The secondary hockey team has once again given it all for their season which has now come to an end in a nail-biting final!

For the last few months, a group of seniors have headed away to Dunedin every Tuesday evening to compete in a social grade six-a-side hockey fixture. Tuesday night brought us to our 14th week (felt like 23 weeks) of Secondary Hockey and also notably, the play-off for the final. We played Trinity College in the final for our second year in a row, and narrowly placed second after some uniform confusion in the last five minutes. 

Dunedin put on some windy weather and a snowy chill filled air, but that did not stop the team digging deep and demonstrating all the skills they had gleaned from the season to score the opening goal within the first 8 minutes, followed up with a second after some hard attacking, leaving us 3-2 at half time. Trinity caught up in the second half and levelled with both teams on 3. In the final minutes Trinity lead with the final score 4-3.

The Catlins Hockey Team should be incredibly proud of their commitment to the game, the massive improvement to their skills and most importantly the sportsmanship they have shown throughout the season. 

Before the season even started a generous grant was given to the hockey team from the Jim & Bill Beattie Trust. With this grant, the team were able to purchase a full goalie kit and bag, a full set of balls and ball case and a selection of larger hockey sticks. The players are extremely grateful for the funding which made a huge difference in the game especially being able to have a goalie this year (aye Flynn). 

A huge thank you and our appreciation goes to Fiona Wilkinson and Nat Harrex. Thank you for encouraging, organising, motivating, driving and sharing your hockey knowledge. Thanks for also spending the majority of Tuesday nights waiting in McDonalds carpark for the last order to be ready. Without your passion and dedication the season would not have been so successful!