Wapping Hockey Club

Wapping Hockey Club (/ˈwɒpɪŋ/) is a field hockey club in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The home grounds are the national stadium for English Hockey, the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where there are two international standard water-based pitches and the John Orwell Centre in Wapping. The men's 1st XI team play National League hockey in the East Conference, the second tier of the English hockey league system, and the ladies' 1st XI one division lower, in the East Region Premiership. The club fields a total of 23 sides including 11 men's and 8 ladies' sides.

Wapping Hockey Club
Nickname(s) Wapping HC
Chairman Stuart Burnside
Captain

Men's 1st XI: Oliver Cooper

Ladies' 1st XI: Lucy Todd
Home ground Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre
London, England
(Capacity 3,000)
League

England Hockey League

& East Region Hockey Leagues
Official Website www.wappinghockeyclub.com
Home kit: maroon-white shirt, black shorts, maroon socks
Home
Away kit: white shirt, black shorts, white socks
Away

Olympic Legacy

The club was founded in 1988 off the back of the Great Britain men's field hockey team's success at the Seoul Olympics of the same year.[1] The club secured anchor tenancy at the London 2012 legacy facility following its opening as Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in June 2014.[2] The facility hosted the 2015 EuroHockey Nations Championships.[3] In 2014, the club secured over £300,000 of investment to designate its base at John Orwell Sports Centre in Wapping a hockey priority facility.[4] By 2016, approximately £650,000 had been invested in the refurbishment, meaning among other things, both Wapping HC grounds have covered spectator seating. [5]

Management Team

The club is chaired by Stuart Burnside, who also serves as a non-executive trustee director of the London Youth Games.[6] He has been credited for introducing a business focus [7][8] and was named England Hockey's Club Volunteer of the Season for 2013/14.[9] Other key members of staff are Norval Scott (Vice Chair, Head of Performance) and Sandra Akinbolu (Vice Chair, Head of Community Affairs). In December 2014, the club released "The Lost Ball", a Christmas film produced by Anthony Day (Head, Digital Media & Production), indicative of the club's increased emphasis on online content.[10]

Notable developments

England & GB Consultant goalkeeping coach John Hurst, and international goalkeepers for England (Maddie Hinch and Kirsty Mackay), Scotland (Allan Dick and Amy Gibson) and Wales (David Kettle) joined Wapping's set up for the 2014/15 season to coach at Wapping's Goalkeeper Academy.[11]

100 new players joined the Club for the 2014/15 season after a facilities boost and successful participation in the England-wide Back to Hockey campaign.[12]

In 2015, Stuart Burnside created "The Hockey Beer", a brand designed to raise funds for both Wapping and other hockey clubs, subsequently launching it with the help of other Wapping members. Three Wapping "hockey beers" were launched, Wapping Hoppy, Wapping Gold, and Wapping Cape. Wapping Hoppy and Wapping Gold were on sale at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre during the EuroHockey Nations Championship hosted there in 2015.[13]

Recent Honours

Wapping's 2014/15 campaign, was their most successful season at that point, and concluded with a host of wins and seven promotions, with the club receiving congratulations from Mayor of London Boris Johnson for their success.[14] Earlier that season, Wapping won the Men's East Division One indoor tournament at the first attempt in January 2015.[15]

That season was immediately surpassed, with the 2015/16 season involving 10 promotions, 9 league titles and promotion to the National League. [16]

References

  1. ↑ Gilmour, Rod (3 March 2014) "Wapping's Hockey Revolution Bears Fruits as London Club Goes Business Savvy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved on 24 August 2014.
  2. ↑ BBC Television (19 June 2014) "Lee Valley: Latest Olympic Legacy Venue Opens in Stratford BBC London News. Retrieved on August 2014.
  3. ↑ Mackay,Duncan (21 March 2012) "England To Host 2015 European Hockey Championships at Olympic Park". Inside the Games. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  4. ↑ See footnote 1.
  5. ↑ http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/News/January_2016/John_Orwell_Sport_Centre_scores_new_AstroTurf_goal.aspx "LBTH announcement"
  6. ↑ http://www.londonyouthgames.org/page.asp?section=88&sectionTitle=The+Board
  7. ↑ See footnote 1.
  8. ↑ Bishop, Rachel (12 December 2014). "The Wharf".
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ ."The Lost Ball".
  11. ↑ Davies, FFi (3 August 2014) http://scoophockey.com/2014/08/03/wapping-launch-olympics-legacy-goalkeeper-academy-for-all-aspiring-keepers/ "Scoop Hockey Magazine", Faulkner, Peter (27 October 2014) http://ebook-tm.s3.amazonaws.com/East_End_Life_27Oct2014/index.html#/34/ "East End Life"
  12. ↑ Davies, Ffi (22 September 2014) . "Scoop Hockey Magazine".
  13. ↑ Juggins, Sarah (October 2015) "Planet Hockey Magazine - issue 1"
  14. ↑ (26 March 2015) "Wapping wonders end on high" "The Docklands & East London Advertiser"
  15. ↑ (7 January 2015). "My Local Guardian"
  16. ↑ http://html5.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/default.aspx?pubname=Newham%20Recorder&edid=72a847d8-bc38-42b5-ad47-1769555ce6d1 "Newham Recorder, p61"
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