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HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO THE NEW SPORTS AND SOCIAL CLUB
Hi All, I can’t believe how this year has flown by – it doesn’t seem five minutes ago that we opened our new doors for the first time on 13 September 2008, having had everything tested (especially the beer taps) by the departing cricket teams the night before and now it’s one year on.
What a fantastic year we have had too. While all of our sports teams have been busy battling it out with their rivals (well done to the second team cricketers on their promotion this season!), we at the club have been working non-stop.
Thanks to all of you who have attended in one way or another this year, whether it be with private hires, munching bacon butties on Saturday mornings, fundraisers for your groups or attending one of our many social events. Your support has been much appreciated. Thanks to everyone who came to our latest event, the Motown Night on 12 September with Mission Blue.
We’ve had both great times and sad times over the 12 months. We’ve lost dear friends along the way and have also met many new ones – we can now boast over 1000 members, including the junior sections, which is fantastic, and our sports teams are thriving. We have tried to offer a wide variety of activities and hope to introduce a few more over the coming months.
We introduced Aunt Sally to the club earlier this year and are pleased to announce that our ‘A‘ team have won Division 2 this season and have been promoted to Division 1!!! Well done to all of our players, especially our two team captains Kieth Wise (A team) and Richard Slade (B team) – by the time you read this they will have collected the first piece of silverware for the new club and had their presentation evening by way of the Snail Racing Night on 26 September. If you supported it, thank you very much, if you didn’t, hopefully I can say you don’t know what you missed!!!!
All that remains is to say we hope to see some, if not all of you, very soon and here’s to the next 12 months.
CHEERS to HNSSC – AND MANY HAPPY RETURNS !!!!!!!!!!!
BADMINTON
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Join us for Badminton, Coffee and a Chat in the Memorial Hall
No Leagues – All games doubles |
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HOOK NORTON CRICKET CLUB
An enjoyable season came to an end in September with the Second XI captained by Clive Plant gaining promotion to Division 7 of the Oxfordshire (OCA) league – congratulations to all those who secured promotion well before the end of the season. By contrast, the First XI captained by Dan White kept up the nail-biting excitement right up to the last game, living to fight another day (hopefully gain promotion next year!) in Division 2 with a thrilling two-run victory against top of the league Northleach on the last Saturday of the season.
It was a fitting end to the season for Tom Rothwell bowling the last two Northleach batsmen by hitting the top of off stump on both occasions. This was a season dominated by the younger cricketing talent coming from the Junior club now playing leading roles in the senior sides: Adam Webb, Tom Rothwell, Tom Bartlett, Andy Thomas and Adam Bennett, to name just a few of our rising stars!
Next year with a focused effort on getting runs on the board we look forward to an even more successful year – so if you know any budding batsmen looking for a club where their talents will be really appreciated, just put them in touch over the winter!
HOOK NORTON HARRIER'S HOOKY 6
August 2nd dawned cloudy with spots of rain, and we thought the Hooky 6 might take place in inclement weather – a huge break with our traditional 'sweltering' race day. But the clouds cleared and out came the sun. We had a healthy turnout of 266 runners for the two lap, six-mile course and, for the most part, it all went off well (apart from some insults and minor road rage from a couple of motorists to one of our marshals, would you believe?).
The winners were Paul Fernandez of Abingdon Amblers in a time of 33 minutes 20 seconds, and for the ladies, Jude Craft of Headington Roadrunners in a time of 37 minutes 6 seconds.
Our next event is our Christmas Canter on 20 December, which is an altogether more low-key affair, consisting of a multi-terrain trot over '6 country miles' (fancy dress optional). So if some of you non-runners, i.e. footballers, cricketers, tennis players or anyone else over 16, relishes the challenge, do get in touch with us for an entry form. A hot mince pie and mulled wine, or hot non-alcoholic drink if preferred, awaits all finishers in our nice warm clubhouse afterwards.
HOOK NORTON (SENIOR SECTION) FOOTBALL CLUB
The final paragraph of my article in the August Newsletter predicted that ‘the new season promises to be most challenging, both on and off the field of play’. How accurate that prediction has proved to be, unfortunately! With seven league matches now completed, our First Team has just secured its first point and, in addition, it has made an early exit from the FA Vase. While all of these matches, with the exception of the most recent one at the time of writing, have been away from home because The Bourne does not become available until the cricket season has finished, the loss of home advantage cannot be blamed entirely for the team’s poor form so far. The exodus of the majority of our experienced players from last season, together with Rizzy’s late appointment as manager and a reduction in sponsorship, have conspired to leave us relying on many of our young players (mostly under 18 years of age) from last season’s Second Team to form the nucleus of this season’s First Team.
It has proved to be a steep learning curve for these young players but one, which I am sure, they will gradually accomplish, especially with the introduction of a few more experienced players among their ranks. At this stage of the season, such players are becoming available and I know that both Rizzy and Mark Boyland (his assistant) are seeking to make a few of them come our way.
One thing is for certain, despite these early reverses, the spirit and comradeship remains second to none among our players, as do those of their management. It is now up to the rest of us to support and encourage the team in whatever way we can. Indeed, the club has worked extremely hard to put Hooky on the football map at this level and, as a consequence, we must ensure that all that hard work is not wasted without, at least, putting up a brave fight for survival in the Premier Division.
The Second Team has only just started this season’s campaign and its strength-in-depth is, of course, affected by the existing First Team situation. So far, it has played only two matches, both in the President’s Cup, drawing one and losing the other. As always, huge thanks are due to the team’s managerial stalwarts, Layi Olubaji and Andy Rogers. Theirs is often an unenviable task, but they carry it out with admirable good humour and always in the best interests of the club.
Up the Hooky!