The raffle winners were drawn at our wonderful Club Dinner on 20th April, and as you can see the club are very grateful for all the fundraising efforts for our two new pitches.

The pitch project is moving on at pace and the first games are now a matter of weeks away!

Aaaaaaand the winners are…

1st  prize  Edith Sanchez:   2 pairs of Olympic Hockey Tickets

2nd prize  Flyodie :     iPad 2

3rd prize   Alison Smith from Bowdon:     Fine Wine

4th prize   Zak Wizbek:  a pair of Olympic Hockey Tickets

5th prize Laurance Taylor (Flagons captain): a pair of Olympic Hockey Tickets

6th Prize Simeon Bird:    Reves casual shirt

7th Prize Rob Shilling:    Reves Casual shirt

8th Prize The Shrimptons (juniors):  Reves Casual shirt

But these weren’t the only winners on the night:

Lucy Spours was Ladies Young Player of the season

Caroline Rowe was Ladies Player of the Season

Andy Foreman Won the Dunlop Award for Biggest Contribution to the Club

The Men's First Team shared Team of the Season with the Ladies 3s...though not the Champagne!

Ben Robinson was Men’s young player of the season, and Men’s player of the season was Matt Grinham…for some reason nobody took any pictures of either of them…so the final picture is a huge bunch of winners on the dancefloor

You should recently have received a letter about our pitch improvement project. As you will see from the picture the work is already well under way.

Whilst the excellent work of some club members means we have the majority of the funding, we still need your help to raise more funds and ensure we once again have the best facilities in the country.Many of you will no doubt be selling raffle tickets as you read this, and I’m sure you have lots of money to give to either Alex Ricketts, or your captain, ahead of the draw at the Club Dinner next Friday(20th). Please use this last week to sell as many as possible, and of course, get the stubbs back to the club, along with the cash, before the draw.You can also help, as the says, by donating directly. As an Amateur sport, hockey will always rely on the generosity of its players and ex-players. Southgate HC could not work without the generosity of its friends and members, both financially and in terms of practical help. If you would like to lend your support, either fill in and return the form in your letter, or get in touch via the form below:

Thanks, and see you next Friday!

Club legend Warwick Hoyle gets to know the locals

Do you know what you’re doing next year? No? Well, that’s hardly surprising, but wouldn’t it be amazing to have the trip of a lifetime to look forward to?

Our wonderful men’s first team sponsor, Mike Cooke, is offering to lay on the hockey tour of a lifetime for us through his Barnet-based travel firm Holiday Air.

The details are yet to be decided, but there will be at least two games, surrounded by a fantastic travel experience on the island jewel of the Indian Ocean.

The trip will be 10 days in total and the level of the opposition will be decided by those who express aninterest.

The tour promises to be family friendly and show off the best that Sri Lanka has to offer, from its array of gently arcing golden-sand beaches, to delicious cuisine and diverse Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim cultures – a stellar combination of scenery, culture and history.

The timing of the tour is also to be confirmed but is likely to be either just after next season or just before the following one (Spring or Summer 2013).

One of the many beautiful views you can enjoy between matches

What we would like you to do:

You will have received an email  about the tour, simply reply, or email Nick Hodgson directly saying you would be interested, and expressing a view on when would suit best. Once we have an idea of the level of interest and best timing we will firm up the details and asked people to commit.

Simple as that: go on give us a shout.

Are you receiving Holiday Air emails? They offer some great deals for Southgate members. For data protection reasons we need your permission to pass on your email address, you can request them from Nick Hodgson

Check out holiday air at http://www.holidayair.co.uk

What a  day at Southgate!

The short version is: we’re staying up. The long version will be told and retold in the bar for a long time to come. Dan Shingles scored a goal that will not rank amongst the most beautiful of his career, but will certainly be one of the most important. Matt Grinham was simply immense at the back, and Chris Hibbert pulled of one of the greatest saves ever to grace Trent Park to keep us one nil up.  But this was a team performance and the culmination of a season where an almost tangible team spirit has been on display in every game.

