September 2010. Here we are. Another season draws to a close for many but for six of our senior grades it's certainly business time. Finals have arrived and the moment is upon us. Can Sydney Uni come away with 6 Premierships in Seniors grades, 2 in the Vets and 2 in Juniors? I say, YES WE CAN!

Even if we can't, it won't be from a lack of effort. It's Sydney Uni Hockey and I know this great Varsity won't go down without a fight. The players' dedication, commitment, skills and devotion to the cause will carry them so good luck to all who are taking part on the weekend.

The Women's section continues to lead the way. It's excitiing that our Premier Squad teams are both still in contention and are playing very strongly. 2nd Grade women under Coach Chiarella are the Minor Premiers (8 points ahead of the rest) and Coach Dixon has carried 1sts to a very strong final four spot. Make sure you get out to Olympic Park this Sunday to see the showdown (ML 1 at 4:30pm and ML 2 at 12:30pm).  Scott Laird has ably coached his Sydney Uni Fours (SNWHA Div A) to the finals and the ladies play-off in the major semi on Sunday at Ryde at 2:15pm.

On our men's side the experienced and wise 4th grade team continue their dominance of Division 2.2 making it all the way to the major semi as Minor Premiers for a second year in a row. Notable mention should be made to their new coach Mark Flack and manager Rowan Macdonald. The team plays at 2pm at Ryde on Saturday . Not to be outdone and equally as successful are our  Division 4 teams. Sydney Uni 7th and 8th grade men have risen to the challenge again and will contend in Sunday semis. 8th grade are defending champions. Paul Rattray and Marcus Tjiong continue to serve their team exceptionally well and will lead their sides out on Saturday at 12:30pm (7th) and 2:15pm (8th) at Bankstown.

This strong showing is not to be outdone by our Vets or Juniors and they too prove that SUHC is a progressive and highly successful club across the board. We are really proud of all the achievements this year and congratulations to all players, coaches and managers playing in the Finals Series.

To all members who have finished their season and will be lost wondering what to do now that hockey has ended, I strongly encourage you to come out and support our teams this weekend. It's an amazing atmosphere and I know your club mates will cherish and appreciate your support. It really can make the difference. Come banter, cheer, roar and carry the mighty blue and gold to the top!

Up the Students!

Andy Andy Elton
Club Captain 2010

PS. Don't forget Preso Tickets on sale now - Oct 23rd. See you there!

3rds keeper Troy Rossiter is okay and should be back next season. He collided with a Briars player in 3rds last game on Saturday night, and it wasn't good: it was seriously ugly, and seriously concerning. The game was stopped as Troy was cared for on the ground until an ambulance could take him to RPA. All the scans are back now, and he is okay and in good spirits, but has a suspected broken collarbone. There is a rumour that being cut out of his goalie gear by a rather pretty nurse was instrumental in recovering his spirits. It almost countered the angst over the damage to the goalie gear!

The game was abandoned after Troy was taken to hospital. It had been a must-win game for 3rds to make the semis. They had lead 1-0, but were down 1-2 at the time of the accident. That becoomes the final score, so 3rds miss the semis. No problem provided Troy's okay.

4ths played a very delayed game after 3rds, and won their top-of-the-table cash with Briars 2-0. That locked in the minor premiership for them. Congratulations to Mark Flack and his team of oldsters and youngsters. As a reward, they get to play Briars again next week in the major semi.

Firsts fell just short of Scrappy's magical 30 point mark after a loss to Briars in their final game. They may have been missing the other half of the Lobsey magic, as they were not quite their mid-season best. Congratulations to the team on a very good season, though. Despite a string of injuries and absences they fought hard in every game, and stunned many higher-placed teams with their speed and skill. Briars had needed a win for a spot in the semis, so they were highly motivated. The last two games of the season were probably the team's worst, and did not represent the levels the team consistently achieved for most of 2010.

Seconds had an unusual dead rubber. They were assured of seventh for the season regardless of the result against 8th placed Briars. Maniac generously leapfrogged scores of goalies to fill in for Alex Pattison, and immediately had a baptism of fire, although it would be wrong to attribute Briars' frequent attacks solely to their attacking skills. After 25 minutes Briars were leading 7-1. SU then steadied and the game became a real see-saw. Tugga replaced Moylo as a forward, and by full time the score was a massive 12-6. Firsts had already played before 2nds, so we will never know if Tugga might have been a sub for Pete Slater in an ideal world.

