17th December 2002

FIH Rule Changes

Please note that 2 rule changes have been sanctioned by the FIH, the following is a statement from the EHL website with regard to how it affects us:

"The FIH has confirmed that it shall introduce two Mandatory Experimental Rules to all international competitions from January 1st 2003. It is not mandatory that National Associations do the same.

Hockey England will consider the introductory date of these at the Management Board Meeting scheduled for Tuesday 17th December 2002. Confirmation of what action will be taken will be published on the web-site.

Indications at this stage suggest it is unlikely that the two Experimental Rules will be introduced to the domestic programme in mid-Season. It is ANTICIPATED that the introductory date is likely to be 1st September 2003.

For information the two Mandatory Experimental Rules (for international competition from January 1st 2003) are as follow:

1. A defender shall be permitted to save a shot at goal which is above shoulder height. At present only goalkeepers are permitted to play the ball with any part of their stick when it is above shoulder height. This will continue to apply in general play throughout the field but the change means that defenders can use their stick to stop or deflect a high shot at goal as long as they do so safely.

2. It will no longer be necessary for attackers to stop the ball before taking a shot at goal at a penalty corner. However, the ball will have to travel outside the circle before a shot can be taken. All other requirements for taking a penalty corner shall continue to apply."

Therefore at Club level this will not affect us until the 2003-2004 season but anymore updates will appear here.

16th December 2002

End of the first part of the season for our new Club and things look GREAT!!

So we made it....after a lot of hard work from a lot of dedicated people our newly merged hockey club has got off to a fantastic start.

As you can see several teams have a good chance to grab a league title and considering all the upheaval it is good to see the majority doing so well. 2 teams remain unbeaten, the men's 3rd's and the Ladies 2nd's, congratulations to both it is no mean feet and let's hope it stays that way.

 The Women obviously have had the most problems with team selection etc. but things have come together and we hope that 2003 can really see our teams come into their own.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

16th December 2002

Ladies lack festive cheer

2 match's played and 2 defeats. Not the perfect tonic fro a Merry Christmas. Both defeats were close. The 4th's losing 1-0 to Castaways to see themselves cemented to the bottom of the table, while the 5th's went down 3-1 to Castaways 2nd's. Both teams have huge potential and the good thing is that they are still enjoying it. Sometimes we lose sight of the actual reason we play this game, winning is NOT everything and to hear the 5th's still say they enjoyed it having lost 10-0 is a fantastic reminder about why we all first picked up a stick. Well done to both teams, may 2003 bring even more enjoyment and the odd win!

16th December 2002

Men's 1st team get first home win of the season as clean sweep sees all teams into break in style.

A rousing 5-2 demolition of local rivals Chelmsford 2nd's saw Ipswich 1st Team finally find their home form. The team now sits comfortably in mid-table and will be looking to build on their impressive end to the first part of the season, when the league resumes i January 2003.

The 2nd's stay top of the league with a great 3-2 win over Long Sutton.

The 3rd's continued their unbeaten run into 2003 with a 2-1 victory against Upminster 2nd's.

The 4th's whipped local rivals IES 6-0 and are on a real winning streak.

The 5th's also won 6-0 to see them celebrate their break in style.

The 6th's did not have a match as IES 5th's pulled out of the league. However they did play the Vet's who beat them 9-0!

5 wins out of 5 and the Men finish on a great clean weep. Well done lads let's keep it up for 2003!!

13th December 2002

BBC Suffolk dedicate area to Ipswich Hockey Club

Due to the popularity of the match reports and information that is placed on the BBC Suffolk Sport's Site, a new dedicated Ipswich Hockey Club Area has been set up. You can reach our page by clicking HERE or by going to the BBC Suffolk page at http://www.bbc.co.uk/Suffolk and clicking on Sport.

The information that is available on line is the same information that can be found on this site but it is another way for people to find out and read about our Hockey Club.  We are the only other Sports team apart from Ipswich Town Football Club to have the honour of our own area and of this we should be rightly proud.

