Wapping Hockey Club

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE BACK POST TO YOUR INBOX BY CLICKING HERE

Disclaimer: this (and future) editions of The Back Post may have been written by a ghost writer on behalf of the Chair. Please don’t mistake apparent enthusiasm for a change in outlook for the normal author.

Good evening all. And congratulations all for making it through the week. We can celebrate together tomorrow at JO and LV.

Quick admin note - owing to a mix-up by the intended venue, the Christmas Social will now very likely be on the 4th December. Apologies for any inconvenience caused, hopefully as many people as possible can still attend - and maybe some that couldn't make the 11th. The excellent news is the new venue will be open til 3am! Ticket info to follow soon.

We have a lot going on this weekend including the mens #watchyour1s campaign, complete with half-time shenanigans, a M3 Movember fundraising raffle, and an after-party at Dough Daddy! Oh, and a hockey match to watch apparently....

With Christmas just around the corner now is the opportune time to register for Easyfundraising as a really easy way to make a few extra bucks for the club just from kickback on your online shopping. We are endeavouring to protect our members (that's you) from various rising costs in the post pandemic world, and good take up on initiatives like this can go a long way towards helping us do that for you, so go on. A ‘how to’ on setting this up can be found on our Instagram page!

Read on for more information on the above and remember to bring all your HAPPY HOCKEY VIBES THIS WEEKEND!

Love u

Xoxo, Ghost writer.

As I hope you are all aware by now we are having our men's #watchyour1s game tomorrow under the LV lights, 18:00 pb. The press and social teams have worked tirelessly the past few weeks to make this event as spectacular as possible so a huge thank you to them for all their effort and time, and a final plea to you all to get down to LV and make sure their efforts are appreciated!

To set the scene, picture a dark and starry night only slightly fuzzied by London's notorious light pollution. Wapping’s top 16 men will take the pitch against West Hertz. The stands will be packed with our loyal supporters and teams hands full with ice cold beers to keep them warm. Pamela Anderson is rumoured to make a special appearance (definitely not a costume and definitely not an impersonation) in a half time little penalty shoot out, while a karaoke rendition of a Neil Diamond classic fills the stand (bet you can't guess which song...).

After the men win their game, we will take it to Dough Daddy for the #afterparty. Remember to use the code Wapping20 for 10% off all orders(and yes a 10% kickback for the club)! Please remember to use the code for the discount, we'll bring some wristbands to make it as easy as possible.

And that's not even all our press and social team are putting on for you. To help support the M3 with their Movember fundraiser we will be selling raffle tickets all day Saturday! There are some pretty amazing prizes including…

- £40 Salmon Hockey voucher
- £100 cash
- Belazu Mediterranean gift bundle
- £25 Majestic Wine voucher
- Dough daddy pizza

With prizes this good, and a day planned to be a bona fide 11 out of 10 make sure you bring your brother, sister, mom, dad, long lost cousin twice removed, your flat mate and maybe your dog too!

To hype up our M1 ahead of tomorrow we interviewed skipper Nathanael Crawley (NC) to get a closer look at their team!

After such a long wait to get back to hockey, how does it feel to finally be playing a normal hockey season?

NC: It’s great to be back, we actually played and trained for 6 weeks or so in late Spring to keep things ticking over, but to be back playing competitive hockey and be into the rhythm of being together 3 times a week is great. After lockdown last year we’re forever grateful for a post-game shower...you can hold the LV teas though...

What are your goals this season?

NC: We tend to set ourselves a target to be as competitive as possible until Christmas and see where we are then. For the last few seasons that’s seen us in a strong position to be promoted, however this season has been a little trickier. We’ve got two games left pre-xmas, including the #WatchYour1s game tomorrow to define what goals we set for 2022.

What are some pre-game rituals of the M1s?

NC: It used to be a dog-fight to get your hands on any jaffa cakes pre-game, but with Tom Sibley having left it’s a much more relaxed affair. Some people take getting dressed in the right order very seriously, others are precious about the music. Joe Chedd will usually push the boundaries of the mantra that “there’s no such thing a stupid question”. Otherwise it’s a pretty casual set-up.

How is the team preparing for the big game vs West Herts this weekend?

NC: We’ve had a great training week, cementing some of our core principles and tweaking a few newer things with the weekend in mind. Last week was probably our best performance of the season, and over the last few weeks we feel we’re getting back to ourselves and building a little momentum, which hopefully we can take into the game tomorrow under the lights and with some great support which we always massively appreciate and honestly don’t take for granted.

Result predictions?

NC: I heard Pamela Anderson is in attendance, so that’s enough of a result for me.

Who can down a pint the slowest and quickest?

NC: Slowest is Josh Beans Dawson, who voluntarily chose to do an actual tin of cold beans instead of a DOD pint, which he still didn’t finish.
Super Matt Rankin, who incidentally never gives the ball away (except when he does), chops a pretty swift pint.

Favourite/funniest memory of the season so far?

NC: Halloween Social was a great night, plenty of stories and great to be the best dressed team again. Was also good to get a few things off our chest with those signs. Odd that some people thought some of them weren’t serious.

Predictions for M1 dick of the season.

NC: Joe Chedd.