HNNL June 2005 page 4
Sports
HOOK NORTON NETBALL CLUB
Welcome to a new sports club on the recently built Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA)! This facility was opened in 2004 and cost £48,000 to build. Funding was provided through Sport England, Cherwell District Council and Hook Norton Sports & Social Club (HNSSC) fund raising. The main aim of Hook Norton Sports Project is to make more sports available to more people and to enable participation at a level suitable to their ability and potential. New sports are an essential element of the Sports Project objectives, hence a new Netball Club.
The initial sessions have been supported by qualified coaches Louisa White and from CDC Sports Development Team. During this period we have been able to gauge the level of interest and ability to enable us to form a Club officially, which we hope will consist of a junior/youth section, social players and a league team. At this time the Club will need to form a Committee and become affiliated to the All England Netball Association.
Sessions are Wednesdays weekly, 8 - 9 pm and the cost is £3 per session for adults and U18 £1 per session, payable on a weekly basis. This payment entitles you to temporary membership of HNSSC for the evening, if you are not already a member, and provides you with personal injury insurance cover.
Please ensure that you wear footwear and clothing suitable for the AstroTurf surface.
In the meantime, if you would like further information please contact Rebecca Watts or Andrea Rolls
HOOK NORTON TENNIS CLUB – MAY, 2005
Junior section
Wimbledon is just around the corner, so any budding Tim Henmans and Maria Sharapova's can think about sharpening their skills with Club Coach Gareth Jones!
Summer term-time coaching is already underway, but there are spaces available.
These sessions take place after school on Tuesday and Thursdays and on Saturday mornings – for children aged from 5 – 15. Saturday mornings include Junior Matchplay from 11.30 to 1.00 and is a great way for young players to develop their game skills, learn the rules of tennis and experience competition.
During the Summer holidays there will be a series of three 3-day courses. The first is from July 26th – 28th – for Beginners and Improvers, followed by another similar course from August 2nd –4th. The final session from August 9th – 11th will be a Performance Challenge.
The Junior Club Championship will be held on July 2nd and is open to Hook Norton tennis Club members. Joining the Club entitles you to a free T-shirt and reduced cost of coaching sessions, as well as playing in teams against other Clubs Membership fees are: £10.00 for Juniors up to 12yrs and £22.00 for ages 12 – 19.
For all Coaching details please contact Club Coach, Gareth Jones.
For membership details, please contact Richard Blencowe.
Senior section
Ladies coaching group sessions will be on Fridays 9.30 – 11.00 a.m, cost is £3.00 for members and £4.00 for non-members. Gareth is also on hand to give advice to Club Members from 7-8p.m on Tuesday evening Club Nights.
Future events include a Mixed Doubles Tournament on Sunday August 7th in aid of the Katherine House Hospice. . It will take the form of a Round Robin played at local, private courts, followed by Finals and a barbecue at the Club. Entry fees are £15.00 per player, you may enter singly and a partner will be found. The tournament is being run by Dr. Harris, please contact Diana Spitzley if you would like to enter.
There will also be a Fun Mixed Doubles Tournament at the Club in mid-September.
Finally, the Practice Wall is now complete and is a great facility to improve your tennis - being a very obstinate opponent!!
HOOK NORTON SENIOR FOOTBALL SECTION
In terms of silverware that was won or, more accurately, not won, Season 04/05
could be considered to have been totally unsuccessful for Hook Norton Senior Football Section. In other ways, however, it has been a roaring success and, as I write this article in the middle of May, I am truly filled with a feeling of great excitement and optimism for the future of our super village club.
The First Team finished in a respectable mid table position in Division 1 (West) of the Hellenic League, whilst the Second Team, despite some very creditable performances by a largely very young and inexperienced squad, ended the season as 'Basement Boys'in Division 2 (West) of the same League. At the End of Season Presentations' Evening, the main honours went primarily to two players: Richard Northover and 16 years' old Bill Johnson. Richard was, by far and away, the Club's top scorer and his award was thoroughly deserved, not only for his ability to hit the back of the net with great regularity but also for his total commitment and loyalty to the Club over the past 3 years, during which time he has matured as a player by leaps and bounds, and for his willingness to travel down from university in London for every match, often without having the time to visit home! Bill, on the other hand, epitomises and gives ample justification to the Club's investment in nurturing and bringing on local talent; he has served both the Second Team and the First Team exceedingly well and, without a shadow of doubt, has an extremely bright future ahead of him as a brave and gifted 'shot stopper'.
The Senior Football Section, in association with the Junior Football Section, with which it has merged over the past 12 months, has now created a firm structure for the development of the game in Hook Norton and its catchment area and there is now an excited air of expectation among the sport loving section of our community and among those who realise how important the promotion of sport is for establishing good character forming habits, especially among our young people, as we prepare to 'kick on' for further success and achievement that can only bode well for the village and its surrounding area as a whole. That is why the facilities for which we are now seeking to get planning permission are so vital and our hope is that we can convince yet more people, even those who are not sport-loving, to see it our way. Football has been a way of life in Hooky for over 100 years and all we are seeking to do is to maintain that tradition and, where needed, improve upon it for current and future generations who are, and will be the life blood of this marvellous community of ours.
If we are allowed to provide these facilities, and I earnestly hope we are, then we promise to use them prudently and with sensitivity towards those around us. By the time that I write my next article, we should know the Council's decision and upon that decision will rest the future, not only of the Football Section, but also of the whole of the Sports and Social Club to which that section and the other sporting and social sections are affiliated.
Finally, we thank our Management Team of Anton, Ben, Adrian and Mark for their unstinting efforts over the past season. They have served the Football Section, the Sports and Social Club and the village with a great sense of loyalty and dedication. Sadly, we say 'Good Bye' to Anton who is moving with his family to Spain, but we look forward to the continuing services of Ben, Adrian and new Second Team Manager and local school teacher, Phil Jacobs. Cheers for now!
Geoff 'Jesse' James