All the news

The Men 1's lost 6-4 to 3rd placed Indian Gymkhana and will feel that they should have got something out of this free flowing game. A gutsy performance by Ipswich saw them work until the last seconds but they could not find that crucial killer touch in front of goal.

The Men 2's came down to earth with a bump as they lost 4-1 to Broxbourne.

The Men's 3's could not repeat the 14-1 win but were happy with a 6-3 win over North Walsham.

The Men's 4's opposition cancelled so they were awarded a 3-0 victory over Norwich City 5's.

The Vets beat Braintree 5-0 on Saturday then beat Borders 4-0 on Sunday to make the Quarter Finals of the Vintage Cup.

The Women 1's got of to a great start outdoors in 2007 with a 4-1 win over Doncaster. The highlight of the game was the return to action of Kirsten Spencer after a 3 month injury break. The win sees Ipswich move to within 3 points of 2nd placed Slough.

The Women 2's beat Norwich City 3-1 to stay 8 points clear at the top of the East Div 1 North table.

The Women 3's held league leaders IES to a 2-2 draw to remain in 3rd place.

The Women 4's lost for the first time this season. 2-1 to Carlton park 2's but it was a brave performance with only 10 players.

Then on Sunday the Mixed team dispatched Bury St Edmunds 6-2, with Ed Driver scoring 5 goals to make the second round of the Cup.

24th January 2007

1st Teams back in action and hoping to avoid the snow. Mixed face derby test.

The Men 1's start their 2007 league action on Sunday with a tough game against 3rd placed Indian Gymkhana. Ipswich lost 4-2 in the away fixture and will be keen to get a least a point this weekend to keep them away form relegation danger.

The Men 2's will be looking to build on the good win last weekend as they face 5th placed Broxbourne. The outcome was a 1-0 victory in the last meeting of the sides.

The Men's 3's continue to dominate their league and will be looking to continue with a win over North Walsham. A 14-1 win in the last meeting would imply that this should be a comfortable away win.

The Men's 4's play bottom of the table Norwich City 5's and it would be a massive upset if they did not take another 3 points.

The Vets have a busy weekend, playing Braintree on Saturday then travelling up to the borers on Sunday for a Vintage Cup game.

The Women 1's welcome struggling Doncaster to Tuddenham Road on Saturday as they get back into Slazenger EHL Prem action. Ipswich will be strengthened by the return of defender Kirsten Spencer, who will be looking to play her first outdoor league game of the season after breaking her thumb back in September. This will be a a tough test for the home side but a win could see them move up to 4th place and close the gap on the top three.

Kirsten Spencer

The Women 2's travel to Norfolk to face Norwich City and will be hoping to repeat their early season 7-1 win.

The Women 3's get back into action after a week off with a home game against local rivals and league leaders IES.

The Women 4's face Carlton park 2's and will aiming to turn in another winning performance.

The unbeaten Women's 5's play a friendly against Felixstowe 2's.

Then on Sunday the Mixed team swing back into action against local rivals Bury St Edmunds.

22nd January 2007

Women 1's suffer Penalty Heartache at NIA.

Ipswich Women's 1st team lost 2-1 on penalty strokes after a thrilling 6-6 draw with Bowdon Hightown in the semi finals of the National Indoor Championship on Sunday.

Ipswich started much the brighter leapt in to a 3-0 lead within 5 minutes, with Emma Lee-Smith claming a hat trick but Hightown recovered to stage a fight back that saw them lead 6-5 with 1 minutes left to go. Ipswich showed their immense fighting spirit when Leisa king fired them level but the team came undone in the Penalty stroke competition.

It was a great effort by the whole team and they can all be very proud of their efforts. A huge thank you to all our supporters, Seven our loyal and dedicated Sponsors, Debbie Golding our Physio and our coaches and managers. A final thanks though must go to Jo Gray for being Seve the Ipswich Mascot Lion for the day, it was very hot work.

22nd January 2007

Club has League clean sweep and both 2's beat Harleston.

The Women 2's maintained their grip on the East Div1 North League with a 2-1 win over Harleston 2's Having drawn 0-0 in their last meeting Ipswich were keen to prove a point to their Norfolk rivals and once again proved that despite missing Leisa King they are more than capable of beating anyone in this league. The only downside to the game was the injury to winner goal scorer Fiona Lane, who suffered a nasty injury to her teeth after being hit by a ball. Lane is recovering well though and hopes to be back in 2 weeks.

The Women 4's also kept up their winning record, dispatching Lowestoft 2's 4-0. A Mille McWhirter Hat trick sealing the victory.

The newly formed Women's 5's also kept up their winning record, beating East Bergholt 2-1

The Men 2's enjoyed their 4-1 win over Harleston. The win kept Ipswich mid-table but knocked Harleston of top spot in the League, giving Cambridge University a one point lead at the top.

