Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club

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Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club
League English Hockey League
Founded 2000
History Formed in the year 2000 by a merger of the long running Sheffield Banker's Club and the ailing Saturday arm of the University of Sheffield's hockey clubs.
Venue Goodwin Astroturf pitches, University of Sheffield
City Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
Team Colours Navy and White

Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club is a hockey club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who play in the English Hockey League and other leagues. It is associated with the University of Sheffield men's and women's hockey clubs, and many of its players are current students or alumni of the University of Sheffield.

Contents

[edit] History

Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club came from a merger of the University of Sheffield Men/Women's hockey clubs' Saturday teams and the well-established Sheffield Bankers Hockey Club in the year 2000, for reasons of mutual benefit.

The Sheffield Bankers club was formed in the 1920s and originally played at Abbeydale Park. Up until just after World War II only bank employees were allowed to play. When hockey moved to astroturf in the 1980s, the club moved out to the Concord Sports Centre, before moving to the University of Sheffield facilities at Goodwin Sports Centre. [1]

[edit] Teams

Comprising of over 100 players, the club currently supports 9 Men's XI and 3 Lady's XI teams playing at a wide range of ability levels.

The Men's 1st XI have been promoted for three consecutive seasons, from the regional Hockey North league, to the national North division of the Slazenger's English Hockey League, and finally to the EHL's National Division One league, where they are currently playing for the 2007/2008 season.

The Ladies 1st XI currently play in the Yorkshire Hockey Association Division 2 league, where they recently ended an unbroken run of 67 games across 3 years without a loss[2]. This is partly because the female side of the club recently changed leagues to play within the Yorkshire Hockey Association and despite being very capable were forced by league rules to start at the bottom of the Division structure.

The Men's 2nd XI play in the North Hockey Association League's Division 2(East) and the Men's 3rd XI team play at Division 1 level of the Yorkshire Hockey Association. The remaining ladies' and men's teams play in the various divisions of the Yorkshire Hockey Association.

[edit] Club

The Sheffield University Banker's Hockey Club plays most of its games on the Goodwin Astroturf pitches at the University of Sheffield, but also plays games at local schools, including Fir Vale School, Tapton School, King Edward VII School (Sheffield) and Hinde House School. It does not have a purpose-built clubhouse like many similar sized sports club, so it uses a local public house in Crookes, The Old Grindstone, for post match meetings and social purposes.

The Club has recently been selected as part of a Sheffield University consortia to be part of one of England Hockey's 4 National Performance Centres (NPCs), providing funding for improved training facilities and selection/support of potential England team players. [3]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Everitt, R: Sheffield University Banker's Hockey Club Handbook, 2005
  2. ^ Sadly a record breaking run comes to an end: SUBHC News. Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
  3. ^ England Hockey: Sep 07 News. England Hockey. Retrieved on 2007-10-17.