1897 - 2009

Colchester Hockey Club

More than 100 years of hockey in north Essex

2008-09 news archive

Final team results:

R = relegated

* At the end of the season, Men's 4ths had been relegated but subsequent events have meant they will stay in East 6SE 

Club awards 2008-09

Club person of the year: Helen Wall

Most improved player (Ladies): Kate Bagley

Most improved player (Men): Lewis Knights

Junior players of the season: Rickey Elston and Jess Wilson

Club top goal scorers: Joe Gray and Stella Layzell

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1 July 2009: The Club Christmas Dinner will be Friday 11 December at the Colchester United Weston Homes Community Stadium. The theme is a Grease Tribute Night and for the bargain price of £40 you receive a three course Christmas meal and entertainment. More details can be seen on the Diary Dates page. Contact Sarah Rose ASAP to reserve your place. 

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30 June 2009: 2009 AGM and Awards Night took place Thursday 25 June at the clubhouse. To view a copy of the minutes visit the Administration Minutes page. To view the award winners, visit the Team page.

Pre-season training starts Wednesday 8th July at the Garrison, 7-9pm. It will be stick and ball work, a bit of fitness and games! All new players welcome!

At the end of the season, the Men's 4ths were relegated but subsequent events have meant that they will now stay in East 6SE. Team pages will be updated with new captains' details and fixtures in due course.

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12 June 2009: Coach Wayne Masters has put together a pre-season training manual with information about how to improve fitness and suggested 4- and 6-week training programmes. Click here to view it in the Club Info page.

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08 June 2009: The Ladies' League season will begin 19 September 2009. This season, there will be league games on both Saturdays of the October half-term holiday but no games on 13 and 20 February during half-term (because so many players end up going skiing!). 

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28 May 2009: The 2009 AGM and Awards Night will take place Thursday 25 June at the clubhouse, 7:30 for 7:45pm start. To view a copy of the agenda and last year's minutes, visit the Administration Minutes page.

Pre-season club training is starting in July 2009 on Wednesdays 7-9pm (a date will be announced soon). This will be stick and fitness work and is open to all club members and potential new members. 

All men's team training will be on Wednesdays next season (18:30-20:30: U15, U17 boys, Men's 3rds, 4ths, 5ths; 19:30-21:30: Men's 1sts, 2nds) and all ladies' team training will be on Thursdays (18:30-20:30: U17 girls, Ladies' 3rds; 19:30-21:30: Ladies' 1sts, 2nds). Sunday Junior training for boys and girls will be 10:00-11:00 (U7s, U9s, U11s) and 11:00-12:30 (U13s). Starting dates for all these will be announced later in the summer.

Summer running group for anyone in the club who wants to improve their stamina is on Thursdays, 7pm from the Garrison, starting 11 June 2009. 

Next season, Colchester will be entering the Essex Mixed Hockey League which takes place on Sundays throughout the season with 6-8 games played. The league is as social or serious as a team wants but is very enjoyable. If you would like to be part of the team, contact the Secretary.

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18 May 2009: East Region Performance Group and England Hockey are looking to recruit enthusiastic coaches and managers to work at the new Junior Regional Performance Centres which are starting in June 2009 at two locations in the east region.

This is a really exciting opportunity for coaches and managers to get involved in performance hockey and hockey’s Single System. The east based centres are at Bury St Edmunds and St Albans and will be operational from the 27^th June 2009. For more information and job descriptions, visit the Administration Courses page.

The Essex Hockey Umpires' AGM and New Rules Evening with be held at Chelmer Park, Tuesday 19 May at 7:30 pm. Andrew Kennedy FIH will be explaining the new rules that come into force in September. To see the new rules, visit the Administration Umpires page.

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21 April 2009: Family Fun Day at the Garrison, Sunday 26th April 2009. For more details, visit the Junior page.

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6 April 2009: The hockey season has now ended. The ladies' teams were the best-performing teams, finishing 1st, 6th and 5th respectively in their divisions. Unfortunately, three of the men's teams were relegated on the last day. To see an overview of the club's season, visit the Teams page. 