The Men's 3's cruised to a 6-1 win over Dereham to stay to of East League Div3NE.

The Men's 4's also maintained their unbeaten record with a 3-2 win over Norwich Union 4's.

The Vets cruised past Bishop Stortford 6-2 to stay top of the East League.

17th January 2007

Memorial Service

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Hockey Club member Carl Simpson. Carl was a long standing member of Ipswich Hockey Club and was a familiar and friendly face around Henley Road. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

A memorial service will be held for Carl on January 26th, 12 Noon, at St Mary le Tower Church, Ipswich. Everyone is very welcome to attend.

St Mary Le Tower is the main town's main civic church and is located on Tower Street opposite Church's bar and Restaurant and the Old Rep

15th January 2007

Women 1's through to third consecutive finals night.

Ipswich Women's 1st team secured their place at a third consecutive finals day with 2 draws and a win over the last weekend. The Suffolk team qualify for the NIA Finals on Sunday 21st January in 3rd place, one better than last year and will meet 2nd placed side Bowdon Hightown in the second semi-final (1350 start) . League winners Slough meet Sutton Coldfield in the other semi.

Ipswich Indoor Team 2007

Back Row (L to R) D Mills (Manager) B Baker (Cpt.), J Hall, E Lee-Smith, E Millar, L King, L Aldous, L Unwin, C Lee-Smith, S Lister (Coach)

Front Row: (L to R) K Spencer, M Sharp, V Sandall, C Ferguson (Asst Coach)

Ipswich beat Bowdon Hightown 6-4 in the league and played out 4-4 and 5-5 draws against Slough and Sutton respectively, so the team is full of confidence going into the event and will be looking to start with a good performance in their semi-final. Should Ipswich win that game they will play the Final at 1740 LIVE ON SKY EXTRA. The winners of that game will then be crowned Champions of England and will go on to play in Europe in 2008.

8th January 2007

Women 2's surge 8 points clear as 4's and 5's also win. Men 1's start 2007 with good win.

The Women 2's moved 8 points clear at the top of the East Div1 North League with a good win over 2nd placed Watton. Missing Leisa King Ipswich knew they had a point to prove and a great team performance saw them start 2007 the way then ended 2006..winning.

The Women's 3's lost 3-1 to Harleston 3's and dropped down to 3rd place in the East Div 2C division

The Women 4's notched up another good display aginst local rivals IES 3's to reamin well clear at the to of the Suffolk Div 1 table.

The newly formed Women's 5's started 2007 with a 4-2 win over Christchurch 2's.

The Men 1's whipped East Prem A side Cambridge University 5-1 to get themselves ready for their league re-start in 2 weeks time.

The Men's 3's lost 3-1 to a Harleston 2's, in the league above them. The 4's though beat Harleston 5's 4-0.

The Vets beat Bury St Edmunds in the East league 2-0 but lost 7-1 to Indian Gymkhana in the Veterans Cup game.

8th January 2007

Women 1's aim for Finals, while 2's, 3's and 4's re-start outdoor leagues. Men all play friendlies

Ipswich Women's 1st team return to Birmingham this weekend looking to cement their place in the top 4 and gain that all important place at Finals Day on 21st January. The team, who currently lie in 2nd place, will be boosted by the inclusion of striker Jenny Hall, who was unavailable last weekend due to England U18 training.

Jenny Hall

Ipswich face four tough games against Sutton Coldfield, Olton , Old Loughtonians and Bowdon Hightown but know that qualification is entirely in their hands. Four wins out of four could also see Ipswich claim the League title but the first target is to make sure they qualify again for Finals Day.

The Women 2's sit top of the East Div1 North League and will be looking to start 2007 with another win but they face a tough game against second placed Watton. Ipswich won 3-0 in the previous fixture and while they will be missing the influential Leisa King, who is with the 1st team, they welcome back Lucy Gallagher and Sarah Tallent. In fact it was Tallent that scored her first hat-trick of 2006 to seal the previous win.

The Women's 3's face struggling Harleston 3's and will be looking to build on their 3rd place position with a repeat of their 5-1 win earlier on in the season.

The Women 4's are a massive 8 points clear at the top of Suffolk Div 1 and open 2007 with a game against local rivals IES 3's. The 4's won 3-0 in the last meeting and should be able to repeat that this weekend.

The newly formed Women's 5's face Christchurch 2's.

The Men 1's dust off their sticks for their first game in 2007, against East Prem A side Cambridge University.

The Men's 3's play a friendly game against Harleston 2's, while the 4's play Harleston 5's.

