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Edge Under 14 girls finished a superb third in the National Championships. They were  unbeaten in their group matches at the National finals at Beeston. A 1-0 win against Dereham, a 2-2 draw against Wycombe and a 1-1 draw with Teddington having led with minutes to go were very solid results. Sadly the Edge girls  lost out on an appearance in the Final in a penalty stroke competition after finishing level on points with Teddington. The girls , coached by Tessa Bryant and managed by Manjit Wolstenholme played magnificently to win the third place play off beating Cambridge 2-0.

The 10th Cheshire & Warrington Sports Awards, organised by Sport Cheshire, were held on Friday 19th April at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.

Alderley Edge Hockey club won Sports Club of the Year for a second year in a row!.

Nominees and Guests were greeted by the sound of African drums played by Young Ambassadors from the Wolves Foundation. They entered the stadium through old 'Wilderspool' turnstiles and started their journey through the showcase of community sport and onto the drinks reception. Several sports clubs including Th Edge , leisure operators, local authorities and sponsors all contributed to a fantastic welcome including the 'Fusion' Under 10s dance team on pitch side.

Raj Kay and Joe Coxon were at the awards dinner to recieve the trophy along with Georgina Hadfield, Teresa Hadfield , Andrew Drummond and Kelvin Briggs.:-

The awards were superbly hosted by the legendary DJ Mike Shaft who kept the evening rolling along with a great sense of fun and an obvious passion for sport. Every nominee's success was celebrated, covering a host of achievements and contributions to sport and physical activity.

Other highlights of the evening included local 'ultra' athlete Brian New undertaking an Iron Man Challenge through the evening to see how far he could cycle whilst the Awards were taking place. Guests had the opportunity to guess the distance with Brian's efforts of cycling 72 miles raising an excellent £300 for Sport Cheshire's charitable programmes. The evening as a whole raised a further £1650 through a prize draw with thanks to the guests and a £1 for £1 matching offer from Barclays Bank. Prizes for the draw were donated by public and private partners of Sport Cheshire inlcuding Brio Leisure, Livewire, Cheshire East Council, LA Fitness, Warrington Wolves Foundation and Chester Football Club.

Special guest at the event, Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympic Committee and new Patron of Sport Cheshire gave an inspiring keynote speech to the guests, emphasising the importance of fun in sport and the subconcious acquisition of life skills through participation. He closed his speech by reminding us all of not worrying about what doesn't work, but maximising what does.

In his closing address, David Newton, Chair of Sport Cheshire said, 'Sport Cheshire is passionate about improving lives through sport and proud to organise this event. It is important to recognise the efforts of those unsung heroes who make sport happen in our communities every day of the year, even more so as we are recognising contributions during 2012, a memorable year of sport. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners. Through their commitment we are able to get more people, more active, more often in Cheshire and Warrington.'

Club of the Year - Sponsored by Neil Allen & Associates

Winner: Alderley Edge Hockey Club

The Church of Ireland Hockey Club from Garryduff in County Cork ,Ireland were guests at The Edge yesterday. They brought two teams of under 14 girls on tour to play Bowdon - Saturday, Alderley Edge - Sunday and Deeside Ramblers today Monday.

 

In a round robin tournament Alderley Edge won and were victorious in the main game 2-0. The guests had a great time and enjoyed food in the clubhouse and exchanged pennants before going back to their Manchester Hotel base. A big team of volunteers down at The Edge arranged drinks and snacks and decorated Sh'Eddies in a sea of Irish green! A grand day to be sure! It's great to welcome Irish visitors to the club and share our common love of hockey.

 

The Hockey section were nominated for European Club Of The Year 2012 award again by England Hockey Board. The final shortlist saw Alderley Edge in the final  short list of nine clubs, losing out narrowly to a German Club, Harvestehuder Tennis and Hockey Club.

Here is the letter from The European Hockey Federation applauding the great works by the Edge Hockey club:-

 

Euro Hockey Club of the Year Finalist 2012

On behalf of the EHF I thank you most sincerely for your entry into this prestigious European-wide competition.