5ths and 6ths had 1-1 draws to finish the season well. 7ths and 8ths both won, and are both in the semis. 8ths came a very strong 2nd in their comp, while 7ths will be 3rd or 4th depending on other results.

Meanwhile, Vets A grade has qualified second and plays a major semi on Wed 8th Sep at Olympic at 7:10 pm v UNSW (a team that largely doubles as UTS 2nd grade, so a real clash of the Unis).  Vets C grade has qualified 4th and plays Manly in the minor semi final on Tue 7th at Homebush at 8:35 pm. Vets B grade have missed out on the semis after having 4 comp points deducted for getting a player's age wrong...Must be a team of lawyers and ex-Arts students who can't do numbers.

Congratulations to 4ths, 7ths and 8ths, the Vets A and C teams and the U15Cs, U13s and the U11s on reaching the semis, and Go Troy!

Congratulations to Nicole King and Fiona Tout from the Women's Premier squad on making the Aussie All Schools Team (Fi as a shadow). That is a fantastic effort.

For one club to have two Australian schoolgirl players is a huge endorsement to our players, parents, coaches and administrators. The players that Fi was carving up in her goal-scoring sprees in our U13s just a few years ago will be anything but surprised to see her there!

The Australian All Schools team will tour Europe next year.

NB Rhys Gray's sister is also a member... Rhys, can you do some recruiting?

SUHC's 1st and 2nd grade women's teams have both made it to the semis next Sunday (5 September) at Olympic. Our 3rds (ML3) just missed out at the end. being in the tp 5 teams in the top 3 grades of women's hockey in Sydney is a well-earned and massive endorsement for the club.

Our 2nds play in ML2 and have gone through the season unbeaten. They will now play Macarthur in the semis at 1pm on Sunday. They have drawn with Macarthur twice this year, so it will be a tough game. 

Our 1st grade team has made the semis for the first time ever in ML1. SU finished in 4th and will play Esquires at 4:30pm on Sunday (NB this is a new, changed time). SU has beaten Esquires in both encounters so far this year, but it will also be a tough game.

Make it easier for the players - go to Olymic and support them loudly!

The SUHC Gallery Page has some images fom their last games - thanks Liam.

HNSW has arranged a lunch ith the Kookaburras and Ric Charlesworth on Friday 10 September, the day before they play Argentina at Olympic.

Click here for the brochure on the Kookaburras lunch and organise your table now. Should be good

LineBreak is a global originator of compression sportswear and was the first company to combine the dual benefits of compression and thermoregulation into a single garment over seven years ago.

Its products have been the performance and recovery brand of choice for athletes and teams around the world including Hawthorn Football Club, Manchester United, Brumbies Rugby, Tour de France cyclist Robbie Hunter and our own Emma Scriven.

Through Sydney University Hockey Club, LineBreak are happy to offer a special 40% discount for players, friends and family but only for a limited time. To illustrate the saving, a 40% discount on our full length tights reduces the price from $120rrp to $72. Next to comparable brands in sports stores at $150RRP+ it's a very attractive offer.

To take advantage of this substantial saving, visit http://www.linebreak.com.au/ and use the exclusive discount code that you can obtain from your coach or from the webmaster. This offer ends on 31/8/10

Club historian and stalwart Brett Radcliffe has recently recovered a copy of the Men's Club 1980 annual report. The original was done on a typewriter with carbon paper for copies, but it's still a great read. SU came 2nd in First Div of the SHA comp, and 3rd in 2s and 3s (Just hope that was the equivalent of Premier Grade today). Every player is named. Great to see that a few are still out there for the Vets in 2010.

It was different stuff. There were no juniors teams and no veterans teams. The men's and women's club were different entities, and they seldom talked to each other (at an official level). Due to regulations (SHA & SU) most players were students, teachers or graduates. There were no Dutch/Irish/German/English imports and supposedly everyone had been to a University at some time or other. The annual outgoings were $1374.59 - that's probably less than a week's turf hire for the club today. Most of the club's current 300+ players weren't even born.

Does this jog some memories? Do you also have copies of any SUHC memorabilia? Brett would be pleased to get everything you can send. Copies of the women's club annual reports in particular would really be appreciated, but the hunt is not limited to annual reports. All types of paraphernalia are welcome, particularly photos. They can be copied and returned to the owner - with all care taken. Contact Brett by email if you can help in any way.

