Ladies News - Season 2011-12
Ladies Easy-Fundraising
Now that it's nearly Christmas I just wanted to remind everyone that you can raise money for Belper Ladies Hockey Club when shopping on line. Simply go to www.easyfundraising.org.uk register and select to support Belper Ladies Hockey Club. You can then use the site to find a retailer and shop as normal. The retailer donates a small percentage back to the club, you pay exactly the same price as you would if you visited the retailer's site direct. Paula Cahill. ECOKIDS Recycling Scheme
If you haven't already, please have a clear out and fill up some bags with old clothes, shoes, handbags, etc and take them down to the club before 12th December. If every member can contribute one bag we should easily make the 1 tonne mark and raise £500. For more info see www.ecokidsproject.co.uk/collect.htm#top Your bags can be put in the changing rooms of the lefthand portacabin. Your captain can open it for you or email me if you want to organise dropping your bags off. Lizzie Lamb Belper Ladies team structure and training 2011-12
Following recent meetings, the Ladies Committee would like to confirm to club members the team structure and senior training slots for the 2011/12 season. 1st team will compete in the Midlands League-Premier Division 2nd team will compete in the Midlands League-Division 2 3rd team will compete in Derbyshire League-Division 1 4th team will compete in Derbyshire League-Division 3 1st team training will take place on Wednesdays 7.30-9.30pm and Thursdays 7.30-9pm – Coach - Wayne Masden 2nd team training will take place on Wednesdays 7.30-9pm – Coach - Ben Walton 3rd & 4th team training will take place on Mondays 7-8pm – Coach - to be confirmed. Selection for teams will take place early in the season and will be reviewed regularly, and it is anticipated that movement between the teams will take place when appropriate. If we have more players than required for four teams we will make additional friendly fixtures on Sundays and the junior teams have plans for more regular matches than in previous seasons. The junior structure and training times have already been published on the website . At this stage we have vacancies for a 3rd team captain and v.captain and if anyone is interested in undertaking either of those roles, please contact Chairperson Lizzy Lamb. Members will be advised of their initial training group later in August together with their subscription renewal form. A newsletter will also be published shortly. If anyone has any concerns as to where they will fit, within the new structure please contact their captain of last season or the Chairperson Lizzy Lamb. Finally a club day (men’s and ladies) will take place on 3rd September, more details will be contained in the newsletter. Wayne Madsen new Head Coach for Belper Ladies
We are delighted to announce that Wayne Madsen will be our new Head Coach at Belper Ladies Hockey Club. Wayne won 39 caps as a midfield player for South Africa and played in the 2006 World Cup and Commonwealth Games. More recently, Wayne has moved onto cricket and has been playing for Derbyshire since 2009. Wayne has already done some coaching for Belper Ladies and will now be taking on more responsibilities, becoming the first team coach and Head Coach for the Junior Girls. This is an exciting time for the club and we are looking forward to see what the 2011/2012 season will bring! Madsen returns to hockey after taking charge of Belper Ladies 2011-2012
 Wayne Madsen is to return to his first sporting love after being named as the new coach of Belper Ladies Hockey Club.Though he now has a successful career as the opening batsman for Derbyshire CCC, the 27-year-old was an established international hockey player before he made his debut in English county cricket just over two years ago. In fact, at the time he first played for Derbyshire in 2009, he had won more caps in midfield for South Africa than he had played games of first-class cricket. Madsen quit hockey with 39 caps after representing his country in the World Cup in Germany and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006. Though he says he was a better hockey player than he was a cricketer, it was a practical decision. "I retired from hockey after the World Cup in 2006 at the tender age of 22 because I had to make a decision at that stage," he said. "I'd finished my studies, so I either had to get a job to play hockey or play cricket as my job and I decided to go that route. So far, it's worked out well for me. "My brother, Lloyd, plays professionally in Holland but at the time the option wasn't quite there for me. In a way, it was a no-brainer to go with cricket but I still miss hockey big time. "By coaching, I can