Youth Hockey Pitch Fund

Basingstoke Hockey Club (BHC) is my home away from home, I moved to the South after university and I joined BHC as a way to meet people and to play a sport that I love. That was over 22 years ago. I have made friends, got married and have had children in that time and now both my boys play hockey and you can find me most weekends coaching or supporting our older youth section. Since becoming involved in the youth section our numbers has increased with the biggest impact being in our U8 and U10 age groups, next year will be the first of players that started at U6 moving to our U12 teams. Numbers have increased from around 40 on a Saturday morning to over 80 ranging from Year R to Year 5 and to over 200 in our youth section. we support local schools by providing free coaching (6 weeks per school) and we run a school hockey tournaments.

We have strong links with the community and our clubhouse is used by walkers, athletics, footballers, brownies and guides and our local young carers group.

As a club we are growing in both membership numbers, and in numbers of representative teams. Basingstoke Hockey Club runs (2017-2018) six women’s and six men’s’ senior league teams, plus Mens and Womens Master teams, and winter and summer mixed team, as well as U8 to U16 youth training and competition. The club has also been performing on the pitch, most recently the ladies have secured double promotion over the last two seasons and are currently a strong challenger in the South Clubs’ Womens Hockey League – Div 1, and the men are competing in the Hants/Surrey Div 1 and the Tier 2 England Hockey Championships. 

As you can imagine with a growing membership - we are running out of space, we are a fully inclusive club but are creaking at the seams - training sessions are becoming harder to organise and some home games are being played at other venues.
 
Basingstoke Hockey Club has its home at Down Grange Sports Complex, having refurbished and moved back in to the Maidenwell Pavilion as its clubhouse in partnership with Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, in 2010. The club’s home pitch is the Astroturf at Down Grange, owned by the local authority.

We have been lucky to secure planning for a second pitch. Our council has been supportive and we have secured funding from the local infrastructure schemes. As a club we have taken the challenge to raise funds to support the pitch build and the youth section took a challenge to raise £3,000. We have already started our fundraising and we have had cake sales, fancy dress fun hockey runs, sausage sizzles, kits sales and we have other events planned including crafts, Easter Egg Hunts, design your hcoley sock competitions. 

If you can donate even a small amount it will enable the club to continue to provide a great sport to more children and adults.

If you are interested in sponsorship opportunities please contact me through this page and I will be in touch

For more information on the club please go to.
www.basingstoke-hockey.com