Don't forget to keep checking the website throughout the off-season to find out dates for the AGM, club awards and pre-season training. 

Colchester Ladies' Vets represented Essex in the East Veterans' Tournament on Sunday 5 April at Sevenoaks. Unfortunately, the team did not win any matches.

The nominees have been announced for the first ever national hockey awards. In the East, two stalwarts, Ros Marsh and Brian Perks (who are currently involved in East Indoor), have been nominated for the 'England Hockey Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Services to Hockey'. 

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30 March 2009: Congratulations to the Ladies' 1sts who were crowned Division One North Champions on Sunday. 

Commiserations to the Men's 1sts who were relegated to Division One.

Did anyone pick up a blue base layer top after training on Wednesday? Please contact the Secretary if you did.

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25 March 2009: The last few Sundays for the Juniors has changed so don't forget to check the Juniors' page.

This Saturdays sees the last matches for many of the teams. Don't forget to come back to the clubhouse afterwards (or drop in on your way back from an away match) to celebrate.

The Ladies' 1sts have their final two games this weekend which could see them crowned division champions. If you would like to come along and give your much-needed support, Saturday pushback at the Garrison is 12:30 and Sunday pushback away at Braintree is 1pm.  

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16 March 2009: Congratulations to the Ladies' 1sts who have earned promotion to the East Premier League! There are still three games left to play and hopefully the team can become the division champions, too. Thanks to the hard work of the team, captain Naomi Allen, and especially to invaluable coach Wayne Masters who has done an amazing job.

Colchester Ladies Indoor team are in the finals of the Suffolk Indoor League - at the first attempt! Good luck!

Colchester Ladies' Vets will represent Essex in the East Vets' Tournament in April.

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9 March 2009: From next season there will be hockey rule changes designed to decrease the number of interruptions to the flow of play (a self-pass from a free hit and free hits can no longer be played directly into the circle). For more details, click here.   

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2 March 2009: The latest 200 Club draw took place on Saturday. For a list of winners, visit the 200 Club page.

If you are interested in attending a summer residential hockey course led by England players at Culford School, Bury St Edmunds visit www.hookedonhockey.co.uk.  

If you are interested in coaching or umpiring courses for Level 1 and 2, visit the Administration Courses page. 

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20 February 2009: England Hockey is planning a new annual award ceremony dedicated to hoeckey's champion volunteers. Hockey's Big Night Out takes place on Saturday 16 May 2009 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nottingham. If you wish to nominate someone or buy a ticket, visit the EH news page for details and links. 

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16 February 2009: Please note the Secretary's new contact email: secretary@colchesterhc.org.uk 

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10 February 2009: Level Two Coaching Award course in June/July has now been organised for the East. The East Region is also launching the England Hockey Player Syllabus & associated JDC/JAC coaching materials Monday 2 March. It is open to active JDC/JAC/JRPC coaches and interested colleagues. More details about all these can be found on the Administration Courses page.

If anyone is interested in attending a free Quicksticks Course in the East (aimed at primary school teachers, coaches and anyone who works with 7-11 year olds), contact the Secretary.

Missing keys: did anyone find a set of keys at the Garrison on Saturday. They have a set of beads attached which spell out 'MR GREGORY'?

The latest England Hockey news from the East is available to read. There is also information about the Single System for junior development. Both can be viewed on the EH News page.

A qualified, female hockey instructor is needed for 8-10 Sunday sessions in Feb/March. Contact the Secretary for details.

The England Hockey Roadshow comes to the East at Bishop's Stortford College Thursday 19 March, starting 7:30 pm. There is a chance to hear about the Beijing Olympics from the GB coaches, find out EH's plans fro the next four years and give your feedback on how hockey is run.

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2 February 2009: The Quiz Night raised £130. Thank you to all who supported the night and to Ben Mynott for running the quiz. Well done to the winning 'Timmy Time' team who showed their in-depth knowledge of kids' TV programmes - especially about 'The Care Bears'!!!

Please remember when you park at the Garrison carpark DO NOT LEAVE ANYTHING VISIBLE in your car to tempt thieves. 