The reality of what was a stake could be seen on the faces of the Bowdon players and support at the final whistle. They really did their club proud today, and it’s a shame that one of these two teams had to go down. They will be back, Bowdon are too much of a great club to be down for long.

Today was all about Southgate. The balcony was in great voice, and as the Exeter score came through the shouts gained a touch more urgency. When the solitary goal finally came the release of emotion was incredible, and followed by a long sustained trademark shout of “GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL” . Almost straight away the realisation struck that there was a long way to go, and Bowdon seemed to keep winning corners. It was hard to watch and probably even harder to play in. When the final whistle finally came it was relief as well as elation that erupted from the Southgate support, a long season all came down to that second half and every second seemed to last a decade.

Every single player can be proud of what they achieved this season, and everyone in the club can hold their heads that bit higher after today.

A special thank you to our 4 ball boys today from the junior section.  Charlie Harwood, Louis Bilyard, Shukla and Shukla!  And to all the ball boys and girls who have helped throughout the season.

What are you doing at 2pm this coming Sunday?

If your answer to that question wasn’t “watching the Mens’ 1s beat Bowdon to stay in the EHL Prem” then you should be ashamed of yourself. OK, you’re busy, you played on Saturday, and weekends are short, you can barely remember your partner’s name and you have a nagging feeling that you should be doing something productive, but this is important. Really important. And the team need your support.

This is what the league table looks like:

We’ve given ourselves every chance, but this Sunday is about as big a game as you will ever see at Southgate. A win will see the lads pulling on the red and black, on our brand new pitches, in the EHL Premiership next season.

Bowdon are bringing two coach loads of supporters down, and they’re a noisy bunch, so bring the whole family, bring your friends, and most importantly: bring your voices.

Push back is 2pm, but make sure you get a spot on the balcony and get there for at least 1.30pm.

COME ON GATE!!!

The title says it all, really.  Not much more to add. No hockey tomorrow, try to use your Saturday wisely.

Maybe you could keep fit by shovelling snow and gritting a pavement for the good of your neighbours?

Here’s a lovely picture of the club house in the snow.

Thur 9 Feb – Pitches are unfit for training.  This picture was taken at 1.30pm Thursday. Not alot of melting going on.  

We may have another snow affected weekend as well, so watch your emails and stay in touch with your captain.

Is your game sill on?

We’ll be updating the fixtures below as soon as we know what the situation is with the weather.

Will it be hockey, ice hockey, or an afternoon with your feet up in front of the TV?

ALL HOME GAMES OFF:

• 10:30 SHCW  Magnums v Indian Gym Supervets
• 12:00 SHCW  Mens 2s v Tulse Hill & Dulwich Mens 2s
• 12:00 SHCS Ladies 3s v Hampstead & Westminster L5s
• 13:30 SHCW Laides 1s v Southampton
• 13:30 SHCS Ladies 2s v Hampstead & Westminster
• 15:00 SHCW Mens 3s v Indian Gym
• 15:00 SHCS Ladies 4s v Imperial Medics
• 16:30 SHCW  Goblets v Tulse Hill & Dulwich Diamonds

AWAY GAMES

• 12:00 A  BH  Tumblers      BromBeck M4s CONFIRMED
• 14:30 A  IG  Men’s 4s      Indian Gymkhana Men’s 3s LHL Div 2
• 16:30 A  SLW Flagons v Reading Rustlers – CANCELLED

Most of you will probably be well in to the second half of your season, but our super soar-away Men’s 1s are still getting ready for their all important race to the finish line.

Their season reccomences with a cup match away to Bowdon on 5th February, but you will get a chance to see them in action with two warm up games this week.

