HOCKEY club members are looking forward to finally being able to celebrate their national club of the year accolade now the sport has restarted after lockdown.
Norton Hockey Club was named the 2020 Nott Sport England Hockey club of the year at a virtual ceremony by GB international Sam Ward. Special mention was made of the club’s efforts and achievements in providing hockey across all age ranges, and for fundraising to improve the facilities at Norton.
Club chairman Jon Carter said: "We are absolutely thrilled and honoured to receive this most prestigious award which is testimony to the huge amount of work done over an extended period by so many people associated with our fantastic club.
"To be chosen out of over 800 clubs across the whole country is a truly amazing achievement and bodes really well for the future of the club."
Club president Peter Frost added: "Our sincere thanks go to England Hockey for the award and to Notts Sport for sponsoring it. This is a huge boost to hockey in the North-East and we look forward to continuing to support and grow the game over the years to come."
Norton Hockey Club in 1928
The club runs a wide range of teams which play in the North-East Hockey League, the Ladies Durham Clubs League, indoor leagues, summer hockey leagues and national cup competitions. It also has a thriving junior set up.
The Covid pandemic has posed enormous challenges for the club, and no celebration of the honour has yet been possible, but the club said it is proud of the amount of hockey it has managed to play over the last 12 months.
Club officials put systems in place to ensure it is Covid-secure, which involved extensive work with the operator of its base, Norton Sports Charity, in developing operational and administrative systems to comply with government, England Hockey and local requirements and guidance.
The club, which dates back to 1891, is now working on the next stages of its development, and aims to continue to grow its playing side now the game has restarted from the latest lockdown.
Norton ladies national club champions 1981. Pictured on April 9, 1980, front row: Jule Hopkins, Annette Imisson, Jenny Manser, Anne Whitworth, Delphine Brady, Sue Readhead, Judy Pringle. Back row: Gill Pedley, Maureen Thersby, Jackie Edwards, Dot
Mr Carter said: "Winning the award was a real team effort based on our 2015-2020 development plan for the club. With respect to the juniors, there were fantastic contributions from our coaching team and parents together with undying enthusiasm from the youngsters themselves.
"The superb quality of our pitch and floodlights has been critical in attracting and retaining juniors and adults (especially ladies) and has absolutely justified all the hard work, dedication and innovation we put into helping the charity put these in place.
"Together with the refurbishment of the shared onsite clubhouse, the spirit engendered in making these projects happen and helping raise over £820,000 towards them has shown what can be achieved even in difficult circumstances and was a cornerstone in us winning the award."
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