still stay involved and give back to the game that has given me a lot of pleasure." Madsen takes over at Belper from Tim Barlow, who left the club in the wake of their relegation from the National League last season. "We did advertise the position but Wayne's credentials were by far the best of all the options we had," said Belper Ladies chair Elizabeth Lamb. "He has loads of experience at an international standard and we are really excited that he has taken on the role." This will be Madsen's first taste of taking charge of a team but he is not short of coaching experience. "My mother runs a hockey academy in South Africa and I was head coach for four or five years," he added. "I've coached various schools in South Africa and last year I helped out with Belper juniors. That's what has got me this position. "I've run high performance sessions with senior international players in South Africa but that was in small groups and I've not done anything in a team environment before. "This will be a new experience but I'm really looking forward to it. "It's a transitional stage but there are a lot of good people at the club who will help me find my feet. "I've got my ideas for the way forward and part of that is keeping bringing the youngsters through, which is important. "With a club like Belper, as soon as the kids move off to university, you lose a batch of players but for such a small town it's actually quite a big club and it produces a lot of England players, so that's a job I have to continue. "I've got my ideas on how I want the team to play as well and that might be different to how they've played in the past but to bring a fresh approach and see where we go from there is the main goal. "I've been told that promotion back to the National League is not the priority next season but if we get on a roll and get promotion, that's a bonus." Cricket will continue to be Madsen's main focus, of course, but he says he does not expect his Derbyshire commitments will limit what he can bring to Belper. "I may have a few issues at the end of the season if we go on pre-season tour but I'll be able to attend most of the games," he said. "Hockey practices are in evenings and even in the winter, we train for cricket in the day, so it won't clash. Pretty much from the end of the cricket season, I should have a lot of time for the coaching." Madsen may also be able to add at least one new recruit to the Belper side. His wife, Kyla, is a former South Africa junior international midfielder or striker who has played plenty of senior provincial hockey in her homeland. "Her coaching commitments might create a few issues with away games but we'll see how it goes," Madsen said. "She wants to play but to what degree, we'll wait and see." Click here for further background details... Article appeared Derby Evening Telegraph July 2011. Ladies 4XI in summer league
This year Belper Ladies 4XI have entered the summer league - to read their match reports click here for details...  Ladies 4XI 'Race for Life' - Sunday 8th May, 2011 This year Belper Ladies 4XI decided to join together to run the 5km Race for Life at Darley Abbey Park. A few of us had done the race before, but it was a new experience for 4 of us. As always it was an emotional but exciting event, with over 3200 ladies taking part on Sunday 8th May. Our team of 8 ranged in age from 12 to 60! We ran/ jogged and/or walked and all felt a great sense of commaradere and achievement. Jenny Thompson came in first in our group with (which I believe is) a new PB of 27 minutes! In total we raised £561.50 for Cancer Research, but we can still take donations if you are willing to sponsor us! A great day, and a different way to celebrate Emily's 18th birthday! Our team spirit is magic!, both on and off the pitch. Well done to all who took part. Jo McGrath Alice Sharp wins young player award for a second time
 Former Belper star, Alice Sharp, 18, has won the Hockey Writers' Award for the Young Player of the Year for an unprecedented second time, the first occasion being in 2008. At a lunch at the Royal Yacht Club in London on Wednesday, Alice received her award from the President of the International Hockey Federation, Leandro Negre. Alice left Belper in September to study Economics at Birmingham University, the team she now plays for in the Premier Division. In the summer Alice was plucked from the England Under 18 squad - she had played for England at Easter in Holland at U18 level with two other Belper players, Anna Toman and Joanna Leigh - and placed in the Under 21 training group for the European Championships. She made the squad as the youngest player; gained a silver medal when England lost to The Netherlands in the final, defeating Germany on