Tomorrow night a shortened club training session will end at 8pm to make way for a “friendly” against our “friends” and neighbours Old Loughtonians. The lads will also be in action at 4pm this coming Saturday against Bath Buccaneers, so you’ve got plenty of opportunity to give them a big boost before they start battle again.

Time to lose that Christmas flab…Men’s training is on as usual tomorrow, 3rd January.

Although it’s not quite “as usual” as it will be taken by new coach and men’s 3s Captain Mike Hughes, who will be putting everyone through their paces. So if you want to impress, make sure you get to the club for 7.30pm tomorrow.

Well We’re officially 125 years old now, and our birthday weekend has been amazing. From the partying on Saturday, to the hockey on Sunday, everyone who turned out really did make it a wonderful celebration.

On Saturday we had the Red and Black formal evening, with live music from the Daddioes, then Sunday had the Legends match featuring some of the club’s former superstars, including Olympic Gold Medallist Sean Kerly.

After that the Men’s 1s kicked off their season against the star-studded East Grinstead (match report to follow), and the day was finished with a barbecue and a raffle.

A brilliant weekend, thanks to all of those who organised it, and the club members who supported it. There are a few pictures below and even more on the Southgate Facebook Page

While the 11/12 hockey season may still seem a long way off, and you are just starting to realize that  the end of Summer is around the corner, the Southgate M1s   squad  have been hard at work in pre-season preparation, getting ready for their assault on the English Premier League. The first league game is against East Grinstead on Sunday, 18 September, and will be played in conjunction with the clubs 125yr anniversary celebrations. We do hope to see you down at the club over that weekend, and also to watch the M1’s in action on the Sunday.

Besides keeping together the core of the side which was so successful last season in winning the East Conference, and then gaining promotion in the highly dramatic playoffs, there are also some exciting new additions joining the squad this coming year, which is helping to shape the team into an even more competitive unit.

If you are interested in watching the M1s in action in during their very busy pre-season program, then please refer to the details below for their full pre-season match schedule. Support as always is welcomed.

Southgate M1’s – 11/12 Pre-season Match Schedule – August/September 2011

(All fixtures currently confirmed, but are subject to change)

20 August          vs            East Grinstead HC (away)                                            14h00

21 August          vs            Bromley Beckenham HC (away – Langley School)  12h30

23 August          vs            Reading HC (away)                                                       20h00

01 September   vs            Surbiton HC (away)                                                      20h00

03 September   vs            Bath Buccaneers (away)                                              16h00

04 September   vs            Bath Buccaneers (away)                                              12h00

06 September   vs            Old Loughts (home)                                                     20h00

10 September   vs            Fareham HC (away)                                                      14h30

11 September   vs            Canterbury HC (home)                                                 13h30

Alan Lindsay joins Southgate as new Ladies First Team Coach

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Alan Lindsay as the club’s new Ladies First Team coach.

Alan brings a wealth of talent and experience to the role and he is a Centrally Contracted Coach with England Hockey. As well has coaching the ladies 1s he will also work very closely with the Ladies second team, and the l junior section, as part of a “co-ordinated performance environment”.

As many of you will know Alan is already running pre-season training and will take charge of the Southgate side in South Clubs’ Women’s Hockey League, Division 1. Most recently a coach with Chelmsford’s Ladies First Team, Alan’s experience also includes work with Scotland’s Senior Women’s set up and GB Super League teams.

Our illustrious Chairman Tony Wizbek  said “We were looking for a ladies’ first team coach to help us re-build, to nurture a talented bunch of juniors and adults and ultimately, to take us back into the national league and keep us there. We are confident that Alan is that coach and we welcome him to Southgate.”

Alan said, “I look forward to the challenge ahead of aiming for National League status for the Ladies side once again. I am impressed with the facilities at the club and that combined with the playing personnel bodes well for us to play attractive and winning hockey this season”

Alan takes over from Jean Relou, who now coaches in Germany.

Come down to meet Alan and the team during pre-season, every Saturday morning 10.30am – 12.30pm.