An award-winning club!
Hockey is thriving in Okehampton. Both the Men, who recently celebrated their 25th anniversary, and the Ladies, who will be marking their centenary in 2018, have first teams playing at the highest level ever. The Men play in GoCrea8 league South Division 1, stretching from Penzance to Chard, while the Ladies are in West Clubs Women’s Hockey League South Division, again covering similar distances. In addition there is a second XI for the Men and two additional ladies’ teams playing regular league hockey.
There is a large junior section with over 70 youngsters from nine years upwards receiving coaching on Saturday mornings. Boys’ and girls’ teams compete in county development tournaments at U12 and U14 level. The club assists with after school training sessions in several local primary schools and Okehampton College. An annual primary school festival and the West Devon Primary Quicksticks tournament are organised in partnership with OCRA.
For those ladies not wanting to commit to regular league hockey there are ‘back to hockey’ sessions on a Monday evening offering a fun and informal way to play for ladies of all abilities.
The club has use of the Pavilion in the Park as its clubhouse and consequently has gained an excellent reputation for social events such as quiz nights, curry evenings and race nights. The Men’s club recently received the Devon Hockey Hospitality Club of the Year award for the second time in three seasons, along with the Team Discipline of the Year award, reflecting the welcoming nature of the club and the importance of sportsmanship to its members.
A spokesman for the club said: ‘We are always keen to attract new members who are welcome to attend Men’s training on Tuesday evenings, Ladies’ training on Wednesday evenings or Ladies’ ‘back to hockey’ sessions on Monday evenings.’
If you would like more information please contact: John Jarvis on 01837 52482 or thistlebank@tiscali.co.uk; Lesley Bingham 07730654442 or okehockey-secretary@homail.com or visit www.okehamptonhockeyclub.clubbuzz.co.uk