For those of you who did not join the Zoom Annual League Meeting on 27 May you may not be aware that both the Chairman and Hon Secretary have stood down from the Committee. Below are their farewell messages.

The end of an Era and a New Beginning;

A new Joint League Committee and new Rules and Regulations are coming into operation; so, this seems to be the ideal time for me to sign off from the West Women’s Hockey League.

Having been involved in the original setting up of the League with its initial 30 teams, I have occupied a variety of positions ever since. So, I expect that I will miss being directly involved, but, possibly not the cold, rainy journeys to Taunton in the winter!

Nevertheless, I look forward to watching the League develop and flourish in the future.
This is the moment, I am sure, to thank all of those individuals from Pat Ward, whose inspiration, started the ball rolling, to the Committee members past and present, players, umpires and Club supporters for all of the many contributions that they have made throughout the last 33 seasons to maintain and develop such a successful League. Thank you all.

Finally, I wish the League, the new Committee and all of the teams a successful season 2021/2022.

Tim

Having spent 24 years on the Committee, firstly as Trelawney Secretary, then the Administrative Officer and lately as the Hon Secretary and Webmaster I decided it was time to pass this role on to someone new.

My decision is not a recent one nor has it been taken lightly, it has been floating around in my mind for a few years now and I thought that the implementation of the Joint League was a good opportunity to move on.

These past 24 years have been interesting, challenging, sometimes hard work, most times not so, sometimes hectic and occasionally overwhelming at times (Covid!!) - sorry, I don’t want to put anyone off from volunteering for the role, but I have enjoyed it all.

It will be strange not to be involved in hockey; the game has been part of my life since i first played at Senior School at the tender age of 11, 56 years ago. However, I know I will be leaving it in good hands for the challenges ahead and future of the game we love.

A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in our League, in whatever role, since it started 33 years ago. The best of luck for next season and the future.

Su

For those of you who did not join the Annual League Meeting Zoom Call on Thursday 27 March I would confirm that both the Chairman, Tim Horsfield and the Hon Secretary Su Yeoman have stood down from the League Committee

All fingers are crossed that we will be able to resume some sort of hockey in the next few weeks and get back to being a Club again. Our current competitive season is now over and planning is ongoing as part of the work with England Hockey to implement "A Structure Fit for the Future". As part of that there is a planned Club Update on March 24th via conference. Your Club should have received the joining information, if this is not the case please email the address provided below.

We know some of you will be considering the structure of your own Clubs next year and the number of teams that you will want to be entering into League Hockey. Can we ask that you email the address below with your plans if you think you will be entering any new teams or withdrawing any teams. The earlier that you can do this the better, but certainly no later than April 30th.

The email address to send this to information is [email protected]

At the recent committee meeting the affiliation fees clubs have paid for the shortened 20-21 season was discussed. Our decision is to recommend to the ALM to carry forward the affiliation fees paid as credit towards next season. If a team is not continuing they will receive a refund

At our committee meeting last week the Premier 1 promotion was discussed and, after taking many factors into consideration, it was felt it is unlikely that teams will be able to return to competitive hockey in time to complete a meaningful play off competition in that division.

Our decision is in accordance with EH guidance for concluding the season without being able to have a play off. Therefore, the two teams going into National League will be Penarth who were runners up at the end of the 19-20 season and Bristol University who were the team relegated from National League at that time.

Congratulations to both teams and we wish them the best of luck in the 21-22 season.

Following the AGM Resolution vote at last year’s England Hockey AGM, the Structure Fit for the Future transition work is gaining momentum across the West region. The West Transition Group at their monthly meeting last week, decided that Counties and clubs needed to be better informed of the progress made to date in each of the functional areas – Adult Competitions, Junior Competitions, Officiating, Discipline and Masters. It is vital that the West continue to engage with the Counties and clubs, keeping them informed on the progress made towards the changes for season 2021/22. Details are in the attached pdf. Please note the email address in the form is incorrect; it should read [email protected]

The attached link will take you to the EH news item concerning Planning Safe Hockey which has a document attached to it. All clubs need to read these and action as appropriate please.