penalties in the semis. In the U21s, she joined three other Belper 1st team players; Jess Wood, who also left Belper in the summer to play for Cannock in the premier division; Laura Bridge, who left Belper in 2007 to play and study at Loughborough University and Hollie Webb, also now playing at Cannock. Alice's record at Belper will probably never be equalled. She won a total of 14 national championships, both indoors and outdoors, with the club from her first Under 11 mini-hockey in 2002 to her third Under 18 outdoor title in 2010 - Belper's 4th in succession. She played in the 1st team in the national league from the age of 15. In total with Belper, England, Derbyshire and the Midlands, she won a total of 26 gold medals, 7 silver and 1 bronze. In her citation for the award her Birmingham University coach wrote, "Alice has a great attitude and tremendous hand skills, eliminating players easily and rarely losing possession." Photo credit: HockeyImages.co.uk Belper Ladies Mileage Expenses Policy
Following a recent committee meeting, the policy for paying mileage expenses to drivers for away games was discussed and clarified. Your captain has full details of the policy and will be communicating this to you. Full details of the policy can also be obtained from any committee member. Sue Waterall - Chairperson Ladies 1XI play indoor at Midland Championships
Belper's Senior indoor team failed in their bid to qualify for the National Indoor League at their Midlands' Championships. Motorway holdups meant that some of the team did not arrive in time for the pre-tournament practice and so Belper started without proper preparation which undoubtedly contributed to the 2-1 defeat to Stourport in their opening game. Lack of concentration allowed Stourport to score in the first and last minutes interspersed with an open play goal from Charlotte Hobbs on 17 minutes. Fired up by their disappointing performance, Belper took Midlands Premier side Bedford to the cleaners in their next game to the tune of 4-0. An opening goal on 4 minutes from Rachel Griffiths was followed by a brace of corners from Anna Toman and an open play effort from Charlotte Middleton at a quick free hit. Experienced Telford and Wrekin were next on Belper's agenda and it was not until two minutes to go that Nat Tipper scored the winner in a 3-2 scoreline. Telford had opened on 4 minutes with Anna Toman replying at a corner on 9. The Shropshire side were quick out of the blocks after the break to retake the lead. Within three minutes however Charlotte Hobbs had Belper level with a classy dribble and fine reverse stick shot and then Nat Tipper had the final say. Belper wanted to keep the pressure on pool leaders Stourport and they did so with a fine 4-1 over Birmingham-based Edgbaston. Four corners to Anna Toman were a feature of this game with Edgbaston grabbing a consolation as the Nailers' defence dozed. Stourport claimed their slot in the final as pool winners with a corner goal in overtime in their match against Telford to scrape a draw - failure to do this would have seen Belper through to the final and the Nailers were left rueing their carelessness in game one. Squad: Kathryn Bradbury, Annabelle Church, Anna Toman, Kirsty Macleod, Natalie Tipper, Charlotte Middleton, Jess Horn, Rachel Griffiths, Amy Davies, Charlotte Hobbs. Belper v Stourport - Lost 1-2. Scorer: Charlotte Hobbs 17f. Belper v Bedford - Won 4-0. Scorers: Rachel Griffiths 4f; Anna Toman 7c,13c; Charlotte Middleton 15f. Belper v Telford - Won 3-2. Scorers: Anna Toman 9c; Charlotte Hobbs 15f; Natalie Tipper 18f. Belper v Edgbaston - Won 4-1. Scorer: Anna Toman 11c,14c,17c,19c. Ladies club training
Belper Ladies club training at Belper Meadows as follows: Wednesday 7.30pm - 9.30pm, Ladies 1XI Wednesday 6.00pm - 7.30pm, Ladies juniors Wednesday 7.30pm - 9.00pm, Ladies 2XI and 3XI Wednesday 9.00pm - 10.00pm, Ladies 4XI Thursday 6.00pm - 7.30pm, Ladies juniors fast track Thursday 7.30pm - 9.00pm, Ladies 1XI It's all change for Belper Ladies first team
Belper Ladies will have a much changed 1st team squad when the season starts on Saturday. Nine of last year's successful line-up, which posted a well-merited 3rd place in National League North, have departed for a variety of reasons and need to be replaced. Four players, midfielder Alice Sharp (England U21), defenders Joanna Lane and Sophie Hawkins (both England U18) plus keeper Sabbie Heesh (England U21) leave for university. What was not foreseen was Cannock Hockey Club's qualification for the Premier Division at the EHL play-offs. This situation has led to the departure of Jessica Wood, 20, (England U21) and Joanna Leigh, 17, (England U18) to Cannock to play in the Premier Division. Last year's captain and