It was perfect weather for the last Cambridgeshire Junior Hockey festival held at Ely City Hockey Club on Sunday 22nd March in which over 250 boys and girls aged from 5 – 12 years old from Cambridge City, Cambridge Nomads, Cambridge South, Ely City, Newmarket, City of Peterborough, St Ives, St Neots and Wisbech Town Hockey Clubs took part. A total of 78 matches were played, with the first matches starting at 9.30am and the last matches ending at 4pm.
The day started with the Under 8s section. 11 teams took part in a round robin tournament of 8 minute matches with 5 players on pitch at anyone time.
They were followed by the Under 10s with the 13 teams taking part split into two groups. In each group, teams of 6 played 10 minute matches in a round robin tournament
And to finish off the day, 12 teams took part in the Under 12s section. There were 3 groups – one of 4 boys teams, one of 4 girls teams and one of 4 mixed teams – and within each group, teams of 7 played 15 minute matches against each other.
Young umpires from Cambridge South, Newmarket and Ely, together with coaches from the various teams helped umpire the matches.
Festival organiser and Ely City Juniors Officer Nick Wells said ‘It was great to see so many children playing fantastic hockey and obviously really enjoying themselves. A big thank you must go to all those at Ely City Hockey Club who helped set up and run the festival, as well as to all the coaches of the visiting teams who helped umpire the games and ensure the smooth running of the day’s events. And of course, a big thank you to all the families and friends who came along to support.’
Although the adult hockey season has finished, Ely City Juniors will continue to run after the Easter holidays until the May half term. New members whether they’ve played hockey before or not are always welcome. For more information please email elycityhockeyclub@gmail.com
