We’re off to a heroic start!
The 2025-26 season is officially underway and it’s shaping up to be a fantastic year for the club, with a brilliant committee, superb sponsors, a solid social scene, and more hockey than ever for all ages and abilities. We hope you’re getting into the swing of things and will continue to stick with it (all puns intended!). If so, don’t forget that the membership fees deadline is 4th October. More details below.
There’s all to pay – I mean, play for – particularly if you’re angling for team of the year. Only two weeks in and the Wapping M3s have been out and about saving lives (read on to find out more). Amazing stuff! They’ve set the bar pretty high, but we know you can all be super-heroes too. If just for one day…in fancy dress…at the Halloween social on 1st November. Save the date!
This issue of the Wapping BackPost is brought to you by your new newsletter admin – me, Anne, of the lovely Wapping W5s. I’ve been at the club for more than a decade and while some say that makes me old, I say it means I know ALL the tea. If you have tea to spill, updates for future issues, epic match reports, or shout-outs for club legends (insert: our wonderful volunteers), please get in touch at wappingnews@gmail.com, or IRL: pitch-side or at a club social. Thank you!
Now, let’s get down to business… xoxo.
Coming up in this month’s issue…
Dates for your diary
How to pay your club fees
Results RoundUp
M3 Car Crash heroics
Halloween Social details
Sponsor Spotlight
Shirts available to buy
Grays sample sticks to try
Wapping Kids Introductory Sessions
Volunteer of the month
Shop with EasyFundraising for Wapping
Reminder: Training Schedule
Dates for the diary
Slip week: October 25th
Halloween social: November 1st, The Fenchurch
Christmas social (and last game before Xmas break): December 6th, The Moretown Belle
Men's 3s Team Praised for Quick Response in Car Crash
A serious incident occurred outside the Northcote pub (our Lee Valley based Club House) last Saturday when a car crashed into a bus, putting two children and their mother at risk.
The men's 3s team sprang into action. Smithy rushed to the scene and rescued one child from the vehicle. At the same time, Kiwi Dan carefully extracted the second child from the wreckage, ensuring their safety. Both showcased great bravery in the face of danger.
The rest of the team played a crucial role in securing the area around the car to prevent any further hazards. Jordan and Dom quickly ensured the engine was turned off, while Ed promptly rang for police and ambulance assistance.
Princey and Toby provided vital support to the children's mother, administering first aid and offering her water to help her through the traumatic experience. The team's swift and coordinated response undoubtedly saved the lives of the two children, who were shaken but safe after the ordeal.
The team received a lovely email of thanks and recognition from Tuesday, the Northcote pub’s owner, praising the men for their amazing reaction and concluding that, “In a time of crisis, seriously, you want these guys around! A credit to the club.”
Well done guys, praise well deserved!
Pay your membership fees by 4th October
The deadline for paying membership fees is 4th October. If you miss the deadline, you won’t be able to play for us until you pay your fees - so don’t delay, pay today.
Please note that our fees are slightly higher this year due to increased pitch hire costs, England Hockey Affiliation fees, and match tea costs, as well as reductions in weekly match fees for players. However, concession rates are available for students, first year graduates and members with an income of £23k or below (increased from £21k last year). We also offer reduced rates for some committee members.
If you are facing financial difficulty for any reason, our Treasurer is always happy to have a confidential conversation about individual arrangements. Our priority is to keep hockey at our club open, inclusive, and accessible to everyone.
Halloween Social, Sat 1st Nov
After a glorious Start of Season Social, it’s time for less glory, more gory…with our legendary Wapping Halloween Social. The date and venue is now set and you’re all invited. Prizes for the best fancy dress, so get planning now!
When: 7pm-2am, Saturday 1st November
Where: The Fenchurch, EC3M 4BR
Wear: Fancy Dress 🧟 (there will be prizes for best dressed team!)
Tickets: Tickets available soon from social secs
Wapping Kids: introduction to hockey sessions
We are now offering new Introduction to Hockey Sessions at Lee Valley every Monday evening (4:15-5:30pm), thanks to a successful Sport England and Easter Community bid.
We had our first session on 22nd September and it was a huge success. A small group of kids, most of whom had never played before, had a great time. Eoin Robinson is coaching them but we’d welcome any other volunteers who would like to assist.
