TVHC are pleased to confirmed a 3 year agreement with Salesians School, Chertsey for use of their new Astroturf pitch. TVHC will provide a lump sum of cash up front in return for a 'bank' of hours to be used over the 3 year period. As key partners, TVHC get priority for booking slots at the new facility, and a seat on the Partnership Management Group. This is seen as the start of a long term mutually beneficial relationship between the school and the club, promoting the development of hockey at the school and within the community, providing TVHC with a focal point (home ground) for the club and providing a membership feed.

Dear all,

Well what a first half of a season we've had at TVHC!
The Ladies have progressed to the last 32 of the National Vase competition (go Ladies! I already have the flowers picked out for this and a spot on the bar reserved) and the Men narrowly missed out on the same place by virtue of a Golden Goal (and a frozen pitch at Bank of England adding to our injury list). We've had great cameo appearances from some of our ex-members. You know who you are and how good it felt to be in the maroon and green of the 'Mighty Thames Valley' again!

The deals concerning 'our' new pitch at Salesians, due for completion in April and our new Club House at Chertsey Cricket Club are in the 'fine tuning' stages and should be sealed early in the New Year. This gives us a great new platform with which to move the club forward. Winston Churchill, Charters and most importantly Egham CC have served us well down the years but it is time to move on and exciting times lay ahead.

We are still struggling a bit for players (Hey! Let's keep it understated, huh?), BUT following some great recruitment work by Ed, Jon C, Linda B and Vicstar to name but a few, we have some exciting new members and are on the way up as far as numbers are going. (If I haven't mentioned you by name, please don't be offended, it's just the combination of old-age and Guinness!).

Thank you all for welcoming our new members to the club and showing them what a great bunch we are. However, this doesn't mean that we can get complacent, the recruitment drive should always be an ongoing thing and it is up to all of us as members to make sure that we encourage (cajole, browbeat, kidnap...) anyone we can in to joining or re-joining our club.

We need numbers to survive and, in addition the club house and bar need to become self sufficient. We all have a part to play in this by making use of the friendly atmosphere and competitive prices. Last season saw some great support for the social functions and the recent Halloween party was enjoyed by all. Remember, the club is open on Thursday evenings as well as Saturdays. Come down, have a drink and get 'that shocking decision by the umpire' (unless it was me, of course) off your chest where everyone will agree with you! (Discussions on the finer points of aircraft design or the 17:24 to Waterloo, I'll leave to others!)

The playing committee and exec have put in place some plans to expand our visibility in the local press, schools and colleges as well as local businesses so watch this space. The people mentioned above have managed to get upwards of 10 new members, if we can get another 5 by the end of the season and then another 10 over the summer...Well, you do the maths...

Queenie and Linda L have already secured us a future with their excellent work on the fledgling colts section. The warmer Sunday mornings have seen around 20 new recruits all keen to play hockey thanks to the great organisation and fun coaching they are getting. I'm sure they would all like to thank everyone who has helped out. The links with Salesians, Runnymede and Active Surrey should see these numbers increase in the near future and hopefully some success at the Youth Games will follow. It won't be long before these 'young whipper snappers' become the playing members of tomorrow and we can officially say "it wasn't like that in my day..."

So it's time to take a break, stuff ourselves with turkey, Christmas pud and all the trimmings, ready for the second half of the season (how I always look forward to that first game back, puffing and wheezing even more than usual!).

Thanks to everyone who have given their time to get us this far, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you and your families and here's to good times at TVHC!!

Garfield