On Saturday, the club’s Under 10s travelled to Harleston Magpies, near Diss, to play in the East Under 10s In 2 Hockey Championships finals, with 11 teams from across the eastern region participating.
Bedford’s youngster put in a fantastic performance, finishing second in the group stages, and securing fourth place overall.
Saturday night, meanwhile, was a highlight of the club’s year, as players met to celebrate Awards Night, recognising the players and teams who have excelled this season, and acknowledging those club members who go above and beyond for the club.
Players’ Player awards (nominations made by members of each team) were:
Ladies’ 7s - Sophia Howard
Men’s 7s - Luke Thompson
Ladies’ 6s - Sami Da Silva
Men’s 6s - Dan Simms
Ladies’ 5s - Ali Woodward
Men’s 5s - Nathan Williams
Ladies’ 4s - Alice Brady-White
Men’s 4s - Freddie Bowls
Ladies’ 3s - Ella Roberts
Men’s 3s - Steve King
Ladies’ 2s - Becca Budd and Annie Mabin
Men’s 2s - Nathan Fuller
Ladies’ 1s - Emma Pinny
Men’s 1s - Alex Drummond
Umpire Services - Kevin Quinn-Barnes
Coach of the Year - Pete Rattu
Services to the Club - Brendan McNulty
Men’s Section Awards
Most Improved Player - Alex Sawyer
Young Player - Harry Pybus
Team Award - Men's 2s
Top Goal-scorer- Adam Priston
Goalkeeper - Arthur Surridge
Player of the Year - Alex Drummond
Services to Men’s Section - Dave Appleton
Ladies’ Section Awards
Most Improved and Young Player - Libby and Tilly Sheldon
Team Award - Ladies' 4s
Top Goal-scorer- Bea Burek
Goalkeeper - Emily ‘Robbo’ Robinson
Player of the Year - Becca Budd
Services to Ladies’ Section - Duncan Talbot
On Sunday, it was the turn of the Under 12s to travel to Harleston Magpies for their East In 2 Hockey Club finals, a boy's and a girl's squad competing.
Both teams faced tough oppositions, battling it out with the best teams in the region. Some fantastic hockey was on display and, most importantly, great fun was had by all.
The Girl's team, competing in this tournament for the first time, showed huge progress across their matches. Although the results didn’t go their way early on, their determination shone through, culminating in a fabulous (and nerve-wracking!) 0-0 draw to finish the day.
The Boy's team were competitive in every game - many of which were decided by the finest margins. They finished 7th out of 11 teams, a fantastic achievement considering the high standard, and a brilliant platform for Bedford to build on next season.
At the other end of the age spectrum, six Bedford players travelled to the International Super Veterans Tournament in Tilburg at the weekend - Jon Ratcliffe, Chris Townson, Chris Madden and Dave Sharples playing for Alliance and Ian Chitty and Steve Bilham playing for Scottish Thistles. Whilst there was mixed success, effort, commitment and the spirit of play were 100%.
It was also the London Marathon on Sunday, and three Bedford Hockey Club players showed off their sporting prowess by successfully completing the course, Heidi Langley in 3:42;57, Matthew Wilson in 4:09.02 and Chris Setterfield, running in a team of 10 dressed as test-tubes in a test-tube rack, to raise funds for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in 5:41:49. Not only did Chris and the team do amazingly to reach the finish line, they did so in world record-breaking time, shaving 55 minutes off the previous record for a 10-person costume.
Looking ahead to the coming weekend, the Women’s Over 45s will be stepping out in the national finals of England Hockey’s Tier 2 championships on Saturday, where they face Epsom.