A huge thank you to the people who supply me with information and match reports, without you there would be nothing interesting to read, please keep it coming.  If you have any news or information that you would like to see on this site then please contact Emma and I will do my best to make it happen.

13th December 2002

Ladies Suffolk teams in last action before the beak.

Only two ladies teams in action this weekend, the 4th's who take on the team directly above them, Castaways.  Without a win and a point since the opening game of the season, the 4th's are in desperate need of some morale boosting and a win on Saturday would be great. They are playing at 10 am at Henley Road and some support would be great.

The 5th's take on Castaway's 2nd's but this time away and they to would like another win to send them into Christmas full of good sprit!

2 wins are a real possibility and could be the turning point for both teams.

13th December 2002

Men's 1st's aim to build on great win in local derby

After such a fantastic result last week the 1st team must make sure that they do not lose focus against local rivals Chelmsford 2nd's at home on Saturday. Home form has been a real concern so far and the team will be looking to get their first home win of the season to send them into the Christmas break on a real high.

The 2nd's tackle Long Sutton away and are fully aware that this will be a hard test. Long Sutton has brought in several Australian players for this season and will be disappointed not to be challenging for title honours. The 2nd's are currently 1 point ahead of the chasing pack in the Printwize Premier B league and know that a win on Saturday is a must if they want to stay there.

The 3rd's are at home to Upminster 2nd team and have an unbeaten record, a win on Saturday would see them in a great position for a league title run after Christmas.

The 4th's have an Ipswich derby game against IES 3rd's and are on for a hat trick of victories, something that was looking unlikely 4 weeks ago as they sat in the relegation zone. A win here would see them in the comfort Zone of mid-table and would enable the team to enjoy a Merry Christmas.

The 5th's take on Waltham Forest's 2nd's and will be looking to get back into the winning habit.

The 6th's have a weekend for Christmas shopping as their opposition IES 6th's pulled out of the league.

Finally the Vet's are hoping to take on Bury t Edmunds and probably record another high scoring win.

These are the final league games before Christmas and a clean sweep would be a great early present.

9th December 2002

Ladies 1st's and Cup holders into 5th round, as East teams break for Christmas.

A 7-2 win against Regional team Ben Ryhdding saw Ipswich progress into the 5th round of the Cup and the team are now hoping for another home draw, when their name comes out of the hat today. Tanya Barnard was the hat trick heroine followed closely by Captain Kirsten Spencer who hit two unstoppable short corner strikes. They have drawn another regional side Worcester Norton, away in the 5th round and will be happy to avoid any other Premiership sides. The team now have an extended outdoor break until February and will be turning their attention to the Indoor that starts in January.

The 2nd's finished off their 2002 league run with a 2-2 draw with Cambridge City. The draw sees them joint top with Letchworth and with the title race still wide open the 2nd's are more than aware that they need to pick up all 3 points in the majority of games in 2002. However their unbeaten record is an immense source of pride and the team can feel relatively pleased with themselves over the rest period.

The 3rd's too finished off in style recording a 3-0 win over hapless Pelicans. The win sees Ipswich cement their place in the middle of the table and with the team coming together nicely a top 4 finish is not beyond them.

The 4th's unfortunately are still looking for that first win and went down 2-0 to Sudbury 2nd's, they have one last chance before Christmas to get those 3 points against Castaways next weekend.

The 5th's did not have a game.

So almost a clean sweep for the Ladies and looking back on the first part of the season it has been a very rewarding one. The merger was always going to throw up some obstacles but the teams are gelling and 2003 should see them playing even better. 

9th December 2002

Men's 1st's shock leaders as other sides getting winning habit too.

An amazing comeback sealed a memorable 3-2 win for Ipswich against unbeaten Crostyx on Saturday. The result shows not only that the league is not over yet but that Ipswich are capable of playing the kind of hockey need to get them back into the National League.

The 2nd's got back to winning ways and won 4-3 against Bedford to keep them at the top of Premier B.

The 3rd's dispatched Saffron Walden 5-1 to remain unbeaten and keep themselves at the top of the Table.

