BIHFA

матрациI am sure like many, if indeed not most of our members, I spent the bulk of last Friday night shedding a few tears, and making phone calls to Comic Relief…..you can even text a donation now and its fair to say, my mobile was red hot! I must confess to finding these appeals thoroughly inspiring, and it always puts the daily moans and groans into perspective somewhat. It’s that one night in the year when even the smallest of donations, something that we see as almost insignificant, all comes together and helps to make a massive difference to the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. As always, a very humbling experience indeed.

For those diehards amongst us, there mach zehnder modulator is actually lots of hockey happening at the moment. We have the U18 GB Team out in Narva, Estonia in the Division 2 Group B U18 Worlds Championships (16th-22nd March 2009),  who opened their campaign yesterday with a fantastic 16-2 victory against China, and perhaps not as widely know, we have the GB Sledgehockey team in Eindhoven for the 2009 World Championships (13th - 21st March 2009) and it is continued good news here as well as they got off to a flyer defeating the hosts 8-2 in the opening game.

These tournemants will be closely followed by the GB Mens Senior Team heading out to the Division 1 Group B World Championships in Torun, Poland between the 11th-17th April, and the Womens squad heading off to the Division 2 Womens World Championships in Torre Pelice, Italy from 12th-18th April 2009, and we wish all those squads the very best of luck in their quest for medals.

For Full Details, Fixtures and Scores for all our GB representatives, visit the office GBSC website at http://www.gbsc.co.uk/index.php

Back in the domestic scene, it’s a huge week for the Peterborough Phantoms where they have the 1st leg of the EPL Cup against Guildford on Wednesday evening followed by the weekend that can see them claim the EPL crown with back to back victories away at Wightlink on Saturday, and Bracknell at home on Sunday. They certainly are on great form in the league and with 9 straight victories look like a good bet for the title. The return game against Guildford for the EPL Cup, will be played on Wednesday 25th March, and I wish both teams the very best of luck.

This will of course be followed by play off time around the country! Its always an exciting time of year for players and fans alike, with a few scores being sorted from this seasons League encounters which always makes for an enjoyable end to the season.

There are lots of other interesting stories going round the hockey world at present, rumours of new leagues for 2009-2010, clubs joining and leaving leagues, and all the usual rumours and stories where we see clubs around the country in various levels of supposed trouble, both financial and otherwise. Its always an imotive topic for discussion, so if you are aware of any concerns relating to your club why not get in touch via the blog, or email me at chair@bihfa.co.uk and lets try and get a nation wide picture of whats going on out there.

Anyway, enough from me, so get out there and take in a game this weekend wherever you are. After all, it won’t be too long until we are all moaning and missing the hockey, with nothing better to do than count down the days until the new season.

Enjoy the Hockey!

More snow in Wilts…..yes you read correctly, it is snowing as I type this, although hopefully, it will not hang around for long this time!

Can’t believe we are heading for the middle of March, and it is at this time of the season that we start to see who is going to win what in the last few weeks of the campaign.

Sheffield Steelers win at Newcastle crowns them as the bmibaby Elite League Champions, can they keep it going and take the Play Off’s as well, watch this space as they say. In the EPL, it is still very much to play for with my money going on Peterborough who are 1 point clear but with 2 games in hand, but discount the chances of Milton Keynes or Guildford at your peril. And for the fans in Scotland Fife claimed the first ever Celtic Cup last week with a win over Solway Sharks and will now seek to add the league title to their seasons tally.

Oh, and lets not forget the Great Britain team will be heading out to Poland in early April for the World Championships, so still plenty of hockey to play in the next couple of months.

This is always an exciting time of the season, regardless of where your club plays, Elite League, EPL, ENL, SPHL, League Titles, Play Off Winners (and Losers),  and then straight into a couple of months off for the inevitable rumour mill, before we are back and start all over again next season.

Our Newsletter editorial team are working on the next issue for distribution, so watch your inbox’ for the latest news and updates from BIHFA.

This year, we plan a busy and productive summer, with various actions in planning, so keep track on our website during the off season for all the latest information.

Anyway, enough from me for the moment, but from everyone at BIHFA we wish all those clubs competing for prizes this season, they very best of luck.

Enjoy the Hockey

Hope all our members are well, and enjoying your hockey.

Lots going on as always in the hockey world, and you never know what is going to happen next. Last week saw BIHFA finally in a position to be able to share and release information on the Position Paper completed by UK Sport on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media & Sports, and we look forward to hearing your feedback in the days and weeks ahead.

It has been a frustrating process whilst we awaited the outcome and authority to release the information, but we can now turn our attention and focus to other projects we have been desperate to start for many months, and look forward to being in touch with you soon in a variety of ways.

So keep in touch with us via the Website & Blog pages, and if you see any of the committee at rinks around the country, pop up and say hello.

Enjoy the Hockey.