The new season player registration paperwork was emailed to clubs on 14 September . Once clubs have completed these they need to be sent to all the secretaries who cover the divisions all your teams play in. These need to be received by them no later than 17 October unless you have brought any matches forward of this date in which case the paperwork need to be received 7 days before the new date of the fixture.

The registration form itself is an Excel document and as such cannot be loaded on to the website so if you need a copy of this document please contact the League Secretary.

In light of the ongoing situation with Coronavirus England Hockey recommends that people involved in sport follow the government's advice, which is updated on a daily basis on the Gov.UK website. EH has also produced an article which sets out what action club members, officials and spectators need to take to prevent the spread of the virus. This can be found by using the attached link or by clicking on the blue box on the Home page entitled News from England Hockey.

Presently there is no suggestion that our events should not proceed, but sensible precautions should be taken. Players, parents and officials who do attend our events should refrain from shaking hands before and after games and wash their hands with soap and water or an appropriate hand gel regularly.

If players and / or their immediate family and close friends have returned from countries where coronavirus is widespread, government advice is that they should self isolate. They should NOT participate in our events. This is the responsibility of the parents, players and coaches themselves and not something that WCWHL can manage and enforce.

Everyone is reminded that all players should abide by the EH Code of Behaviour for Players as per the attached. Please take time to read this important document and ensure that you pass this on to other members of the club who do not access the website.

If your match is cancelled due to the weather, pitch, travelling conditions etc and will be re-arranged on a new date both teams should go in and mark that fixture as cancelled. This is the only time the Cancelled box should be used.

If your match is not played because you, or your opposition, cannot fulfil a fixture (i.e. it will not be played at all) please DO NOT mark this fixture as Cancelled. Instead you must inform your divisional secretary who will take the necessary action on the website. (When you mark a unfulfilled fixture as cancelled it causes issues with the administration part of the website, which means unnecessary work on my part).

Thank you, Webmaster WCWHL

If severe weather or travelling conditions have caused your match to be cancelled please go as if you are entering the result but only tick the Cancelled box. This will put the fixture back onto the system and once a new date has been agreed this can be put in and the fixture will appear under the relevant date. Both teams need to do this as it acts as confirmation that the fixture did not take place.
If your match does not go ahead because your opposition cannot raise a team, DO NOT enter anything on the website but contact the relevant secretary for your team to advise them - he/she will then take the appropriate action of cancelling the fixture.

Clubs must ensure times on the website clearly reflect the correct start time of the match. In the event the start time of a match is changed after it has been confirmed with your opposition you MUST ensure you contact them and get confirmation from them, in writing, that they have this new time. DO NOT assume that they will just happen to check the site to see if the time has changed as there is every likelihood they won’t. The onus is on you as the home team to make sure the information is correct and up to date.

If your match was an unfulfilled fixture do not enter a result but contact the league administrator(s) instead who will take the necessary action.
If your match was cancelled due to the weather, use the cancelled section to confirm that the match did not take place and ensure that you re-arrange this in accordance with the Regulations.

Please use the attached link to access the EH Best Practice Guidance which covers the subject of photography at matches, events, etc. We should all be mindful about taking photographs particularly when this involves under 18s and getting the consent of those concerned.

Clubs are reminded that postponed fixtures need to be re-arranged within 14 days of the date of the original match and your league secretary should be advised in writing of the new date. Your league secretary should also be notified of the postponement no later than 7pm on the day of the game other wise you will incur a fine of 10 pounds. Also, some of you need to visit the website and where you would enter the result you should note that the game was postponed.

Clubs must ensure any umpires they use are suitably qualified, before they umpire the game and that is the only interest we have with them. You are reminded that the use of candidate umpires is only allowed in Divisions 2 and below and only one per match as per Regulation 8a ii). If you have any issues about the standard of umpiring these should be directed to your County Umpiring Association