The Vets have a tough weekend facing Bury St Edmunds in the East league on Saturday and then travelling up to Indian Gymkhana on Sunday for a Cup game.

8th January 2007

Women 1's have great first weekend as they are in 2nd place and remain unbeaten.

Despite losing both Jenny Hall and Jo Ellis to International duty Ipswich finished the first weekend of the EHL Premier Indoor unbeaten and lying in second place in the table. Emma Lee-Smith proving the star of the day with a amazing 11 goals in 4 games.

Top scorer Emma Lee-Smith

A great opening 7-1 win over a weak Leicester side set the pattern for the weekend. The only slight blip being a 4-4 draw with Slough. Probably the best performance came against Essex rivals Chelmsford who were beaten 7-3. The Essex team must be sick of the sight of Ipswich as they have lost 3 times to them in the the last 3 meetings over a 4 week period. The final game saw Ipswich run close by Canterbury but a sterling second half performance saw Ipswich secure an 8-6 victory.

Next weekend Ipswich play 4th place Sutton Coldfield, Old Loughtonians, Olton and current indoor leaders Bowdon Hightown. Despite such a good first weekend Ipswich will need to continue their form as only the top four will qualify for the national finals. Should Ipswich manage to do so it will be their 3rd National Finals in a row.

While the Women were enjoying being out of the rain the rest of the club had to barve the wet waether.

The Women 3's played a re-arranged league game against Braintree (Awaiting result). The 4's ran out 4-0 winners in a friednly game v Felixstowe 1's.

The Men's 3rds played the 4's and won 3-1 in what sounds like a very close game. The men's 5's played Cranes (awaiting result). The Vets drew 1-1 with Peterborough in a re-arranged league game but still remain unbeaten.

3rd January 2007

Women 1's head indoors and face a tough first weekend

After a short Christmas break, Ipswich Women's 1st ream get back into Premier League action this weekend as they travel to Cocksmoor Wood in Birmingham for the first of two weekends of the EHL Women's Indoor Premier League. The top 4 teams will then travel to the NIA on Sunday 21st January for the National Finals, with the winners being crowned champions of England and earning the right to represent the country in Europe in 2008.

Ipswich lost out to eventual winners Chelmsford in the semi-finals last year and will be looking to better that performance this time round.

The Suffolk team faces a tough opening weekend but with all clubs shorn of their England players it could see some interesting results as teams aim to come to terms with missing key players. Ipswich's first fixture sees them take on current outdoor league champions Leicester, they then face old foe Slough to complete Saturdays games. Sunday sees a repeat of the East Indoor final, with a tough game against Chelmsford, then the final fixture is against another East team in the shape of Canterbury.

East Indoor Champions 2006

After an excellent display in the pre-Christmas East Indoor Championships, including beating current England Champions Chelmsford 6-2 to win the Title, Ipswich have high hopes of a good display in this years Indoor League. A good run of results this weekend would give them a excellent platform for a top four finish and another trip to the all important finals day.

3rd January 2007

Ellis starts 2007 in South Africa

Ipswich's England star Jo Ellis has been selected for a GB Training Camp at Stellenbosch University, near Cape Town, from 3-13 January.

Jo Ellis v Germany at the World Cup 2006

Ellis joins other athletes from England, Scotland and Wales in the first step on the road to Bejing 2008. The squad will leave for South Africa on Thursday 3 January for warm weather training, along with three internationals against South Africa at Stellenbosch on 8, 10 and 11 January at 1900hrs.

The downside for the club is that Jo will not be available to pay in the National league Indoor fixtures, but several other clubs are in the same boat and Leicester in particular are very hard hit losing 4 players.

3rd January 2007

Are you ready for the new rules?

Here you can read the rules of hockey 2007-2008.

Please note that the new Rules will be introduced to all hockey (in England and internationally) on 1st January 2007. Please make sure you are aware of the new rules, they effect everyone that is involved with the game. You can also read the briefing for umpires here.

Important Changes.

The requirement to have a goalkeeper on the field at all times during play has been modified. The change permits teams more flexibility about what sort of goalkeeping option to adopt. It also takes account of the possibility that a team does not have a fully-equipped goalkeeper available or simply wishes to play only with field players. In relation to these changes, it is important to understand that a team either has a goalkeeper on the field (with full protective equipment or only with protective headgear) or is playing entirely with field players in which case no player has goalkeeping privileges.
The note to rule 9.7 should also be studied carefully because it explains that a defender must not be penalised if they are genuinely trying to play the ball in a legitimate way when saving a shot at goal at any height.
Associated with its review of goalkeeping options, the HRB also considered the ways in which a goalkeeper is permitted to play the ball. The changes reflected in rule 10.2 permit a goalkeeper more flexibility when defending their goal.