leading Belper goalscorer Alicia Robinson, 20, (England U18) has decided to move to Midland League Division 2 side North Notts because of personal circumstances. Midfielder Kerry McCollum, 24, returns to Loughborough University where she now works and another midfielder Elizabeth Hunt, 22, (England U21) has decided that travelling from near Oxford is too much for her and will seek a club closer to home. This means that a number of young players from Belper's Fast-Track Academy will have to step up to take their places. Sixteen year olds Natalie Tipper, Rachel Griffiths, Kim Wilson and Charlotte Middleton plus Kathryn Lane and Becky Hawkins, both 15, will have big responsibilities on their young shoulders. Tipper, Griffiths and Wilson all played for last year's U16 Mercia Lynx squad at the England Hockey Futures Cup and Middleton has represented Wales at U16 level. In addition from the 2nd team comes Kirsty Macleod, 19, who has previous 1st team experience. A number of these young players tasted success last season when they were key participants in the Belper Badgers team (average age 15), which won the Derbyshire League, to secure promotion to the Midland League. Good news is that former Belper captain and keeper Kathryn Bradbury, 25, returns to the team as a direct replacement for Heesh following the success of her shoulder operation for an injury that saw her sidelined for 18 months. From last year's team, central defender Anke Kozuch will be a key player with her experience together with Anna Toman, 17 (England U18). In addition, striker Charlotte Hobbs 17, will be starting her fourth season in the National League and Belper will look to her as their main source of goals as she was joint top-scorer last year. Wales U18 international Rhiannon Rogers, 17, will also need to take on big responsibilities in the goalscoring department but is sidelined for the start of the season with a hamstring injury sustained at a Wales training camp. England Under 16 international Jessica Horn will have a vital role in midfield and her experience in last year's 1st team will be a critical factor. The situation is not a new one to Belper Ladies. Three years ago in 2007, the Nailers had 8 players depart and only 5 of the first team squad remained, two aged 17 and two 16. In came 9 players, four of them 15 years old and two aged 16. The inexperienced team won just 4 of their opening 12 matches but lost only 2 up to Christmas. In the second half of the campaign, they won 8 of the remaining 10 fixtures to finish second equal in National League North. There is confidence that the class of 2010 will emulate their illustrious predecessors. Belper begin their National League programme on September 18th but prior to that home game against Sunderland, they have two pre-season warm-up matches. Firstly on Saturday 4th vs Boots HC from Nottingham and then the following week against Birmingham University. Both matches start at 1.00pm at Belper Meadows. Tim Barlow Umpires say Belper Ladies best club in England
Belper Ladies have been assessed by all the visiting national league umpires to The Meadows season 2009-10 as the best club to come to from not only the 10 teams in their North Conference League, but from all the 80 teams in the 8 National Leagues - both men & women. Belper top the umpires' assessment tables for enjoyment, pre and post-match hospitality and on-pitch behaviour. The umpires send in their gradings after each match and these are averaged out over the season. So not only have Belper had success on the pitch but the match managers and their team of club members and parents have been given the best reward possible - a national acknowledgement of what they do says that they are simply the best! England beat Germany on penalties
Belper players Alice Sharp and Jess Wood were representing England in the European Under 21 Championships in France last week. They returned with silver medals having lost 4-1 to an outstanding Dutch team in the final. Both Alice and Jess played in all the games in midfield with one or two stints as strikers. In the week-long tournament England beat France 3-1, Lithuania 2-0 but lost 5-1 to Holland in their group games. This pitted them against arch European rivals Germany in the semi-final. It was not looking good at half-time with England 2-0 down but two stunning goals from Jess Wood in the second half ensured that the match went to extra time. There were no goals in the golden-goal period and so the result had to be decided on penalties. Huge tension as it was tied at 4-4 after both sides had taken their allotted 5. Then followed sudden-death and finally England won 9-8 after a German shot wide. Mixed fortunes for Belper players in international competitions.
