of the plate competition at Taverham, on Sunday, 20th Match at 1:30pm. Secondly, at the other end of the scale, the boys U16 reached the last 8 of their plate competition, where they will be facing Bishops Stortford on 6 March, again at 1:30pm. This is a real opportunity to see the future stars of the club; the team won their way through to the quarter finals with a 6-3 defeat of Dereham, a match which featured 5 goals from captain George Anthony. The Mixed Team are currently awaiting their draw for the plate competition, once again going out to Harleston - despite putting up a good display and leading 2-0 at half time.

One team sadly losing out was the U16 girls, who faced a very strong Havering team who were coming into the last 16 of the cup competition off the back of an appearance in the final of the national indoor tournament. The girls put up a valiant display, and at 2-1 with 30 minutes left following a Jess Harris goal, were well in the game. However, Havering found their feet in the last 10 minutes and put away 3 goals to secure victory. The Norwich girls will keenly look forward to next year, with almost all of the team still qualifying for the age group.

A mention also goes to the members of the Norwich School Girls U14 team, which includes a number of NCHC girls - they have reached the national schools finals on 2 March at Cannock. Good luck girls!

The Annual Dinner Dance

At the end of the season, we all like to relax, sit back and... go to the Annual Dinner Dance! Again hosted by Caistor Hall, and organised by Karren Dagless, the dinner dance promises to be bigger than ever. Come along and find out who takes the awards on the 9th April. Tickets are £35 for adults, and £25 for younger members. You can sign up for tickets by visiting the club website and entering your details on the home page.

Quiz Night 2

As we are all up for revenge on "Jenny's Belles", aka the Ladies 5th team, there will be another quiz night on Saturday, March 12th at TRF. Keep an eye out for further details on the club's website.

On the theme of the ladies 5th team winning things, big congratulations go to the team who recently recorded their first ever league victory - and then promptly followed it up with their second!

Blowing your own whistle

The club are always on the lookout for new umpires and now is no different. With 13 teams each Saturday, and the need to fulfil cup and mini fixtures too, the more umpires we have, the easier it gets. It's also not difficult to qualify - it requires attending a course, which is followed by short examination, 3 practice games and then a final assessment. The next course is being held on 3rd and 10th March at Dereham; the club can help fund the cost of the £25 course - and in return umpires receive £10 for home matches and £15 for away games.

In therapy...

Those of you playing at Taverham over the past few weeks might have noticed - or experienced - Carl and Luciano, our friendly - and currently free - massage therapists! Carl and Luciano have been studying for their qualifications, and offering free sessions to help them build their hours. Although this comes to an end, if you are interested in paying a small fee to carry on having such a facility on Saturdays let us know.

Pitch issues

Finally, many of you will have noticed a gap starting to appear in the Taverham pitch in the D near the club house; as you are probably aware, we are trying to raise money not just to resurface the current pitch but build a second pitch. The fact that this gap has emerged just demonstrates how badly the additional facilities are required!

If you are interested in helping to fundraise, having advertising space, or make a donation, please do let us know. We desperately need support and people to help our club develop, so let us know if you can help!

You can read more about advertising opportunities with us by visiting our website.

Dates for your diaries

February 20th - 1.30pm at Taverham
Masters National Plate - Last 16 - Norwich City Masters (aka Vets) vs City of Peterborough

March 6th - 1.30pm at Taverham
U16 Boys National Plate - Quarter Finals - Norwich City U16 Boys vs Bishop Stortford

March 3rd/10th - Dereham HC
March 10th/17th - UEA
Level 1 Umpiring Course

March 12th - 7.30pm Taverham
Quiz Night

March 27th - Alex Hill Minis Tournament at Dereham
U10s,U12s Boys and Girls Tournament

April 9th - 7.00pm Caister Hall
Annual Dinner Dance

May (TBC) - Taverham
Annual General Meeting

May/June - Dereham HC
Level 1 Coaching Course

You can find out more about these and any other upcoming events by regularly visiting our website.

Get kitted up...

We have a stock of shirts and socks stored at the clubhouse for those still needing kit, and as we continue to grow as a club with more members joining every week some of the popular sizes are starting to go fast, so make sure you get stocked up if you need kit.

If you need hoodies or anything else then visit our clothing section on your website to find out more.

Shop at Sainsburys or Tescos???

Don't forget - if you shop at Sainsburys or Tescos, we need your vouchers! Last year the vouchers we collected paid for all of the hockey balls we use at training. As the bag seems to get ever lower each week, we will probably need some more each year - as well as all the other bits of kit we get through. If you have any vouchers, pass these to Sarah Anthony or on to your Team Captains to pass on.

City on Tour

Finally, many of you may remember Didi Grobben, who played for the ladies 1st team last year. Her hockey club in Holland host a large annual tournament, on 24-26 June, featuring 30 teams, and a place has been reserved for a City ladies and mens team. The tournament is a bargainous 35 euros, which includes breakfast, lunch and a BBQ dinner; in addition to lots of hockey, there will be other sporting events, a DJ and live band. Accomodation will be camping, so bring your tents! In addition to the tournament cost, we will need to pay for transport to the tournament in Holland. All players are welcome to take part, and it would be great to get a couple of teams out! If you would like to take part, please contact Sarah Middleton ( note1001@aol.com) or contact your team captain.

Find out more information by visiting the club website.

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