Did anyone find a blue TK hockey stick after last week's games at the Garrison? Please contact the Secretary if you did.

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27 January 2009: LOST PROPERTY from this past weekend at the Garrison: a hockey stick, gloves and a T-shirt. If you believe any of these items to be yours, contact the Secretary.

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26 January 2009: Don't forget there will be a quiz night at the clubhouse Saturday 31 January, 7:30pm start. Teams of 5 (max), £5 per person (includes hot food) or £3 if not eating. Please bring a raffle prize. Come and support you club!

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20 January 2009: A qualified, female hockey instructor is needed for 8-10 Sunday sessions ASAP. Contact the Secretary for details.

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15 January 2009: The Juniors page has been updated with details of every team's tournaments and practice sessions.

There are a variety of hockey-related courses on offer at the moment: Level One Coaching (various dates in various counties), Level One Coaching assistant (Essex - March), Hockey Leadership for anyone over 14 (Chelmsford - 2 dates in February). Visit the Courses page to see more details and download forms.

A proposal has been made for the England Hockey AGM in March regarding umpire affiliation. To view the proposal, click here.

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10 January 2009: NO SUNDAY JUNIORS TOMORROW DUE TO FROZEN PITCH. A 'catch-up' session will take place in February half-term.

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9 January 2009: It's January sale time! 'Old style' centenary shirts £5 and hoodies £10. Check out the For sale page.

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6 January 2009: There will be a quiz night at the clubhouse Saturday 31 January, 7:30pm start. Teams of 5 (max), £5 per person (includes hot food) or £3 if not eating. Please bring a raffle prize. Come and support you club!

Ladies' league matches start this Saturday 10 January. Also, Men's 1st XI 1997 v 2008 match, pushback at the garrison 12:30 (everyone is welcome back at the clubhouse afterwards).

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5 January 2009: NO TRAINING TONIGHT DUE TO FROZEN PITCH. Please check website for further notices.   

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21 December 2008: There will be a quiz night at the clubhouse Saturday 31 January. Details will follow after the holiday season.

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17 December 2008: Congratulations to the following for their county achievements:
Kirsty Barber - selected for the Essex Under 17 A Team, Jess Wilson - selected for the Essex Under 17 Development Squad, Evie Hampson - selected for the Essex Under 15 Development Squad, Sophie Sexton - selected for the Essex Junior U13 Development Centre, Marni Allen, Mia Cappabianca, Imogen Gibbs and Sam Howe - selected for the Essex Junior U11 Girls Development Centre
Patrick Preston - selected for the Essex Junior U11 Boys Development Centre, Joe Rich - Essex Under 16 Team, Richard Sexton - Suffolk Under 16 Team
Plus wishing the following players good luck at the final round of U13 Boys selection trials in January (bad weather has severely hampered the process!): James Barber, Jason Oliver, Alex Pink and Connor Scoynes

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12 December 2008: Club Games are Saturday 20 December, 12 for 12:30 at the garrison. There will be food afterwards at the clubhouse, a raffle and the 200 Club Draw. Cost will be £7 to play and eat, £3 for food only. Juniors: £5 to play and eat, £3 food only. Please let your captain known ASAP if you want to play.

Details about the Junior Family Fun Hockey Day on Sunday 14 December can be found on the Junior page.

Colchester is looking to host its own umpiring course in early 2009. if you are interested, please contact the Secretary. 

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11 December 2008: Training has now finished for all Men and Ladies' 3rds. It will resume Monday 5 January 2009. Ladies' 1sts and 2nds will have their last training session 17 December then resume on 7 January as well as Men's 1sts and 2nds. 

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8 December 2008: There is a Level 1 Coaching Assistant Award in March 2009. For more information see the Courses page.

Every month the club will receive an e-bulletin from England Hockey with the latest hockey news. An abridged version can be viewed in the Latest News section. 

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3 December 2008: The club is looking for an experienced goalkeeper to player in the higher men's elevens' teams. Please contact the Secretary if you are interested.

Jo Marshall's funeral will take place at St Leonards Church in Lexden, Colchester on 4 December at 2:30 pm.