A total of 7 Belper players were in four different European locations over Easter in a variety of guises and with mixed fortunes. Jess Wood starred for England U21s in their 3-0 test series win over France in Lille. France were blown away to the tune of 4-0, 7-1 & 6-0 with Jess notching 3 of the 17 goals scored, two in open play and one at a penalty corner. Joanna Leigh also managed 3 goals for England U18 at Leusden in Holland but only came away with a silver medal after losing 1-0 to the Netherlands in the final from a dubious penalty stroke. Together with Alice Sharp and Anna Toman, England lost 4-2 on the opening day to Germany, came back well to draw 0-0 with Holland on day 2 and then pulverised the Spanish 6-2 on day 3. In this game Joanna scored the opening two goals for England and Alice the last one. This result elevated them to the 1st/2nd play off against the Dutch and it was only a contentious penalty stroke on 63 minutes that gave the Dutch the trophy. Jessica Horn in the England U16 squad at the same venue lost to Holland 6-2, Spain 3-2 and then managed a 1-0 win over Germany. This still left them with the 3rd/4th place play-off but Germany exacted revenge with a 4-0 win to claim the bronze medal. In Largs, Rhiannon Rogers had a win, a draw and loss as Wales ended all square with Scotland. From an opening 6-1 defeat on day 1, Wales won 3-0 on day 2 and then both parties settled for 2-2 on day 3. Charlotte Middleton, representing Wales at U16 level in Wrexham against Scotland, suffered 3 defeats (5-1, 4-1, 2-0) against an older and more experienced side in their test series. Belper players in Europe Following their successful end to the season in the National & Derbyshire Leagues, a number of Belper players are playing in Europe over Easter before they return for the Under 18 Cup Final on 10/11th April. Jess Wood journeys to Lille to represent England at U21 level in a series of matches against France in preparation for the European Championships later in the year. Click here for results... Alice Sharp, Joanna Leigh and Anna Toman will be playing for England U18 at the annual 4 nations tournament being held at Leusden MHC near Amersfoort in Holland. They play the hosts, Germany and Spain. Jessica Horn has been selected for the England Under 16 squad for the same tournament for her second year at this level. Click here for results... Rhiannon Rogers travels to Largs in Scotland to represent Wales at U21 level in a series of matches against Scotland. This is her third year at this level and for her second year, Charlotte Middleton is selected for Wales in the same test series at Under 16 level. England U21 training for Belper duo Good news came to Belper HC this week as 1st team members Jessica Wood and Sabbie Heesh were announced as being selected for the England U21 training squad in preparation for the European Championships later this year in France. Also in the squad were three other ex-Belper players, Lucy Horn, Laura Bridge and Hollie Webb who played in the national league team for a number of years and learnt their hockey at the club. All 3 have numerous England Hockey championship gold medals for U11 & U13 mini-hockey, U15, U16 & U18 age group titles, both outdoor and indoor. Ladies 1XI retain their third place Sutton Coldfield, Belper's intended England Hockey League opponents at the weekend, probably didn't appreciate the irony of their name as their pitch was covered in snow on Saturday, which forced the cancellation of the game. With both Belper and Sutton having Cup commitments over the next few weekends, the new date for the postponed fixture is Sunday March 14th. With two of the league's fixtures cancelled, Belper managed to retain their 3rd place as Wakefield Bradford, the team immediately below them, were beaten 3-0 by table-toppers Durham University. On Saturday Belper entertain 5th placed Loughborough Students. When Belper beat the Students 2-1 in October, the result left them in 9th place and in the relegation play-off zone. Since then, the university side have made a steady climb up the table and Belper expect nothing but a competitive and challenging match at the Meadows at 1.30pm. Ladies 1XI play indoor at Lilleshall National Sports Centre While the juniors were busy at the various indoor competitions a small squad travelled to play in Division Two of the National Indoor League held at Lilleshall National Sports Centre. We played 5 matches over the two days, starting with a close match against local rivals Beeston. Belper had a dream start scoring two quick