A rainbow after the storm for Bedford Hockey Club

Whilst this was due to have been the final weekend of league action, until the New Year, several re-scheduled matches will now be taking place in the interim, including the weekend to come.

This coming Sunday (15th December) also sees the Women’s Over 35s and 55s back in action in their England Hockey National Tier 1 play-offs, both matches being played on home turf, the O35s taking on Norwich and the O55s, Kettering.

Last weekend’s storms, however, didn’t scupper all hockey action, it still being possible for the club’s indoor squads, to travel to Ipswich for the East Indoor Hockey Championships.

After a tough start to the day, taking a loss against Cambridge City, Bedford’s Women’s team regrouped, taking a clean sweep in their remaining matches, against Ipswich and Crostyx, 6-2 and 6-3 respectively. The second-place finish in their group has Bedford travelling back to Ipswich this Sunday for a semi-final play-off, when they meet St Albans. Success in that fixture would take them on into the gold medal match later in the day.

Bedford’s Men’s indoor squad, also, made the journey to Ipswich, their 9-4 victory over Sudbury likewise taking them to next weekend’s semi-finals, when they face Cambridge University, for a place in the final.

Away from the field of play, a number of the club’s members were thrilled, on Monday evening, to join over 500 guests at the Bedford Sports and Physical Activities Awards 2024, several having been nominated for awards in recognition of the contribution they make within Bedford Hockey Club, and the wider community.

The club, itself, was up for a nomination as Club of the Year, with further nominations under Team of the Year, for the club’s Women’s Over 55s, and Community Group, for the highly inclusive Walking Hockey. The club was, also, proud to have members nominated under the categories of Service to Sport (Tracy Lawrence); Unsung Hero (Joy Leeson and Jean Fitch); Young Volunteer (Arthur Surridge and Manpriya Sira); Adult Personality of the Year (Vincent Pretorius and Kate Costin) and Junior Personality of the Year (Harry Pybus).

There was immense pride when the club, in the face of strong competition from other remarkable clubs across Bedford Borough, was awarded the accolade of Club of the Year. Bedford has such a rich and diverse range of sports clubs, so Bedford Hockey Club is honoured to have received this recognition that they are held in such high esteem.

Further acclaim also went to one of the club’s youngsters, Manpriya Sira. As well as being a very talented player in her own right, playing each week within the senior league, Manpriya’s award, of Young Volunteer of the Year, was an acknowledgment of the work she does with other youngsters in the club, mentoring, coaching and umpiring.

Taking the number of Bedford Hockey Club awards on the night to a hat-trick, was the overwhelming presentation of an Unsung Hero award, to yours truly.

All those nominated for awards would have been worthy winners, and an immense amount of gratitude goes to Bedford Borough Council’s Sports Development Team for providing this platform to showcase our town’s talent.