Strong, well-organised clubs are the foundation of hockey in Europe and recognising and valuing the work of our clubs is one of the missions of the EHF.

We are delighted that the quality of entries this year was incredibly high. It was a very difficult decision to find a winner.

The Development Committee was particularly impressed and pleased with your player growth achievements and your work linking to your local community schools.

However the eventual winner was Havestehuder Tennis und Hockey Club, Hamburg, Germany.

We hope that you enjoyed being part of this competition and that you will continue to grow your club and be proud of the work that you do.

On behalf of European Hockey Federation Development Committee for the excellent work that Alderley Edge Hockey Club have achieved for hockey.

Many thanks and very best wishes

_____________________

Marijke Fleuren

EHF President

Cc

Carola Meyer, EHF Development Co-Ordination Committee Chair

Gerry Ralph, EHF Development Committee Chair

Norman Hughes, EHF Continental Development Officer

Next AECC big social 'do'.... This Saturday "San Valentino" night... 
- Live band
-DJ
-Bubbly on arrival
-Food
ALL FOR £10 !!!!

England Hockey Board have put forward Alderley Edge Hockey Club as one of two English club entries in the 2012 European Hockey Club of the year awards.

Edge were runners up in the 2011 competition.

Alex Teasdale, National Manager Clubs and Facilities informed the Club last week it was submitting  applications to the European Hockey Federation for Alderley Edge and Beeston Hockey Club.

Alex commented  " We only award 2 places, we unfortunately discounted Old Loughtonians  although they had a truly unique season, and made a very challenging decision not to nominate Old Sillhillians. The quality of the applications were excellent, and I wanted you to know how strong your applications were, especially to be taken ahead of Old Sills and Old Loughts. I have high hopes for an English winner this year, so I will keep my fingers and toes crossed for both clubs. We have a bit of a wait, with decisions not due until the summer."

Could be an exciting summer for The Edge in Europe!

 

Alderley Edge Hockey Club Mascot Eddie Edgehog was at Manchester Airport at 4:00am this morning . Our spikey little fellow was signing autographs and having his picture taken with over 100 children bound for a day trip to Lapland to meet Father Christmas. Thre trip was arranged by the 'When you Wish Upon a Star Charity.

The charity has a prime aim of granting  the wishes of children suffering from life threatening illnesses and since it  started in 1990, they have granted over 14,500 wishes for some very brave and courageous children and their families. All children have wishes, but for these children and their families that wish is much more precious.  Eddie mingled with TV stars and other Mascots including Fred The Red from Manchester United . 

As a momentous sporting year draws to a close, some of Cheshire East’s unsung heroes were honoured at the Council’s annual sports awards.

Now in its third year, the awards seek to recognise the time and dedication put in by volunteers, coaches, clubs and athletes to develop sport across Cheshire East.

The winners are:

• Club of the year – Alderley Edge Hockey Club
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• Coach of the year – Istvan Kaplan (Congleton Tennis Club)
• Special recognition – Myrtle Larman (Tsuki-No-Kokoro Ju-Jitsu Club - Congleton)
• Volunteer of the year – Kelvin Briggs (Alderley Edge Hockey Club)
• Young volunteer of the year – Henry Cross (AFC Alsager)
• Young sports achiever – Issy Centeleghe (Satellites of Macclesfield Swimming Club)
• Disabled sports achiever – Megan Short (swimmer from Macclesfield)
• Sports personality of the year - Matt Nottingham (National Badminton Training Centre – lives in Wilmslow)

The event, held this year at Cranage Hall, is organised by the Council’s leisure and play department.

Mayor of Cheshire East Councillor George Walton presented the awards. He said: “The year 2012 will go down in history as a great sporting year. The awards ceremony recognises those at the grass-roots level who have a passion for sport and represent Cheshire East. Many of the people who received awards have dedicated a lot of time to excelling in their chosen sport or guiding others towards their dreams and it was good to meet them.”

Kelvin Briggs was interviewed live on air last week about 'join in' 'give it a go' hockey taster sessions by  BBC Radio Manchester. The hockey section have been running Sunday morning taster sessions for primary school children and run 8 days of hockey camps during the summer holidays. Over 120 children have attended.