goals in the first five minutes. However Beeston were more organised in the second half and the match ended two all. The next two matches also ended in two all draws and we were going to regret not managing to win either of these two matches against Brooklands Poynton and Lansdown. At the end of day one the league was finely balanced; any of the top 5 teams could secure the two promotion places. It was another early start on the Sunday morning, We were first to play at 9.00am against Stourport, who were bottom of the league. We knew we needed to score as many goals as possible. A resounding 7 nil victory, included a hat trick by debutant indoor player Kerry McCollum and, not to be out done, Wiz Hunt also experiencing her first indoor competition scored two goals. Our final match was against the strongest and largest squad there, containing many familiar faces from recent England junior squads. We knew that we would have to be on top of our game to compete with them. Unfortunately, Birmingham University had not done us any favours by only managing to draw with Lansdown earlier that day, so there was all still to play for in the competition. We both needed to win to secure a place in the league next year. All our squad gave 100% in a tense game, but Birmingham's players were fresher and despite all our efforts we were unable to convert our scoring chances. The final score was a three nil loss. At the end of the competition we ended up fourth, narrowly missing out on promotion. It was a great effort by all the squad: Sabbie Heesh who made numerous crucial saves; Kirsty MacLeod who showed great maturity in defence; Jess Wood worked tirelessly in midfield and scored several fantastic goals; debutants Kerry McCollum and Wiz Hunt both gained in confidence as the weekend progressed and who between them scored seven goals; Lil Robinson worked hard in every match to find that little extra space in the circle and Captain / coach Anke Kozuch whose experience was invaluable and led by example all weekend. Lastly, a definition of dedication - Bradders who despite having a over 140 lesson plans to write before her shoulder op on Friday stayed with the squad all weekend helping on the bench and in the team meetings. A special thank you and good luck with the rehab! A depleted senior side missed out on promotion in the National Indoor League Division Two, finishing fourth overall. Joan Passant Success for BLHC at the Amber Valley Active Sports Awards
Once again BLHC have scooped up the trophies at the Amber Valley Active Sports Awards evening. BLHC had been nominated for awards in four categories. The U18 team were nominated for the Junior Team of the Year and for the Team of the Year, Tim Barlow for Performance Coach of the Year and Joanne Rogers for Unsung Hero. A selection of players and supporters attended the awards ceremony at the Alfreton Leisure Centre and the trophies were presented in amongst some witty commentary, dance shows and martial arts demonstrations. The first award for BLHC was given to Tim Barlow as Performance Coach of the Year, his impressive list of achievements appearing on the screen behind the stage. The U18 Girls were nominated in two categories so although it was hoped that they would win at least one category it was a delight to see them win both awards and a rather embarrassed group of players had to make two trips to the stage. Joanne Rogers had been nominated for the Unsung Hero Award for the huge amount of work that she has done for the Club and in particular the running of mini hockey. Reluctantly Joanne took to the stage to hear the details of her nomination. Unfortunately a gentleman who has been volunteering for his local cricket club for the last sixty years and had, almost single-handedly, rebuilt a pavilion beat Joanne into second place! It has been suggested to Joanne that she would be in with a good chance of winning the Award next year if she rebuilt the pavilion at Belper Meadows but to be honest she doesn’t look keen! Thank you to all the players and supporters who attended the evening. Amber Valley put a lot of effort into the awards presentation and it was great to see so many from BLHC supporting the event. Liz English Louisa Boddy wins National League honour
Louisa Boddy, Belper's top scorer last season, has been voted Conference North Division Player of the Season 2008/09 by all the other teams. Louisa, alas, has now left Belper to continue her academic studies at Durham University and will be seen in the purple Palatinate's colours this coming season. Belper Ladies voted top club in England
