Pre Season Age Group - Key Comms

East Area League - Ali Wardale acting - East Area Junior Chair aliwardale@aol.com

Charlie Farrow charlie.farrow@englandhockey.co.uk

Please see below an entry form for the East Area Junior Club Leagues for the forthcoming season.

https://forms.office.com/e/FChG7VEcPp

Please complete by Sunday 18^th August.

Proposed format - We are planning Area leagues at 11 a side for girls’ and boys’ teams at u14 Tier 1 and u16 and u14 at Tier 2 and for those seeking a slightly more competitive version, u12 boys and girls Tier1. Note u16 Tier 1 is run by England Hockey.

Teams will be placed a cluster group typically of 4 to 6 teams. Matches are likely to played either as single fixtures or as triangles, with matches will be 25 minutes each way. Format will be discussed at a planning meeting pre-season, see below.

Tiers – Club are strongly encouraged to enter Tier 1 if you can, as we have found previously that some teams entered Tier 2 were very capable of playing at the higher tier. 

Dates – allocated on centralised calendar. - https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/competitions-and-events/centralised-calendar Please check these dates carefully and use the key tab that explains what the different names used mean. Area Leagues as shown below. It might be that we dint use all dates allocated as it will depend on entries and final format. . 

T1-T2 Club Lge

This is in local/county/Area league activity where lower tiers may also be run

Planning meeting - We are planning a preseason meeting at 7pm on Monday 9^th September via Video call. Please save the date.

League administration – With Sue Owen stepping down East Area are seeking to appoint a new league administrator. This is a part time / contracted paid role. See attached JD. Please share this with interested parties.

 Queries to: Ali Wardale acting - East Area Junior Chair aliwardale@aol.com

Jane Jelly junior.competitions@englandhockey.co.uk

Email 2 August 2024 - entry deadline 27 August

Dear All

Entries to the Junior Club Championships for 2024-25 are now open. 

In both genders, the age groups remain Under 18 (BU18 / GU18), Under 16 (BU16 / GU16) and Under 14 (BU14 / GU14).

The new Boys and Girls U16 Tier 1 competition which we introduced last season will run in the same format. This combines the Tier 1 Supra Leagues and Tier 1 knockout competitions run previously. The competition is aimed at strong junior teams, clubs should consider if it is the right competition for them, as an alternative, teams can enter into the U16 Tier 2 Championship and Plate competition. Teams either play Tier 1 or Tier 2.

In the U14s and U18s Teams will be able to enter at either Tier 1 or Tier 2 – the Tier they enter must be the same Tier at which they play in the Area Leagues. There will then be a Plate for each Tiered Championship, which will allow early round losers a second opportunity to embark on a cup run and try and reach a national final and gives teams a minimum of two games. Clubs may enter more than one team into the competitions but players can only play in one team per age group.

Areas also run local league competitions at different Tiers. If you are unsure who to contact about your Area please email me.

In 2025 we will again run U14 Tier 1 Supra Leagues based on qualifiers from Area Tier 1 leagues run between September and December.

Please use this link to enter your teams. The closing date for entry into the U16T1 championships is 27 August 2024, the closing date for all other Championships is 4 September 2024.

 You can find more info on our website, including the dates, regulations for 2024-25 and a summary of changes to these. See https://www.englandhockey.co.uk/competitions-and-events/championships/england-hockey-junior-club-championships/junior-club-championships

Thank you and any queries please let me know.

Regards

Jane Jelley