The 4th's continued their winning ways recording a 2-0 victory against Brentwood 3rd's to see them climb clear of the 

The 5th's went down 2-0 to Southend 2nd's.

The 6th's drew with Brentwood 7th's 2-2 but after being 2-0 down within 10 minutes were happy to grab a point.

A fantastic win for the 1st team and with the 3rd's and 2nd's sitting at the top of their leagues things are looking good going into the penultimate game before Christmas.

9th December 2002

England Women win penalty shoot out to claim 5th place

A 4-3 penalty shoot out against Korea saw England end their world cup campaign with a satisfying 5th place. Ipswich's Leisa King was one of the 4 England penalty takers to score and seal a memorable win.

This has been a real learning curve for the team and King in particular has been playing some of her best hockey. Her club mates will look forward to welcoming her back ready to help them in their Indoor campaign. Well done girls and especially Leisa.

6th December 2002

England Women stuff Germans to play off for 5th place

A 7-2 thrashing of Germany, inspired by ex-Ipswich player Jane Smith, who scored a hat-trick saw England book a 5th place play-off spot against Korea. England are now guaranteed a place in the Champions Trophy in 2003 and more importantly Lottery funding. A top 6 finish was a must for this England squad and even though things were looking bleak after the 1-1 draw with Japan, the team has shown great determination to get their World Cup campaign back on track. No matter what happens tomorrow this will be England's best performance in a World Cup since 1990 in Sydney, where they finished 4th.

4th December 2002

England Women get to play off for 5th to 8th place.

At last England got back to winning ways and in style.  Wining 3-0 against Spain means that a target of 6th place or one better is a real possibility.  All reports point to Leisa King as the driving force up front and the Ipswich striker will be hoping to get back onto the score sheet in the next round of classification match's.  English forward Leisa King said: “We hadn’t played to our potential until today. We had a training session yesterday which was good and we all knew we needed to give 110 percent today and there is still more to come.”

England will now play Germany in the first round of playoffs for 5th to 8th spot.

4th December 2002

Ladies 1st's back in Cup action against Northern Prem Ben Rhydding

The 1st team spring back into league action at home on Sunday against North Prem side Ben Rhydding.  The team will not be taking their opponents lightly and are fully ware that Rhydding, who are flying high at the top of their league, will come full of fight. Ipswich welcome back Jo Ellis from her World Cup trip with England and she should add the extra spark that Ipswich were missing in the last round. Ipswich will be expected to win but no that they cannot afford to be complacent.

The 2nd's play their last league game against tricky Cambridge City and will be fully ware that this is a dangerous game. City will prove a stern test in what should prove to be a fast furious game. Ipswich will need to be at their best to get all 3 points and enter the Christmas break on top of the table.

The 3rd's take on bottom of the table Pelicans and will need a win to keep them away from the relegation battle.

The 4th's tackle Sudbury 2nd's and will be hoping for a win that is now overdue.

The 5th's have a weekend off but will be back in action next weekend.

The 1st team should progress in the up and it would be nice to finish off a couple of league's with a clean sweep of wins.

4th December 2002

Men's 1st's tackle unbeaten leaders

The 1st team travel away to leaders Croystx and will be looking to take the first points off their hosts. Ipswich have yet to lose away from home and Croystx have a 100% record, so something has to give!  Ipswich will be raring to get back into action after a frustrating loss against West Herts last week.

The 2nd's too will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering their first loss last week. Only 1 point clear at the top of the Premier  league they will need to take all 3 points against Bedford.

The 3rd's take on Saffron Walden away and will be looking to build on their draw last week, to keep them near the top of the League.

The 4th's tackle Brentwood 3rd's on the back of a superb 5-0 win last week.

The 5th's play Southend 2nd's and will be pleased to get a league game after missing out last week.

The 6th's take on Brentwood 7th's, probably the only time they play an XI lower than them and will be looking for another win.

Finally the Vet's in New shirts will play Waveney away.

A better weekend is hoped for!