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1 December 2008: Thanks to all who supported the Curryoke Night and to Marley for providing the curry. £85 was raised for the club.

Former CWHC player and President Jo Marshall (86) passed away recently. Jo was also EWHA President for many years. 

The next Junior Tournament is at Ipswich, Sunday 7 December.

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19 November 2008: Advance notice for the Men's 1st XI 1997 v 2008 match - Saturday 10 January 2009, 12:30 pushback at the Garrison. Everyone is welcome back at the clubhouse afterwards. 

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17 November 2008: Don't forget the Curryoke Night, Saturday 29 November at the Clubhouse, starting 7:30pm. Everyone welcome - bring friends and family. £3 per person for curry and entertainment. For the karaoke kings and queens: £1 per person per song (singing is not compulsory - and being able to sing is not a requirement!) Please bring a raffle prize and support your club!

The November draw for the 200 Club has taken place. For a list of winners, visit the 200 Club page.

The U15 Boys' team lost 11-0 to Saffron Walden recently in the U15 Plate.

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12 November 2008: There WILL BE a junior session on Sunday 16 November at the Garrison between 10 and 11am for all U7s, U9s and U11s who are not playing in the tournament.

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10 November 2008: The next Juniors' Tournament is at Felixstowe Sunday 16 November.

Recent Cup competition results: Ladies' 2nds lost 4-1 away to Teddington Ladies in the Women's Second Eleven trophy; Men's Vintage won 5-4 APS (1-1) against Tring Vintage Men's. Results from the U15 Plate have not been listed yet. The Vintage team faces Indian Gymkhana next, who have won five of the last six Vintage Cups! Let's hope for a giant-killing act!

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4 November 2008: Clear your diaries for 'Curryoke' night at the clubhouse, Saturday 29 November. There will be curry AND karaoke! More details to follow so check back soon!

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27 October 2008: Please note that the garrison pitch, the building where the change rooms are located (both inside and around the porch) are non-smoking areas.

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21 October 2008: Congratulations to Jacqui Crombie, Angela Roberts, Emma Sanford and Jamie Seakins who have passed their Level 1 Umpiring Course and are now Level 1 candidates!

Please be aware there is no Junior hockey until Sunday 9th November due to half term.

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20 October 2008: Thank you to all who came along to the Club Quiz Night. £130 was raised for the club. Thanks to Rosey and Crombie for organising the night.

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13 October 2008: This Sunday 19 October is the Juniors' first tournament at the Garrison. Come along and support the next generation of hockey players!  Junior tournament details can be viewed on the Junior Tournament page.

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8 October 2008: The Quiz Night on Saturday 18th October starts at 7:30pm, teams of 4 max, £3 per person. Come and support your club! Everyone welcome. Please bring a raffle prize.

Junior tournament details can now be viewed on the Junior Tournament page.

Former player Keith Alcoe (71) passed away recently. His sons Geoff and Phillip also played for CHC.

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1 October 2008: Colchester are entering a Suffolk Indoor League for Ladies this season. The schedule and results can be found on the Indoor page in the Teams' section. The first game is next week. Good luck! For more information, contact Naomi Allen: naomicallen@hotmail.com 

Congratulations to Terry Howlett who helped the England Grand Masters win gold at the recent Grand Masters Hockey World Cup in Hong Kong.

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28 September 2008: There will be a Quiz Night at the clubhouse on Saturday 18 October. Details will follow soon. 

The book launch for 'The Holly and the Rose: a History of Colchester Hockey Club' took place on Saturday at the clubhouse. It was an enjoyable evening for the various members past and present who attended. Copies are available for £10 from the author, Waterstones or Red Lion Books in Colchester High Street. For more information visit the Club History page.

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24 September 2008: The fixture cards have been printed and should be distributed this weekend by team captains. Make sure you get one - they are very useful!

Tony Elston (AKA 'Doc') is going to be running from 'Pier to Pier' (Clacton to Walton Lifeboat Stations) in aid of RNLI, which relies totally on donations. If you would like to make a donation, it's only a couple of clicks away at http://www.justgiving.com/tonyelston Good luck!