Belper Ladies HC have been voted the top club in the Slazenger National League by the umpires. In their Conference North Division Belper almost swept the board by being awarded the highest score in the categories of enjoyment, pre-match hospitality and best on-pitch behaviour. They came second to Liverpool on post-match hospitality but an overall average score of 6.43 points to Liverpool's 6.19 saw them well clear in 1st place. The scoring system is for each of the 18 matches, the highest being 7 - excellent, followed by 6 - very good, down to 1 - unacceptable. Belper also beat all of the winners in the other 7 national leagues covering the men's and women's game - the closest being Bowdon HC from Manchester in the Men's Premier League with a total of 6.38. This is a splendid reward for all the club members, parents and supporters who work behind the scenes on matchdays to ensure that the players receive the back-up that their on-pitch performances deserves. Not only were the 1st team voted the best behaved on the pitch but they came top of all the other clubs in the league with their on-pitch performances resulting in a 3rd place behind the two university teams of Durham & Loughborough who received ratings in the bottom half of the league from the umpires.  Alice Sharp wins Higgins Group Award for 2008 by the Hockey Writers' Club. Alice Sharp has been chosen as the winner of the Higgins Group UK Youth Award for 2008 by the Hockey Writers' Club. This award is for the outstanding Under 18 player in Youth Hockey in Great Britain. Alice was selected as the most deserving of the award from a number of high profile candidates and her citation in the press release makes note of the fact that she is the possessor of 20 gold and 4 silver medals from all the competitions she has played in, from Under 11 mini-hockey to England Under 16. Her actual tally is as follows:  2002 - Belper U11 mini-hockey (Gold)2003 - Belper U11 mini-hockey (Gold) 2004 - Belper U13 mini-hockey (Gold); Ecclesbourne School U14 (Gold). 2005 - Belper U13 mini-hockey (Gold); U15 Cup (Gold); Ecclesbourne U16 (Gold). 2006 - Belper U15 Cup (Gold); U16 Indoor (Silver); Ecclesbourne U16 (Gold); Derbyshire U15 (Silver); Midlands U15 (Gold). 2007 - Belper U15 Cup (Gold); U16 Indoor (Gold); Ecclesbourne U16 (Gold); Derbyshire U15 (Gold); Midlands U15 (Gold); England U16 (Gold). 2008 - Belper U18 Cup (Gold); U16 Indoor (Gold); Ecclesbourne U16 (Gold); Derbyshire U17 (Gold); Mercia Lynx U18 (Silver); England U16 (Silver). Many of the previous recipients of this award have gone on to make their mark at full international level and to play in World Cup and Olympic Games competitions. Alice will collect her award later this month at the Hockey Writers' Club annual luncheon to be held in London. At the same time, a number of the Beijing Olympic hockey players will also receive their awards. Photo caption: Alice Sharp receiving the Young Player of the Year Award from Richard Higgins, chairman of Higgins Group PLC, at the annual Hockey Writers' Club presentation lunch at the Royal Thames Yacht Club in London. The Guest of Honour was the Chairman of the British Olympic Association, Lord Moynihan, who gave a detailed account of the planning and preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The Master of Ceremonies was Barry Davies, the BBC hockey commentator at the Beijing Olympic Games. Also honoured were Alistair McGregor and Beth Storry, the men's and women's goalkeepers in Beijing, with their Player of the Year Awards for their performances in securing 5th and 6th places respectively for the GB teams. To view the report on the England Hockey website click here.... Belper Ladies triumph at the Derbyshire Sport Awards Presentation Evening
 By Tim BarlowThe cream of Derbyshire's athletes, sporting volunteers and veterans, gathered with other invited guests at the University of Derby sponsored event, to celebrate the successes of the past year and recognise all the behind the scenes work that takes place to make sport in Derbyshire great. Guests of honour were Derbyshire's Olympic and Paralympic athletes - swimmers Ross Davenport and David Ellis, badminton player Donna Kellogg, footballer Leon Taylor, wheelchair tennis player Alex Jewitt and wheelchair basketball player Jon Hall, as well as athletics official Chris Cohen, badminton coach Andy Wood and British Cycling Performance Director David Brailsford, who all played key roles in Beijing. David Brailsford was presented with a Special Award for Outstanding