2nd December 2002

Ladies 2nd's get back to wining ways but other sides slip to defeats.

The 2nd team finally picked up 3 points after 2 weeks of 3-3 draws.  It was not the best game but 3 points was the target that the team needed and after Letchworth and Sevenoaks drew 1-1, the result sees Ipswich 2 points clear at the top of the Printwize East Premier League.

The 3rd's had a torrid time at runaway Div 2 leaders Wisbech. Losing 7-0  the team did not give up and felt that the score line did not reflect the play. In a very tight league a win next week could see the side jump up to 4th place!

The 4th's are getting closer to recording a win, going sown 3-2 to Hadleigh.

The 5th's too are close to turning the corner and the youngsters in the side are getting better and better with each game.

Not a good weekend for the majority of the Ladies teams again the 2nd's provide the one highlight.  However the youngsters are improving rapidly and the future looks good.

2nd December 2002

Men's 1st's fall to in from visitors, while rest of sides have mixed fortunes

The Men's 1st's could not repeat their good away form and went down to West Herts 2-1 at home on Saturday. A disappointing result as both of the visitors goals came from slack play by the Ipswich team.  The team though must pick themselves up as they travel to runaway leaders Croystx next week in what could prove to be a very hard match.

The 2nd's too had a horrid weekend, losing their unbeaten record 3-2 to a Bourne side that surprised the away team.

The 3rd's only managed a 0-0 draw with Cranes in what was described as a dull match!

The 4th's recorded the best win of their season so far thrashing Sudbury 2nd's 5-0

The 5th's match was called off by their opponents and they won a friendly match that was played instead.

The 6th's beat local rivals IES 5th's 4-2 to keep up their good run.

So 3 wins and a draw out of 6 match's which is not to bad. The major shock being the loss recorded by the 2nd team who were looking rather invincible.

2nd December 2002

1st Team Ladies Indoor details

WOMENS PREMIER DIVISION - The Edge Sports Hall - Haslemere

SATURDAY 11TH JANUARY 2003
1030 hrs - Sutton Coldfield v Canterbury
1130 hrs - Liverpool Quilter v Chelmsford
1230 hrs - Ipswich v Fyffes Leicester
1330 hrs - St Austell v Clifton
1430 hrs - Slough v Sutton Coldfield
1530 hrs - Canterbury v Liverpool Quilter
1630 hrs - Chelmsford v Ipswich
1730 hrs - Fyffes Leicester v St Austell
1830 hrs - Clifton v Slough

SUNDAY 12TH JANUARY 2003
0900 hrs - Liverpool Quilter v Ipswich
1000 hrs - St Austell v Slough
1100 hrs - Canterbury v Chelmsford
1200 hrs - Fyffes Leicester v Clifton
1300 hrs - Sutton Coldfield v Liverpool Quilter
1400 hrs - Ipswich v St Austell
1500 hrs - Slough v Canterbury
1600 hrs - Chelmsford v Fyffes Leicester
1700 hrs - Clifton v Sutton Coldfield

SATURDAY 18TH JANUARY 2003
1030 hrs - Slough v Chelmsford
1130 hrs - Clifton v Liverpool Quilter
1230 hrs - St Austell v Canterbury
1330 hrs - Fyffes Leicester v Sutton Coldfield
1430 hrs - Ipswich v Slough
1530 hrs - Chelmsford v Clifton
1630 hrs - Liverpool Quilter v St Austell
1730 hrs - Canterbury v Fyffes Leicester
1830 hrs - Sutton Coldfield v Ipswich

SUNDAY 19TH JANUARY 2003
0900 hrs - Sutton Coldfield v St Austell
1000 hrs - Canterbury v Clifton
1100 hrs - Liverpool Quilter v Slough
1200 hrs - Chelmsford v Sutton Coldfield
1300 hrs - Ipswich v Canterbury
1400 hrs - Fyffes Leicester v Liverpool Quilter
1500 hrs - St Austell v Chelmsford
1600 hrs - Clifton v Ipswich
1700 hrs - Slough v Fyffes Leicester

more info...