Welcome to the new 2015/16 hockey season. During the summer break we have had a large influx of new players and an especial welcome to them. We have also had several players returning to the club after working away or studying at university/college and warm welcome back to you all and good to see you returning to your home club. We have several players starting their 40th consecutive season with the club and one player starting his 44th season at Bedford.

It is going to be another exciting season. We have a new Ladies 6th XI and it is really fantastic to see a large increase in the number of younger players joining the club. It was enthralling TV to watch our England Ladies win the EuroHockey Championships Final at Lee Valley last weekend - a really exciting match that will motivate many to take up our sport. We also have a new men's 6th team - confusingly called the 5th XI which will hopefully be a Badgers type side of youngsters starting into the game playing alongside older Vets players like myself.

Our Ladies 1st XI will be campaigning hard to get back to National League status, but I think the most intriguing battle this season will be in the East Men's Premier A Division. Our Men's 1st XI has been re-enforced this season with the addition of Dave Appleton from Holcomb HC and new player-coach, Simon Shorter amongst others. Old Loughtonians HC have dropped from National League for the first time since it started over 20 years ago and there will be a strong battle with Wapping HC (now based at our new home of hockey at Lee Valley) along with a reinvigorated St Albans HC competing with ourselves in what I believe is the strongest Regional Premiership Division in the Country. So some exciting high quality spectating opportunities on our own doorstep.

Now to the "nitty-gritty" of a new season. A big thank you to all those club members who take up coaching and umpiring duties, but a plea for further help. Paul Bennell has kindly taken over from the amazing work that Katherine Winger and her team have done these last few years in coaching and expanding our Juniors section. But we still require one more coach to help lead one of our four age groups within our Junior section for this season. You will not be doing this by yourself, but with the help of others. Indeed our 1st XI's are both looking at rostering players to our junior Sunday morning sessions to help inspire and motivate our young children. If you would like further information please contact Paul on 07785 558867 or myself on 07721 336329. We will both be thoroughly grateful for any assistance that can be provided.

The pitch surface will probably require replacement in five or six seasons time. It has become apparent to us over the summer at various national meetings that supporting grants for turf replacement are very unlikely to be available for the foreseeable future. Both ourselves (Bedford HC) and the Bedford Sports Foundation (the charity that runs and manages the facility) along with other users are going to have accumulated collectively sufficient funds to replace the surface in that time frame to the order of £300,000.

At our AGM and after considerable debate it was agreed that Annual Subscription rates would increase from £135 to £150 for adults and from £75 to £80 for Students and Juniors (playing on Saturdays) and that this would be the reduced rate for goalkeepers with their own kit. Sunday Juniors rates are to remain at £60. Furthermore that Match Fees would be £10 for all players - including Juniors and Students.

We experienced considerable difficulty collecting unpaid match fees last season taking up unnecessarily an excessive amount of volunteers time. Match fees are therefore going to be collected before the game and anybody who found themselves two weeks in arrears would NOT be eligible for selection until their debt was paid back to the club.

Currently, the club has reserves of around £30,000. We need to see this reach at least £60,000 and ideally close to a six figure sum by the time of pitch renewal. It is far easier to prepare ourselves now that enter panic mode in five years time. We will therefore have to keep very close scrutiny of our financial state as each season progresses. Any fundraising ideas and activities are warmly welcomed and can be done under the charity banner of the Bedford Sports Foundation.

Despite that cautionary note, can I wish you all a thoroughly enjoyable and successful season and I look forward to meeting you all as the season progresses.