A new season is here, and we are excited to welcome you to the 2025/26 hockey season at Winscombe Ladies Hockey Club!   

We celebrated a fantastic 2024/25 season, sharing memories and achievements, at our end of season party in May and with the summer league fixtures behind us – having enjoyed some thrilling hockey under the sun (it decided to shine this year for every match!) – we turn our focus to the challenges and opportunities of the season ahead. 

Whether you are a season stalwart, or new to us this season, please ensure you read the following email and important attachments in full. Within this email, you should find all the information you need to pay your membership and training fees, get the important dates in your diary, and much more. Please especially take time to read our safeguarding, transport, photography and filming policies, even if you have read them before. 

For those of you who were unable to attend the AGM, please also take the time to read the Chairman and Vice-Chairman reports, so that you are aware of the work that went on last season both on and off the pitch. We are always on the lookout for people with skills to help the running of our club, so if you feel this is you, please let us know. If any member would like a full copy of the AGM minutes, then please contact the Club Secretary, Caroline Marsh via the following email address: WLHCsec@outlook.com 

 

Captains 

It is our pleasure to introduce ourselves as the team captains for the upcoming season. Our contact details, and the league information for each team, are as follows:   

1st Team          Kate Dennis                  07790 812356        

2nd Team         Juju O Sullivan          07793 403665           

3rd Team          Issy Fowles                    07943 970789         

4th Team          Molly Legge                    mollylegge2017@gmail.com                       

The captaincy team will be supported by vice captains, who are there to help you as much as the captains. The vice captains will be introduced to you by your captains at the beginning of the season. 

 Communication 

We will continue with the team WhatsApp groups, as this is the most efficient way for captains to post messages to all and to monitor who has received and read them. You must be at least 16 years old to be in the groups. If you are under the age 16, the relevant parent or carer for that individual will be added.  

The club uses Teamer for all training and match communication. You are responsible for updating your own availability and responding to messages in a timely fashion. Captains and coaches rely on this information so it must be accurate. Please respond to your match and training Teamer message by Monday 6pm. This allows coaches sufficient time to plan their sessions and captains time to deal with any changes. If you do not respond to your Teamer message by the deadline, captains will have to assume you are unavailable, which may result in someone else being asked to play in your place. In this situation, and if someone else has accepted, captains cannot then guarantee you/your daughter a place in the team for that week. CLICK HERE for the Teamer user guide if required.  

 Pre-season Training 

As we prepare ourselves for the upcoming season, we’d like to invite all members to our new look, mix-and-match pre-season training. This will be free of charge to all members and will combine a mixture of hockey training lead by a Level 2 coach, and fitness training, led by a qualified instructor from Kings Fitness & Leisure. The individual dates of each are shown below for your calendars, and Teamer notifications will be sent weekly. Please accept/ decline in a timely manner. 

Wednesday 6th August – Hockey training – 19:00 – 20:30 – Sidcot Astroturf 

Wednesday 13th August – Hockey training – 19:00 – 20:30 – Sidcot Astroturf 

Thursday 21st August – Fitness training – 19:00 – 20:00 – Sidcot Astroturf 

Thursday 28th August – Fitness training – 19:00 – 20:00 – Sidcot Astroturf 

 Club Training 

Training for the 2025/26 season takes place from w/c 1st September 2025 through to w/c 30th March 2026. Please see full calendar at the end for details on the Christmas break. Training runs from 19:00 - 20:30 with the 1st and 2nd teams training on a Wednesday and 3rd and 4th teams training on a Thursday. 

 Club Day 

Our annual Club Day will take place on Saturday 6th September. This is a key date for your social calendar. Don’t forget it’s also free for all club members. Invitations will be sent by Teamer. The day will be filled with various drills and skills work and gives you an opportunity to meet members across the whole club. 

Please arrive at the pitch for 12:30 where you will be welcomed by Winscombe Ladies Hockey Club President, Bernie Richardson. Once we’re done on the pitch, please stick around for teas in the pavilion with the afternoon finishing at 16:00. 