Achievements in 2008, in recognition of the role he played in the British Cycling team's success in Beijing, which saw them bring home 14 medals in all, including eight gold medals. The team had previously topped the medal table at the World Track Cycling Championships in Manchester, taking nine of 18 gold medals available. Belper Ladies picked up an impressive three awards. First up were the Under 16 Indoor team, who won the Derbyshire 2008 Junior Team of the Year Award despite fierce competition from the City of Derby Swimming Club. The team, who retained their Indoor National Cup Champions title earlier this year at the NIA in Birmingham, received the prestigious award during the dinner at Derby County's Pride Park Stadium, attended by more than 250 people. Sophie Hawkins and Sarah English collected the trophy on behalf of the team, which scored a total of 37 goals and conceded only three during the finals, in their quest for the title. They were presented with the Derbyshire 2008 Junior Team of the Year trophy by David Lowe, a member of The Derbyshire Management Group for the 2012 Games. The Under 18 outdoor team claimed the runners-up trophy in the 2008 Team of the Year Award, sponsored by Derbyshire County Council, for their retention of the England Hockey Under 18 Cup at Canterbury Hockey Club earlier in the year when they defeated Chelmsford Hockey Club 7-0 in the final. The award was collected by captain Alicia Robinson, together with Jessica Wood, Louisa Boddy and Sophie Hawkins. Belper Ladies first team player, Alice Sharp, was runner-up in the Junior Sportswoman of the Year Award, sponsored by the University of Derby, for her achievement in playing a key role in England Hockey's Under 16 team's winning of the silver medal in the European Championships in The Hague in July. Alice was unable to be present to collect her award because she was attending a Great Britain Under 20 training weekend at Bisham Abbey NSC. The awards are organised by Derbyshire Sport, a county sports partnership which provides the strategic lead for sport in Derbyshire. Clive Moesby, Chair of Derbyshire Sport, said: "It was great to see so many people join us at Pride Park for a fantastic evening looking back at some of the sporting success stories of the past year. We have a great number of talented sports people in the county, from community coaches to elite athletes, and it is great to be able to recognise the dedication these people show." Click here to view the winners of the 2008 Derbyshire Sports Awards...  Belper Ladies win prestigious England Hockey award Belper Ladies 1st X1's matchday hospitality team has been voted by all the league clubs in the National North Division as Most Hospitable Club. Jackie Sharp and Joan Passant, who lead the volunteer line-ups as matchday managers, are delighted that all the time and effort put in by club members and parents has been recognised nationally. All the match officials and opposition have to be welcomed and provided with refreshments after their journeys before the match and then the post-match meal has to be prepared. The clubhouse has to be tidied from the previous team's meal, tables laid and food got ready for the players when they have showered and changed. Then, of course, there is the serving of the meal, the washing up and tidying of the clubhouse to be completed. So not only are Belper national champions on the pitch but also off it as well! 1st team co-manager Jackie Sharp said, "That glass of wine tonight is going to go down particularly well." Sponsorship secured with The Lion Hotel to help National League Hockey
Belper Ladies Hockey Club are delighted to announce a sponsorship deal with The Lion Hotel, Belper which will help offset the considerable costs of running a national league hockey team. The Lion Hotel is situated in the centre of one of Derbyshire’s most historic towns – Belper. The hotel frontage dates from 1776 and having now been extensively refurbished, the hotel provides an extremely high level of comfort and service. The Lion Hotel has 22 comfortable & tastefully decorated bedrooms with all modern facilities to ensure your stay is enjoyable. Experience 'Twenty Four' Belpers first Gastro Pub which offers a light bites menu alongside it's main gastro menu and has something for everyone's tastes as well as catering for special diets. There is also 25% discount off the total bill when you present The Lion Hotel advertisement found in the Belper Hockey Club official match programme. For more information on The Lion Hotel click here... |