With the new England Hockey membership model, we now have access to junior coaching courses for anyone considering helping out at Kidds. You can check out the session times and and book a slot here: https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/deliver/coach/develop/coach-learning/coaching-junior-hockey-workshop
Want to volunteer to help out with our juniors? Get in touch with Sandy (wappingkidds@gmail.com)
Results round-up
For a detailed breakdown of results and more action pics, check out our instagram page @wappinghc
On the men’s front, strong recruitment, great availability and coaches for every team, has put us in a great position early doors. We’ve also integrated high performance juniors into the senior teams, which has been great to see. Our men’s 1s are unbeaten - so definitely one to watch as things progress. Coupled with a strong social scene and good vibes, things are looking good as the season gets underway.
Huge thanks to our fabulous Men’s Club Captains Chris Tipple and Aaron Fronda, for making the magic happen.
On the women’s front, our brilliant Club Captains Issy Ringrose and Anna Radford, bring you a blow by blow account of our performance across the board - with a special shout out to our captains for a 10 out of 10 job so far…
W1—new coach, new season, we’re rooting for the gals to smash it in their second year in National League
W2—looking strong back in Div 1 where they deserve to be, and are hungry for a big win
W3—fighting hard and playing harder. A huge win in week 1 is a sign of good things to come
W4—still searching for a win, but under the new leadership of Izzy M & Shears some big results are looming
W5—a tough start after securing promotion last season, but in coach Tara we trust to show Div 4 who’s boss
W6—unbeaten as they have a second bite at promotion in only their second season in Div 5
W7—have hit the ground running in their new league, huge win last week and the gals are raring for more
W8—still awaiting a first win, but some important fixtures coming up for the squad to get some big points in
Valkyries—our brand-new Dev team already have a big win under their belts. We’re super excited for the junior team’s first year (FYI - all Wapping women can help out, regardless of the level you’re at - just let Sandra know! Thanks!)
Squad update: We’re excited to have welcomed 10 new recruits to our W1s and a further 22 new recruits across our W2s-8s! There will still be a small bit of movement to come across our squads, to give extra support to our 5s and below. Apologies - we know that movement isn’t ideal for people - so we’ll try to make this as smooth as possible. Any issues/ problems/ concerns, please speak to your coaches or Anna & Issy. We’ll review things again at Christmas.
Volunteer of the month
It’s simple: Wapping Hockey Club wouldn’t exist without the many amazing volunteers who pitch in their time and skills to make things happen, week in, week out. From our committee members to our captains, our social secs and our kids helpers, we’re fortunate enough to have wonderful club members who want to give back.
This month, we’re shining a light on our Fixtures Secretary, Eleanor Tennant, who has been working hard in the background to ensure we all have games schedules and pitches to play on. It’s a mammoth yet thankless task. So we wanted to give her a big BackPost thank you!
Re-introducing our Fixtures Secretary, Eleanor Tennant
How long have you been at Wapping? 2025/26 is my fourth season in maroon
What does fixtures sec entail? Unsurprisingly it involves booking pitches, planning where and when everyone is playing, liaising with LV & JO and oppositions.. It often has the feel of a 5,000-piece puzzle. Surprisingly it also entails being a weatherwoman/ fortune telling when predicting how frozen pitches will be come wintertime
On pitch highlight: Playing CB, LB and CF in one game #versatile
Off pitch highlight: Always a trip to the beloved JJ Moon’s spoons, or being gassed up at spoons in Watford whilst dressed as a Christmas cracker (spoons for the win)
Hottest take for the 2025/26 season: W4s will be top table queens and Ipswich will win the league
We always need volunteers to lend a hand. Get in touch with Irini (wappingsecretary@gmail.com) or join our volunteers whatsapp group to get involved throughout the season, when you can.
Sponsor Spotlight
We are delighted to welcome Simon Wright back as official Wapping Hockey Club sponsor for the 2025/26 season.
Situated in the heart of London’s lively jewellery scene, Simon creates exquisite custom-made engagement rings and bespoke jewellery. He combines conventional craftsmanship with contemporary technology to make magnificent one-of-a-kind pieces.