If you are interested in playing in one of the following teams:

Sydney Lions - Men's Premier
Sydney Lionesses - Women's Premier
Sydney Tigers - Men's A
Sydney Tigresses - Women's A

Come along to the trial days at HK Ward
 
Men: September 12th, 5pm-6.30pm, September 19th, 11am-2pm
Women: September 26th, 11am-2pm
Juniors: September 19th, 9.30am-11am, September 26th, 9.30am-11am

If you have not put your name forward yet, and you would like to trial for one of the these teams - please email Sam Lobsey (men) or Liam Dxon (women) .

Alternatively, if you would like to play in a lower grade team and have not yet emailed Lize Grant please do so ASAP or you risk missing out on this awesome season!

Get excited, and get into it!!!

Carly is full steam into organising Preso Night for 2010 and it's shaping up to be another great night. Please save the date, Saturday 23 October at the Grandstand, Sydney Uni. It's slightly later than usual but this will accommodate several state indoor champs in early October that a lot of our players will be at. 

Preso Night is a fantastic night to share the memories of the season that has been and to celebrate our successes (on and off the pitch!?) in 2010. There are prizes for club person of the year, social person of the year, best and fairest, valued contribution, best webmaster and many more...

Finals are only weeks away and SU is looking good, particularly on the women's side. Then men are strong in Div 1, Div 2.2 and Div 4 on the men's side. Our Juniors and Vets are smashing it so SU continues to go from strength to strength. Mens 1sts may not make the final four but look like having their best year in recent memory...although 1980 was a good show. 

Save the date and start saving the money - which should be even less than last year.

Preso Night is not to be missed. If you need inspiration think of 2009 and remember Georgia's dress, Khev's youtube video link up, Zanzi's dancefloor, Georgia's dress, Dan Paech and Remo's trophy cabinet (and vote, so the last of those things doesn't happen again!)

Andy Andy Elton

Club Captain 2010

The SUHC hoodies have arrived and they look brilliant. If you have ordered and made payment please contact Ian  ASAP to let him know how to organise delivery. If you missed out, extras were ordered and for a nominal $40 you can be a proud owner and show your passion for SUHC.

We need your nominations for the awards at Presentation Night. And we need them now! Everyone in the club is able to nominate people for:

Club person of the Year
Coach of the Year
Most Valuable Player (Men)                                            
Most Valuable Player (Women)                                          
Best Defender (Men)                                                         
Best Defender (Women)                                                    
John Dwyer Tenacity Award (Vets)               
Social Person of the Year (Men)                                        
Social Person of the Year (Women)                                  
Chiarella-Gow Young Player of the Year (Men) 
Liam Dixon Rising Star (Women) 

We also need two nominations for each team - one each for "Best and Fairest" and one for "Best Contribution."     

Please email your nominations to Nominations 2010 (click to get the email address) as soon as you can.                        

Presentation Night is Saturday 23 October at the Grandstand. Watch the website to see full details including how to buy tickets in advance.

 Former SUHC Junior Alistair Johnston made his first grade debut on Saturday 10 July in our thrilling 3-3 draw with Ryde at Olympic.  Alistair joins a small but growing list of former juniors who have started in SUHC's most junior team - the Under 11Bs  - and progressed all the way to First Grade for either Men or Women.  It doesn't get better than that for a club that is focused on developing new players. There are now over 20 current and former juniors playing in our senior teams.

Alistair has played almost 200 games for SUHC. He started at 9 in the Under 11Bs in 2003, with coach Ben Chiarella.  Ben played with Alistair in 2nd grade on Saturday, along with Cameron Rowland, who was also in the 2003 Under 11Bs, and who debuted in 1st grade in 2009. The Under 11s' first game in 2003 was a 0-12 loss to Ryde, and two of the Ryde players from 2003 were also in Ryde's 1st grade team on Saturday... its a small community!

Congratulations to Alistair, and all those who have coached and played with him over the years in SUHC's juniors... particularly Ben and Cameron.

Hey Students,

Uni Games is fast approaching. Since its inception in 1993, the Australian University Games (AUG) has grown to be Australia's largest annual multi-sport event. Held each September/October, the Games is renowned for providing a friendly but competitive environment for Australian university athletes. AUG is known as the flagship event on the national university sporting calendar. The Games are recognised as a perfect opportunity to provide university athletes, many of whom are of Olympic standard, to compete against each other in a national multi-sport event. Off the sporting field, an action-packed, week-long social program is held to complement sporting activities and enhance the event experience for all participants.'

