This week we put the spotlight on some of those behind the scenes things that make hockey happen week in week out and how you can get your paws on £250 if you're in the clubhouse on Saturday evening!

With an early Half Term in most Trafford Schools this week has been another challenging one for our senior team captains and the Badgers Managers on fielding teams fielding teams with so much unavailability. Thanks to all involved in playing and helping us getting teams out this weekend.

First up, this weeks thank you goes to Will Reynolds, Will shows the patience of a saint each week in the background cajoling and juggling our whistlers across the club to umpire between 14+ matches a weekend. Without Will's efforts and those of our umpires, player/umpires and parents and players we simply wouldn't be playing any games. With EH Sunday games coming up we need to a major step up to keep the games on, reduce the stress each week and reduce the pressure on too few people to carry the load.

So here's the plan !

- if you're an existing umpire (assessed or un-assessed) and you've no umpired so far this season or only once please contact Will R and give him a couple of dates you can umpire between now and Christmas (including EH Sundays - 10th,17th,24th Nov and 1st Dec) and we can see how this helps spread the load

- a minimum of 2 players to take the short EH online Hockey Rules module (free to take), this will help players understand the Rules better (and give less chat to Umpires!) and also mean you can help with the odd Beaver, Blue Badger or Badger games and with the lower Men's team games in line with new advice from the NWHL

- join the THC whistlers - players, supporters, parents, mates! If you're up for giving Umpiring a go we'll support you by funding the EH training (and insurance once umpiring) and give you coaching and developing once you've done the EH course from our Umpire Developers - Nick Burnett, Malcolm Tucker and Andrew Foster (Fozzy) - contact your captain if interested or let Will R, Nick or Shelagh know. The next EH course is our area with places available is on 3rd November at North Staffs Hockey - let us know ASAP if you're able to attend and we can get a place booked in. We're also investing on some umpire headsets to help umpire development too !

- show your appreciation to your Umpire, as a minimum all players and coaches are reminded to thank both umpires in the usual way after the game and captains should remember to offer them a drink post match and invite the whistlers to join you for teas - this is all part of having a #greatmatchday at THC

- sign up to the EH Hockey Hub to test yourself against the Rules, do the online module and book a course - its free and there are lots of hockey video's and resources on there useful to players, umpires and coaches https://hockeyhub.englandhockey.co.uk/officiating

This week, on behalf of the Club we'd like to thank the following for making all these games happen...

Men's 2 Bebington Away 13:30 Tim Small
Men's 3 Northop Hall Away 13:45 Nick Burnett
Men's 4 Brooklands Home 15:15 Nigel Stanhope & Andy Entwisle
Men's 5 Crewe Home 12:30 Craig Burgess
Men's 6 Stockport Bramhall Away 15:00 Richard Knill
Men's 7 Lymm Home 14:15 Dan Chancellor
Ladies' 2 Alderley Edge Away 13:30 Will Reynolds
Ladies' 3 Bowdon Away 14:00 Pat Marston
Ladies' 4 Chester Home 12:15 Ben Wright
Ladies' 5 Chester Home 13:45 Ruth Maddocks
Badgers 2 Bowdon Home 16:45 Nick Court & Lucy Potts
Beavers Chester Home 16:00 Paul Lewis & Emily Clarke

£250 Snowball !
Its the 200 Club Draw this Saturday (19th October) around 6.30pm - as well as the regular monthly prizes there's also the chance to win £250 if you're in the draw and in the clubhouse at the time of the draw ! Nick Burnett and Malcolm Tucker will be around on the night to sell numbers in the draw (£4) and provide details of how to sign up to pay by Standing Order and be in the monthly draw and support the club development funds.

Sponsors supporting hockey at THC

Sponsorship is one of the sections main sources of raising funds to pay for everything from affiliation fees, teas, coaching, equipment and developing our volunteers. Thanks to Jackie Lord our Fund-raising and Sponsorship Co-ordinator whose been working hard with the Men's and Ladies 1's to secure a number of sponsorship over the last few months that have raise vital funds. We're delighted to have the support of sponsors: Coolair; Kitchens of Altrincham; Juniper Hale and Myerson and thank them for their commitment to community sport.

The 1's have also been working hard to secure individual player sponsors (the money goes direct to hockey funds not the person !) and big thank you to Alice Williams and Connor Miller for introducing our new meet the players weekly feature on social media to showcase our 1's players and their sponsors. There's still the opportunity to show your support and sponsor a player if interested get into touch with the players direct or captains.

Match Day sponsorship's are also available from £50 for a standard fixture,£60 for a single National League match day and £100 for a double header. Contact Shelagh E if you'd like to support us as an individual or business or we've pitchside advertising banners available from £300 for 12 months.

Socials !

Don't forget next Saturday 26th October we have another National League Double Header v Wakefield and 18:00 game followed by a great Soul band the Soul Temptations playing live at the club - tickets just a fiver from the bar.

....and finally this week a shout out to wish all teams the best of luck for this weekend's games and to congratulation our teams that are so far undefeated in their league campaigns.....Ladies 1's, Ladies 3's, Men's 2's, Men's 6's and the Badgers

Lets get lots of goals, points and don't forget to pop out for our Saturday Night Game Blue Badgers v Bowdon at 16:45 to see some of the future talent of the club and give the blues some support.