International Women’s Day
A quick note to say a huge congratulations to the Ladies 6s and Mens 8s who both secured promotion last week! There are still multiple teams fighting in promotion and relegation battles so make sure to come down and support at Lee Valley and John Orwell when you can.
International Women’s Day
As it’s International Women’s Day we would like to spend most of this Back Post celebrating 10 amazing women in the club who have been nominated by various club members for all of their fab work.
Tara Feeney - The only adult team female coach in the club, Tara, despite injury, is coaching and captaining the L5s like a hero. Not only is she an exceptionally good coach who understands the needs of her players and team, she works with other captains and coaches to help and assist other ladies' teams. There's no better woman to lead the charge for female coaching.
Helen Rogers - with a huge number of nominations, of course no club is complete without our Club Chair Rogers on this list. Applauded for her inspiring ambition and creativity, hard graft, warmth, grace, diplomacy, and for being an absolute boss, no amount of adjectives could capture the amazing work Rogers does on and off the hockey pitch at Wapping. A huge inspiration to women across the club.
Jenna Maclaren - particularly for the Strong Girls' Group that Jenna masterminded over the summer, completely off her own back. This has helped to create a community on the ladies' side from the 1s-7s both out of and during the season. And as someone who cares not only for the performance and integration of the higher teams, but inclusivity in the lower teams, the effort she puts in is absolutely exceptional.
Benji Avro - LCC and club legend, Benji is an inspiration week on week. ‘Whenever I want to boss a situation I think “What would Benji do”’. Her incredible capacity for strategic thought, calm level headedness and clarity in the messiest of situations brings inner calm and reassurance at the most trying times. She is a voice of reason, a social VIBE, her personal style is 🔥 and is someone who makes the most, and best, of every day, always striving for better but with grace and ease. Be more Benji.
Lizzie Reffell - an absolute icon of the Ladies 7s, Lizzie has stepped up as vice-captain this year and done such a fantastic job on and off the hockey pitch. Carrying out team admin, always turning up to socials and encouraging teammates - Lizzie is absolutely integral to the L7. Always looking to improve her game, on top of this Lizzie is a frequent Back to Hockey attendee where she has just as much as a positive impact on those at training.
Babs Lo Giudice - Wapping stalwart and Italian stallion Babs is the glue in every team she plays in. Babs keeps everyone positive and motivated, and is always the loudest voice cheering on her teammates in games and at training. She encourages us to work together and enjoy hockey, as well as making sure everyone feels part of the team.
Pippa Jones - as well as supporting countless children as a therapist, Pippa has brought her expertise into the L1, supporting and helping the team in countless ways with her empathy and support as the girls push for promotion. It goes without saying that Pippa is also an incredible hockey player and an inspiration for any aspiring forward in the club, scoring goals, skilling every defender in London Prem and always working hard for the team <3
Jane O-Rourke - As well as being a new umpire, Jane is single-handedly making sure we have umpires every week to facilitate games. She spends hours ensuring slots are filled, and also works with the Kidds and UDOs to develop new umpires. Umpires are something we all take for granted, and without a dedicated ULO none of us would be able to play - thank you Jane!
Gigi Barbuto - For being an incredible friend on and off the pitch, a solid team mate and even greater friend who always has her teammates’ backs. She makes everyone in the team feel included and always makes training a brighter place. Gigi is a strong woman who always build others up, hyping up her teammates and encouraging them non-stop. We need more Gigis in this world!
Lizzie Salmon - even the darkest of training days can be brightened by Lizzie, the badger, who is an absolute ray of sunshine. Never have I seen someone take so much joy from playing hockey, and spread so much joy to others whilst running around with a stick and ball. On top of this, Lizzie has driven Wapping forward with some amazing work as head of performance, showing great emotional intelligence, strategic thinking and creativity.
End of Season Dinner tickets
A note that End of Season Dinner tickets are now for sale on the Wapping webshop here. Early birds of the club have already snapped up the discounted tickets, so make sure you get your hands on one before they sell out or it reaches the deadline - 31st March. Event details below:
Date: Saturday 20th April
Location: The Great Hall, Leyton - 1A Adelaide Road, London, E10 5NN
Time: 6pm arrival for a 7pm start
Dresscode: Black Tie
Dinner: 3 course Indian meal
Your chance to win!
Simon Wright, the club's jeweller to the stars (that's all of you!), has made this stunning gold and natural fancy cognac diamond bracelet for us to raffle at the End of Season Dinner. Last year he contributed a hockey stick themed tie clip which generated lots of envious excitement (and funds for the club), so this year he's decided to make something for the ladies. Get your raffle tickets here or as an add-on when buying your dinner ticket. All raffle ticket purchasers welcome so feel free to share with all your pals.
L1/M1 fundraiser
A huge thank you to everyone who came to the L1/M1 fundraiser last Saturday at The Dog. The total raised is still TBC but thank you to all who entered the quiz, bought a bucket hat or raffle tickets. Congratulations to the M8 who topped off their promotion party with a quiz win.
For those who didn’t manage to grab a Wapping bucket hat, the L1 will be down at JO on Saturday to sell bucket hats to those who would like one ahead of festival season!
As it stands:
Last week in a line: LWLDLDLWLLDDDLWWL
Fixtures this week:
Member discounts:
Check out our Members' area (Password: whc1989) which has all of our available offers, including:
20% off NuSmile dentists
A free Psycle session
Grubby: 50% off + free delivery on 1st box, plus 30% off for the rest of the month
2 weeks free trial of El Tab app giving members 4 free drinks in London nightly
20% off Sharp Movement
10% off all beers at Tap East
Discounted club trip to Leyton Orient on February 13th 2024