 Matches & Match Selection 

Matches are usually played on Saturdays, either home or away, with all details and information available on Teamer. Friendly matches start from 13th September and league matches from 27th September. Our final league date of the season is 11th April 2026. 

Squads will be reviewed a minimum of four occasions throughout the season and players will be moved according to the selection criteria. Please refer to the selection criteria document attached. Selection for matches is completed on a Sunday by the captains, with all those selected receiving an invitation via Teamer for the team they have been selected for. Please note this could be from a team that is not the squad you are part of. CLICK HERE for WLHC selection criteria 2025-2026 and CLICK HERE for the WLHC Code of Conduct 2025-2026. 

 Membership, Training & Match Fees 

The annual membership and training fees are split into three equal payments across the year, payable by BACS. However, if you would like to pay in full, please do so as your first payment.  To access the membership form where you will find specific costs and due dates for your membership type CLICK HERE This includes free pre-season fitness training in August and Club Day!  

Match fees are payable on match days to your captain in either cash or by card. No payment on the day, may mean no match! 

 Equipment 

Players are required to have a suitable stick, shin pads and gum shield. Proper hockey shoes are considered most suitable for wear on the astroturf, but trainers can be worn in emergencies. No studded footwear or blades are allowed on the astroturf. Water is also very important to bring along to matches and training – please do not rely on being able to get it close to the pitch. Please also ensure that if you require any inhalers or other medical equipment, that these are brought with you to both training and matches. 

 Kit 

The kit window is open now and will close on 6th September at Club Day. Payments need to be sent to the club by this date to ensure your order is completed. 

 CLICK HERE to access the kit order form for Over 16s and CLICK HERE to access the Under 16s Kit order form. CLICK HERE for kit size guide. 

Captains will post a message into your squad WhatsApp group with order updates and further kit windows throughout the season. 

In the meantime, a reminder that our preferred kit is red shirts with red socks and in the event of a clash at an away game, we wear white shirts with navy socks. Kit colour should be mentioned on the Teamer invitation. 

 Club Welfare Officer 

England Hockey believe that all young people have the right to be safe and enjoy their involvement in hockey and is committed to promoting the welfare of all young people in our sport to protect them from harm alongside the hockey family.  

The Club Welfare Officer is primarily responsible for promoting good practice within the club, to be a named point of contact for young people, parents, coaches, and volunteers, and to follow the correct England Hockey safeguarding procedures if a concern is raised. CLICK HERE to view the England Hockey Safeguarding Good Practice. 

Our Club Welfare Officer is Chloe Davis, and she is currently a primary school teacher so is very familiar with safeguarding and child protection issues. Should you wish to contact Chloe, her mobile number is 07964 191244. 

  Important Dates 

We’ve included a lot of information in the letter above, so we wanted to highlight some of the key dates for your diary below: 

• 6th & 13th August 2025 Pre-season hockey training 19:00 - 20:30 – Sidcot Astroturf 
• 21st & 28th August 2025 Pre-season fitness training 19:00 – 20:00 – Sidcot Astroturf 
• W/C 1st September 2025 Training starts 19:00 - 20:30 – Sidcot Astroturf 
• 6th September 2025 - Club Day 12:30 – 16:00 – Sidcot Astroturf 
• 13th & 20th September 2025 Pre-season friendly matches 
• 27th September 2025 League games start 
• W/C 8th December 2025 Last week of training for the Christmas break 
• W/C 5th January 2026 Training resumes 19:00 - 20:30 Sidcot Astroturf 
• 11th April 2026 Official League End for Season 2025/26 

It is likely the last week of training will be w/c 30th March, however, if there are matches after this date due to re-arrangements due to weather. Training may continue beyond this date. Keep checking Teamer weekly for training and match notifications. 

And last, but certainly not least, look out on social media for future dates for the AGM and End of Season Party. 

All other relevant club updates throughout the season will be either posted in the WhatsApp groups or on social media, or both!  

The club would like to thank our kit sponsors Thatchers, and our facility providers Sidcot School, for their continued support. 

Good luck for the season and enjoy your hockey! 

Any questions please do not hesitate to ask your captains, 

Kate, Juju, Issy and Molly 

Winscombe Ladies Hockey Club