As it is in Perth this year much needed organisation and I suspect some fundraising needs to happen fairly quickly. It is an awesome experience and without a doubt one of the best weeks of your lives. If you're interested in going, send me an email ASAP to clubcaptain@suhc.asn.au and I will let you know when trials are going to be held (in the next few, probably 2 weeks).

Our men's and women's teams are open to current Sydney Uni students only and this year we are sending both a men's and women's team. Yes, the men's team are going this year! Any student no matter which grade you play is welcome to trial. There's normally a mixture of abillity but both teams are highly competitive with a women's team in particular featuring very strongly over the past 10 years.

For more information visit: www.unigames.com.au

Andy

Last weekend our 1st grade Mens and Women's teams had at least eight current or ex Juniors listed to play in them. That is a record for us., and represents a huge success for our hard-working Junior VP and all her team. It is especially heartening to see when one considers that a decade ago, when SUHC first took over the former North Sydney Juniors, we had barely 20 Juniors all up.

The juniors who stepped up to the mark (or would have, bar injuries) over the weekend to play 1st grade for the Club included Mathilda Carmichael, Kate Johnston, Alistair Johnston (no relation), Cam Rowland, Rhiannon Russell, Emma Scriven, Cara Simpson and Fiona Tout.

Our junior program is relatively young compared to many clubs. That means we are not yet able to replicate the junior strength of some of the best of our peers, but we are getting there. A good sign is the numbers of teams we have in outdoor as well as indoor, and for girls as well as boys.  Our history of steady growth in numbers is amazing given our lack of a home base.

Many thanks to all those who have contributed to the organisation, training, management and umpiring of our Juniors over the years. Hockey in Sydney is clearly the better for it!

SUHC's new office bearers for 2010 were elected at the AGM held at the Arena Sports Centre on Dec 4th. Thanks to everyone who came along and played a part in this vital process. Congratulations to:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Club Captain: Andy Andy Elton
Secretary: Katie Burgess
Treasurer: Bradley Cooke
Men's VP: Rob Verdon
Women's VP: Harriet Caterson
Junior's VP: Anne Simmons
Veteran's VP: Malcolm "Camel" Newman
President: vacant

GENERAL COMMITTEE

Communications Convener: Rowan Johnston
Equipment Convener: vacant
Fresher Convener: Elle Kershaw
Records Convener: Brett Radcliffe
Registrar Convener: Rishiv Rathore
Social Convener: Carly Church
Sponsorship/fundraising: vacant
Tours Convener: Rishiv Rathore

Many thanks to 2009 Committee who have all worked tirelessly and often beyond the call of duty to ensure the club progresses. In particular, thanks to Brownie, Bucko and Remo, who leave the Executive Committee this year and who have all poured a lot of sweat, time and effort into their various roles and the wider club. The entire Executive Committee took on a more responsibility than anticipated once Khev went back to the Windies, so they are to be congratulated for a very smooth transition.

Khev also should be thanked for his tireless efforts and service to the club as President in 2008 and the first half of 2009, along with his other many other committee and club roles during his time at SUHC. He was a key figure in guiding the new direction of the club. As we saw at Presentation Night, even from Barbados he follows the club quite closely.

The new executive committee has some new faces (Rob, Harriet, Camel) and some not so new (AAE) to work with the trusted and wise stewards of the SUHC ship (Brad, Katie, Anne). There are also some new members of the General committee, which is good to see. No doubt they will all rise to the challenges of 2010 with their usual mixture of tact, tenacity and flair.

Good luck to all involved.

For many years Brett Radcliffe has done a fantastic job as SUHC's unofficial statistician and archivist. He has just prepared a list of the men's SHA premiership winning teams list, but is still short a couple of team photos.

We are hoping that someone in the club past or present can help fill in the blanks.

The big gaps are the 1930 1^st grade team (may be in the SUSF archive), photos of the 1979 (4^th division) & the 1994 (7^th grade team, commonly referred to as the "vets") teams.

In addition, some of the photos (appendixes 6,7,8,9 & 10) are team photos taken sometime during the season and were not taken on grand final day. If anyone has any grand final or better quality team photos of the teams listed Brett would really appreciate a copy. He can be contatcted at brett.radcliffe@boc.com.