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19 September 2008: Two former players passed away recently, Jimmy Lee (92) and Eric French (88). Both played for Colchester in the 1940s and 50s.

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17 September 2008: The Ladies' 3rds game on Saturday 20 September has been re-arranged for 13 December. Ladies' 1sts teas will be at The Drury this week only. Good luck to the start of the Ladies' season!

Congratulations to former CHC Colt, Andrew Kennedy (brother of Ronnie), who has been promoted to the FIH outdoor Promising Umpires List.

Please bear in mind that there are only 50 spaces in the carpark (which we share with athletics and football on Saturdays). If our opposition teams have trouble finding a place to park, starting times could be delayed. It does take time to arrange for more (legal) parking places so if CHC members were able to share cars to get to the garrison (or arrive by an alternative mode of transport) that would help enormously this season. 

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10 September 2008: Remember fees are due by 30 September in order for you to be eligible to play! Forms can be downloaded on the administration page.  

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5 September 2008: Apologies for those who have tried to download the kit order form and been unsuccessful. The problem has been fixed and the forms can now be downloaded.

The draw for the EH Men's Vintage Cup has been announced. This is a competition for club players aged 50 and over. If you are interested in playing, please contact Hugh Barrett: hugh.barrett@btinternet.com

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29 August 2008: STOP PRESS: Unfortunately, the 200 Club has no spaces available at the present. 

If you need new kit, order forms can be downloaded from the For Sale page. There are photos to view too. 

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28 August 2008: If you would like to join the 200 Club (run by Sarah Rose and Jacqui Crombie) and be in with a chance to win money in the five monthly draws, visit the 200 Club page.

Club training starts next week, Monday 1 September. To find out times, visit the Club Info page. Please note that there is a designated carpark on Circular Road North next to the athletics track. It is no longer permitted to park on the road next to the pitch as before. 

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14 August 2008: There was a good crowd at pre-season training last night. Please note it now runs from 7-9pm on Wednesdays and that there is a designated carpark on Circular Road North next to the athletics track. It is no longer permitted to park on the road next to the pitch as before. 

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13 August 2008: Membership forms and the EH equity monitoring questionnaire have now been mailed. If you have not received yours, they can be downloaded from the Administration page.

There will be pre-season friendlies and trials sessions on Saturday 6 September. See Diary Dates for more information.

'The Holly and the Rose: a History of Colchester Hockey Club' will be available to buy at the official book launch on Saturday 27 September, 7pm at the Clubhouse. For more details, see the Club History page.

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6 August 2008: Congratulations to Terry Howlett who has been selected to play in the Grand Masters World Cup in Hong Kong in September.

For those interested in gaining umpire qualifications, there are three dates for Level 1 courses: Sunday 5th October 2008, Sunday 7th December 2008, Sunday 15th March 2009. More details will follow soon. Contact the Secretary if you are interested.

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5 August 2008: Pre-season training is starting officially on Wednesday 6 August at the Garrison, 7:30-9pm. Summer fitness training is on Tuesdays and Thursdays 7pm at the Garrison until the start of the season. 

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30 July 2008: Pre-season training should be starting officially on Wednesday 6 August at the Garrison. Times will be posted ASAP. Summer fitness training is on Tuesdays and Thursdays 7pm at the Garrison until the start of the season. 

The club is looking for an Umpire Liaison Officer (ULO). The tasks include keeping Essex and East informed of who the club's umpires are, and letting people know when there are umpiring courses etc. NB: It is not the ULO's job to find umpires for all the teams every week. If you are interested, contact the Secretary ASAP.

The Ladies' 1st XI have three pre-season friendlies. See their page for details.

The Bailey Cup Mixed Tournament is taking place Sunday 31 August in Saffron Walden. If anyone is interested in forming a seven-a-side team please contact the Secretary ASAP. 

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25 July 2008: The team pages have now been updated, though the new fixture lists have not been published for CHC yet. Keep checking back. 

Minutes of the AGM can be found here as well as a list of awards for 2007-08.

The Juniors page has been updated with details about the new Sunday training arrangements.

Membership forms will be sent out soon (or can be downloaded from the website in due course). 

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