Mother’s Day at the AHC

Apr 30, 2012

The Prez Sez…

Apr 27, 2012

Hi everyone.  Here’s a quick summary of my thoughts, observations and updates after 2 rounds.

• I’m very pleased with the start our junior teams have made this year.  I’ve watched games across most age groups and have been very impressed with how the players and coaches have represented our club.  Some of the skill and teamwork has been amazing.  The results are pleasing and I encourage our members to attend games and support our junior teams.
• Round 2 was our first big weekend of home games.  It was great to see huge numbers at the club over the weekend.  While the narrow defeats suffered by both our State League 1 men’s and women’s teams was disappointing, nobody can question their endeavour to compete until the final whistle.  We are all looking for a change of fortune for these two teams starting this weekend against Camberwell at home.
• I want to recognise the outstanding effort of our ball boys and ball girls last weekend.  In two close and intense games, our ball boys and ball girls performed their job extremely well.  Special mention to Jarryd Otterbach who was working overtime in the closing minutes of the SL1 men’s game.  He certainly earned his drink at the end of the game.
• Round 3 this weekend is another big round of home games for us.  I’ve included a summary of the games below.  Lunch will be available to purchase in the clubrooms on Saturday from 1pm to 2pm for all members and guests.  We have quite a few young players in our senior teams who travel from outside the metropolitan area to represent Altona.  I have invited the parents of these players to lunch as a show of appreciation.  I hope a few other members can join me.
• The AHC ladies lunch is just around the corner (Friday, 4^th May).  Prue Phillips, Sharon Faulkner and Sue Aitken initiated this brilliant idea.  Please speak to one of these ladies if you’d like to attend, or come and speak to me and I’ll point you in the right direction.
• Social membership packages are now available.  Information on the range of social memberships is attached to this newsletter.  The packages represent great value for all AHC supporters.  To sign up for a package, see Kate Holland.
• Ideally this will be the first and last time I need to include a note on the payment of membership fees in my article.  The club has now paid all competition and player insurance fees to Hockey Victoria.  This represents a significant expense for our club.  Your membership fees are primarily allocated to cover these costs from HV.  I encourage each of our playing members to contact Ian Bartlett or Tracey Drake to arrange payment.
• Here’s a summary of home games this weekend……

Friday night

Saturday

Sunday

Thanks everyone.  Hope to see big crowds at all games over the weekend.

Go A’s

David Burns

The Prez Sez…

Apr 10, 2012

It’s time for all players and supporters to get their blue and gold out of the cupboard.   All the pre-season training and fitness is done; it’s time for the real hockey season to start.

Isn’t it great that we’re about to start Round 1!  I confident 2012 will be a rewarding season for all players and supporters.  So good luck to all teams, players, coaches, supporters, parents and everyone involved in the Altona Hockey Club.  A special mention to all players about to represent Altona for the very first time.  Whether you are a new junior playing in our Under 9 teams through to the first time players representing our men’s and women’s State League 1 team, I sincerely hope you enjoy the experience of playing hockey for Altona.

I’d like to highlight a few changes taking place around our venue.  We recently had the south and west sides of the ground sealed with concrete.  This will improve the quality of the playing surface by keeping rocks and pebbles off the ground.  In the next week or so the scoreboard will be permanently relocated to the west side of the ground which will be an improvement for spectators, players, coaches and umpires.  Soon after that the synthetic surface will undergo some minor repairs and restoration.  All this work will be completed in time for our first big weekend at home in Round 2.

It’s important that we capitalise on our home games this year.  I’m keen to improve the experience our supporters and visiting teams have when playing at Altona.  Some ideas I want to implement this year include:

• Egg and bacon rolls available on Saturday morning for junior games
• Lunch available in the clubrooms for all supporters and visitors on all State League 1 games
• Merchandise and uniform shop open on all State League 1 games

To achieve all this and make season 2012 a great experience for everyone, I’m going to need your help.  The Board and I are keen to hear from anyone who thinks they can help.  Please talk to myself, Bob Guest or any of the Board members for information.

Finally, a quick plug for the events happening very soon:

• Season Opener on 21^st April.
• AHC Ladies lunch on 4^th May.
• Junior Disco on 5^th May
• Social Membership packages available soon.  Stay tuned.
• Dinners available at the club on Thursday night.

Thanks everyone.  Hope to see big crowds at all games over the weekend.

Go A’s

David Burns

Homophobia in Sport

Oct 10, 2011

This video is a must view for all members. It is extremely inspiring and thought-provoking. Altona Hockey Club and Hockey Victoria aim to be inclusive for all members and this video is a raw and potentially eye-opening story from former Essendon and Victoria Goalkeeper Gus Johnston. Many of us have played against Gus or watched him play, it is great to see this insight into his life.

And the article published in The Age written by our former SL1 goalkeeper, Andy Beck – here