Havant Hockey Club

Havant Hockey Club is a field hockey club based in Havant, Hampshire, England. The club has been established since 1907.

The men's 1st XI currently play in the South Hockey League Premier Division 1. The club fields 9 men’s teams and 5 ladies teams as well as a junior section. Many of the clubs players have gone on to earn international caps.

History

Havant Hockey Club came into existence in 1907. However research suggests that the club took to the field at least two seasons earlier, and therefore 2004/5 was the clubs centenary season. The home ground, Havant Park, was originally named The Recreation Ground, and in 1905, the club were proud tenants of an almost new pavilion, which they shared with Havant Cricket Club, Havant Rovers F.C, The Lawn Tennis Club, Athletics, and even Bowls.

From the 50s the club went from strength to strength fielding five sides and other grounds had to be found. Our ladies section was formed in the early 50s and a mixed hockey team in the mid 60s. The 1960s & 70s saw a large expansion of the club.

Havant won their first National League title in 1974. The club contributed several players to the British Olympic gold medal winning side of 1988. In the 1990s Havant became one of the best known clubs in the country, when they were National League Champions again, three times in four years, hosting the B Division of the European Cup, and representing England in the European Cup A Division twice in Spain, and once in the Netherlands. Mini hockey was introduced to Havant one of the first clubs to do so in England.

In 1998 the club installed a Water-Based astoturf pitch at Havant College that meets FIH international standards, and funding was aided by the National Lottery Fund.

Havant also achieved success from 2005-2008 when the club won back to back leagues titles, and once again found themselves competing in the England Hockey League Men's Premier Division. In the Men's National South Division 2005/2006 they scored 116 goals, in the Men's Division One 2006/2007 they scored 90, and in the Men's Premier Division 2007/2008 they scored 73. [1] [2] [3]

Notable Players

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, December 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.