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There was much to celebrate at the England Hockey Board Annual Awards on Saturday as the best of hockey was recognised at a special lunchtime ceremony. In all, 16 awards were presented at the lunch, held as part of the Investec London Cup in Chiswick, with honours covering everything from coaching and umpiring, to clubs, teams, athletes and administrators.  Notts representatives were proud to receive two of the most prestigious;

Harvester Club of the Season

Beeston Hockey Club, Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire club Beeston picked up the top award for hockey clubs at the end of yet another successful season. The efforts of members and volunteers have seen Beeston rise to a position as one of the country’s top hockey clubs. The first club to receive ClubsFirst accreditation for a third time, Beeston has enjoyed success on the pitch across its men’s, women’s and junior programmes, both indoors and out. Recently, Beeston has developed its own in-house coaching manual and development programme. Its success has come in part due to its ability to encourage current and former players to get involved in all aspects of the club, including a ‘Beeston Breakfast, on Sunday morning for the parents of junior players. The club has worked tirelessly to strengthen its links to schools and universities in the area and continues to grow.

Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Hockey. supported by DCS Europe

Martin Gotheridge

Martin Gotheridge was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for Services for Hockey. To date, Martin’s distinguished career in hockey has spanned 53 years and taken him from his first club in Nottinghamshire to the top positions in English and European Hockey.

With a CV described by EHB Executive Chairman Philip Kimberley as “simply glittering”, Martin first started playing at West Bridgford, going on to captain the 1st XI before becoming Secretary and President. In between, he enjoyed a playing stint at University College London while studying law.

Eight years as Secretary of Nottinghamshire County Hockey Association and an incredible 32 years on the Midlands league committee followed before national appointments, including as Chairman of the old Hockey Association’s competitions committee, where he oversaw the introduction of the National League.

When not serving hockey through his work on committees, Martin took up umpiring and officiated at National League level. As a Technical Official and Tournament Director, he was appointed to major international tournaments across the world between 1990 and 2003. He served the European Hockey Federation’s club championship committee in the late 1980s and moved on the European Competitions Committee, which he chaired from 1998. He became a member of the European Federation’s Executive Board in 1993 and joined the International Hockey Federation’s competitions committee in 1999.

Of all his achievements in hockey, undoubtedly his most significant came following the bankruptcy of the old English Hockey Association in 2002. Martin was heavily involved in the drafting of the constitution to set up the new national governing body, work that enabled the EHB to become what it is today. In its new guise, Martin chaired the governing body’s Regional Consultative Committee from 2003-2005 and became President of England Hockey in 2005 before standing down in 2009.

During this time Martin served as Vice President of the European Hockey Federation (EHF) before becoming the first ever British President of the EHF, serving between 2008 and 2011. This summer, Martin will continue to support the international federation on the Jury of Appeal at the Olympic Games in London.