Notes From the Chair

After a brief summer hiatus, The Back Post is back with an edition absolutely packed with material to light the fuse on the lead-up to the new season. The summer hockey has been absolutely flowing through all levels of the club and as we see these leagues out over the coming weeks our gaze inevitably turns to the approaching new season and all the anticipation that comes with it including awards, committee/exec elections, socials (including a special welcome back pre-season social), club-day.

Read on to find out about all these things, as well as what your league looks like next season in the new London Region (no more East!), an exclusive 20% club discount code on sports massage with club sponsor Tom Sharp at Sharp Movement, and loads of other gems. Season 2021/22 beckons!

Umpiring

First off, a massive thank you to all those umpires who have continued to turn out over summer to make sure we can all play more hockey than you can shake a stick at. As we look towards the new season it’s vital that we continue to replenish the club records and stocks of whistlers. Our tireless ULOs (Umpire Liaison Officers) are always on the search for more folk to don pink and keep the game running so if you are new to the club, keen to try umpiring, or just want to start learning the rules, drop James an email on wappingulo@gmail.com and log an interest. Umpires are massive to the club, and as a club, we will fully support anyone who wants to contribute in this way. This includes expenses, discounts on club events, or support for your umpiring development, so please pop your hand up.

Elections

On Monday, we will kick off elections for all positions on the Exec and the Committee.  Serving on the Exec and Committee is a fantastic way to support the club and all members are welcome to run.  Committee members get a discount on their subs, while Exec members’ subs are now zero-rated. The list of roles is set out below; nominations will open on Monday, so keep an eye out for an email with all of the relevant information.  In the meantime, if you have any questions about the elections or any of the roles, please contact Ciara on wappingvcp@gmail.com

Exec: Chairperson, Vice-Chair Community, Vice-Chair Performance, Ladies’ Club Captain, Men’s Club Captain, Club Secretary, Treasurer, Fixtures Secretaries (x2)

Committee: Umpire Liaison Officers (x2), Social Media Secretary, Press Secretary, Newsletter (Back Post) Secretary, Social Secretary, Summer League Coordinator, Youth Coordinator, Disability (Flyerz) Coordinator, Assistant Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Kit Secretary, Webmaster, Captains of M1-MXI and L1-L8

Socials

One thing we all hear around the club as we emerge from a totally bizarre 18 months or so, is how much we all miss the club socials. It’s been two seasons without one of WHCs famous End of Season Dinners, new teammates who have joined in the last year have barely met anyone outside their team, this can’t go on! It follows that one of most exciting things in the lead up to this season is going to be the full relaunch of WHCs social calendar. Keep an eye on future Back Post issues for all the details, but for now a couple of tantalising ‘Save the Dates’, including the Extraordinary Pre-Season Club Social which we are earmarking as a bigger-than-normal event to really welcome everyone back to the social side of the club.

Date TBC - Inaugural Wapping HC Golf Day
Saturday 4th Sept - Club Day
Saturday 11th Sept - Extraordinary Pre-Season Club Social

London Leagues Announced

If you’re a regular reader of the Back Post you’ll be well aware that from this season Wapping HC is now part of the newly created London region. We’ve discussed at length how we think this will be great for the club not just in terms of travel to away games, but also in areas like recruitment and sponsorship, as we become a London-facing club.

The new area has now announced the final leagues and divisions for the inaugural season. You can find the divisions below, so can check out your games and start planning your away day pub crawls, all within the m25, now!

Women's Leagues
Men's Leagues

Sharp Movement Sports Massage Discount

For the past two seasons, Tom at Sharp Movement has been involved with the M1 team as pitchside First Aid, injury assessment, and Sports Massage on the sidelines. Many WHC members of all levels have seen Tom in his clinic in Old Street for Sports Injury treatment, rehab, or just general Sports Massage to help make it from week to week! The offering has just got even better. James Wright joins Tom's team at the clinic. He specialises in cycling and works one day per week at the English Institute of Sport across a range of different sports. He will be able to help with injury treatment, referral pathways, or general treatment to take care of those niggles before they become injuries that require time away from the field. So, take advantage of a WHC exclusive deal of 20%off all appointments (60/45/30min available). Just mention Wapping HC in the notes section when you book to get the discount!

Book through the website or drop an email if you have any further questions!