The Club was first established in
the early 1950’s when it shared a small pavilion at Odiham’s
cricket ground, fielded only two teams and had no more than thirty
members.
Nowadays due to the popularity of
the sport, the support of the Borough Council, club members and the
various dedicated committee members over the last decade or so, we
have grown into one of the largest and most respected clubs in the
South of England. We currently play home fixtures at Down Grange Playing
Fields off Pack Lane.
We now have a playing membership in excess of 300 members enabling
us to field 8 Men’s teams, 4 ladies teams, 4 youth teams and
a mixed team on a regular basis. In addition to this we have many
social members and currently have many affiliated clubs that enjoy
the benefits and comforts of our clubhouse.
Basingstoke Hockey Club has seen many of its players represent their
county and region over previous years. Recent years have seen numerous
players being awarded county honours with five players going one better
and achieving regional or higher honours.
We as a club believe our growth has been a direct result of having
a firm structure and taking hockey development seriously. Both males
and females as young as six to sixty currently play hockey at
the club. Saturday morning training sees some thirty 6-11 year olds
getting to grips with the basics whilst Sunday morning sees thirty
11-14 year olds train.
We have good links with many of the schools in the borough which is
the main medium by which we obtain new youngsters wishing to play
hockey outside of school. We organise a schools annual tournament
and have worked in tandem with the Borough Council in coaching both
children and adults with learning disabilities whilst leading the
country in trying to established hockey awards for this target group.
Club training for over fourteen year olds of all standards takes place
on a Wednesday evening between 18.00 - 19.00.
Basingstoke has enjoyed league success on many occasions and is no
stranger to cup success either, with Basingstoke Over 40’s losing
narrowly in the national cup final two seasons ago and the Over 50’s
losing 3-2 recently in the final of the National Cup, held at the
National Stadium in Milton Keynes.
Currently our U14 have reached the semi-finals of the Hampshire Cup
and both the leading male and female eleven’s continue in cup
runs.
In addition to the playing side of the club we have a very active
social scene which sees many social events organised each year from
skittles evenings, quiz nights and discos to Burns Suppers, Presidents
Day and the Annual Club dinner.
As the club begins to gain respect it has potential to attract many
quality players and coaches from other teams up and down the country
to complement our own home grown talent. An example of this is that,
in recent seasons, we have benefited from the playing and coaching
experience of ex-Great Britain Captain and Coach David Faulkner.
To date we have played host to many county matches and championships
and a number of international matches and tournaments.
Basingstoke is no stranger to international competitions itself....
Many touring sides venture abroad to countries such as France,
Holland and Germany as well as playing in the domestic hockey
festivals.
Some of our more senior players took part in the last Veterans
World Cup in Germany.
Basingstoke Hockey Club plays host to one of the biggest and
most respected Mixed Hockey Festivals on an annual basis. Attracting
some 600 competitors from around the country and abroad, many
camping in the grounds of Down Grange, for a weekend of fun and
frolics, both on and off the field!!!
A successful Mini’s Festival is organised on an annual
basis which is attended by approximately 12 teams from throughout
the South.
Basingstoke Hockey Club is always on the look out
for new players of all ages and abilities. Interested players should
contact the Club on 01256 474606.
At the current time, Basingstoke Hockey Club is in the process of
moving location to May’s Bounty at Basingstoke Sports and Social Club,
and for the time being, further information can be obtained
by clicking on the following link:
www.basingstoke-hockey.com