Simon Wright has been a proud sponsor and passionate member of the club for six years, and this season sees him return as official sponsor of the Men's 1st XI, Women's 5th XI and Men's 7th XI.
http://www.sw-jewellery.com/
We’re excited to announce E1 CrossFit as a sponsor of Wapping Hockey Club, and our official fitness partner!
E1 CrossFit is where fitness meets community, and every journey is celebrated
Their mission is to help you build confidence, have fun, and feel strong whatever your starting point. E1 is for everyone and all ability levels
Want to give it a go? Sign up for a three week free trial exclusive to WHC members at the link here.
Sit back, shop, and raise easy funds for Wapping
With summer officially over (sigh), it’s a great time to sign up to EasyFundraising to support Wapping financially as you stock up on essentials to get you through the wintery months ahead. Think: winter layers, chunky knits, fluffy towelling robes, scented candles, the complete parks & rec box set, a new iPad to watch it on from the comfort of your bath tub… and JustEat on speed dial. You get the picture.
EasyFundraising partners with over 7,000 brands who will donate part of what you spend to a cause of your choice (i.e. Wapping Hockey Club). It won't cost you any extra. The cost is covered by the brand. The club has already raised £2.7k for club for purchases from EasyFundraising!
How to get started: Check easyFundraising or use their Donation Reminder browser extension to see if your purchases can raise money for Wapping. Have a look at great offers from loads of retailers such as Amazon, Adidas, Apple, Expedia, JustEat and more – all who will donate money to Wapping when you purchase!
Need a new phone? Club member Iain Davidson has increased the donation payments for Three Mobile if you go via https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/retailer/three-mobile/ with donations going up to £50.00 per purchase, as well as some great Black Friday deals on phones, SIM only contracts and broadband.
Hot to go: our new shirts
Brand new Wapping Home/Away/Pinstripe shirts are available NOW for your personal perusal and purchase. Don’t tell us we’re not a giver.
Want your very own? You can buy yours now on the shop: https://www.wappinghockey.club/shop
Go on, support your favourite pink (maroon) pony (hockey) club, and be as iconic on the pitch as Chappell Roan is on stage.
Things to note
The Grays shirts have been reported to come up slightly small for both men and women so we strongly recommend trying the club shirts for size before ordering as they cannot be returned
All home and away shirts will feature your team’s sponsor
The pinstripe shirts are training tops and will not feature a number on the back, nor sponsor logos. They cannot be worn for league games.
Shirts can be customised with initials on the arm or name on the back for an additional £4 (treat yourself)
The prices shown are only valid if we get 10 or more orders. Orders will be cancelled and refunded if we don’t reach the minimum quantity.
The order will be placed on the 5th October and delivery is expected within 4 weeks. Deadline for orders is 5th October @ midday
Please note any kit purchased in the previous bulk order (skorts, hoodies, socks etc) will be arriving around the 9th October (4 weeks from 12th Sept order).
Cop a feel
Following a few requests, Grays have very kindly agreed to loan us 10 brand new sample sticks for people to try. They will be in the big locker at LV from 5:30pm-close on Monday (6th). They’ll then be taken over to JO on Wednesday (8th) and will be there from 7:30pm-10:00pm so feel free to swing over and check them out between those times.
Please note that ‘they are for players to get a feel for the stick and shape and not come back in a state of no return’ else we’ll need to pay for them. They cannot be used to train with.
The sticks we have are:
UB4 36.5
JB7 36.5
DB6 36.5
AC400 36.5
JB10 36.5
PB10 36.5
DB7+ 36.5
DB8 36.5
PB8 36.5
DB9+ 36.5
And, as if this wasn’t enough to satisfy your stash desires…
Along with our fabulous bulk clothing offer, Grays have also offered us 20% off all their equipment! (sticks, bags, shinpads etc).
Code: A_WAPPING20-25
For this code to work and spend be attributed to the club, players must go through the Wapping online store below:
https://www.grays-hockey.com/collections/wapping-hc
Note that this discount cannot be used on WHC customised kit (with our logo on) but can be used throughout the season so something to bear in mind for Crimbo 🎅
Member discounts:
Check out our Members' area (Password: whc1989) which has all of our available offers, including:
5% discount and 5% club kick back at the Moretown Belle
Grubby: 50% off + free delivery on 1st box, plus 30% off for the rest of the month
