The Club of The Year Award is the most coveted and sought-after award within TeamAber. This is awarded to the most successful, committed, and active club of the past academic year. There were many strong contenders for this award, with numerous clubs going above and beyond to provide opportunities for their members, support for the local community and support for the TeamAber Family.
Men’s Hockey, the winners of this year’s award, demonstrated their deservingness throughout the duration of the past year, also winning ‘Club of the Month’ in November. They have worked incredibly hard this year to be inclusive, advance social issues and support local charitable causes.
Last season, the club often struggled to field a team, barely scraping together the numbers needed for a fixture. It is a very different story this year; the club is often praised for its inclusivity and has more than doubled their membership base. The club have been extremely active on their social media platforms; every post has been bilingual, are informative and regularly updated with the clubs most recent activities. New this year, the club entered the local league, as well as competing in the BUCS league they have been involved in for several years.
‘One of the main reasons men’s hockey deserves to win is the monumental turn around the club has had from last year. From almost not being able to field a team, the club has doubled in size, and retained most of the members that joined at the start of the year. This is credit to the wonderful and accepting family that hockey is. In joining this club I’ve made friends for life, and memories I’ll never forget. Hockey has truly been a highlight of my university experience.’ – Anonymous Nominator
The club had a great season in both their BUCS league and in the local Saturday League De Cymru 3. The club defied their own expectations, finishing a very creditable 4th place in the BUCS league after ‘they did the double over Royal Agriculture and put an outrageous shift against Cardiff University.’
Without a doubt, a highlight of the club’s year was their performance in the local league. They remained undefeated, completing the season with over 150 goals, and securing a promotion going into next season! An excellent debut for the team in the local league, and without doubt, a great achievement.
Men’s Hockey have worked closely with the community throughout the year, both through fundraising efforts and encouraging young talent whilst also providing them with opportunities to play in a competitive environment. The club have really strengthened and built on their relationships within the community. Not only has their participation in the league has allowed them to create relationships with clubs from across Wales (e.g. Gwent, Dysynni and Carmarthen), which will continue in the future, but they have given school children the opportunity to play in this league. Sharing opportunities and their passion for this sport has positively benefitted the performance and confidence of both members and locals alike.
‘Since I have been involved with the Men’s Hockey team, I have been incredibly impressed with how welcoming the Club and its officials have been to all who play hockey. Not only to Uni players (which one could argue they have a vested interest in), but to the local community as well. It may not be well known within the University, but the Club goes out of its way to coach, officiate and invite players to train with them from the local schools and Bow Street Junior Hockey Club. Despite not being Uni students, those individuals still felt they belonged. They were respected and coached as a member of the hockey community.’ – Anonymous Nominator.
The Hockey Club worked closely with other clubs, to collaboratively raise a total of £4,000 for Mind Aberystwyth over the course of the year. This is a charity that several sports clubs identified as providing an important service to students early on in the year, and together wanted to raise awareness of its importance and help support the charity. Moreover, the club have often volunteered at the Jubilee Store House, serving, and distributing food, and donating to the charity.
The club is often highlighted for its inclusivity, and this year they put an emphasis on raising awareness of LGBTQ+ members in sport. The club encouraged members to wear rainbow laces to demonstrate their support of the LGBTQ+ community, and worked with ‘Stonewall’ who work to create inclusive and accepting cultures, ensuring institutions understand and value the huge benefits that they bring.
‘When I arrived in Aberystwyth, I realised that this was not spoken about at all, and I knew no male athletes who were open about their sexuality. Since AUMHC have teamed up with Stonewall, and participated in their rainbow campaign, I have had countless people (from all different sports clubs) who have told me they have felt scared to ‘reveal’ their sexuality until they saw what AUMHC were doing. I believe that this not only changed the preconceived ideas that students may have abourt sexuality and sport, but has inspired those to be confident in their own bodies and be proud of who they are. Without trying to sound too biased, I am extremely proud of AUMHC for raising awareness within the LGBTQ+ community’ – Anonymous Nominator.
The club are also continuing to develop and are providing opportunities to their members through umpiring and coaching courses. Over twenty members have attended these courses and gained qualifications over the past year, not only benefiting the club but supporting the Women’s Team with their fixture requirements and improving hockey across Mid-Wales.
‘The club have put a record numbers of umpires through their assessments, with many of them set to become fully qualified, once this pandemic year is over!’ – Anonymous Nominator.
Men’s Hockey have well and truly gone above and beyond this year. They have faced challenges, such as the removal of the campus astro turf, which has required them to travel to Lampeter for all their ‘home’ fixtures. The club has been working hard to resolve this challenge, meeting regularly with Hockey Wales and attending conferences in London and Lampeter. They have even set out a development plan for the next five years to ensure the ‘successful operating of the club in the future’.
Many of the nominations highlighted the club’s achievements throughout the year and credited the hard work of one member in particular, Luke Archer (President). ‘The welcome and inclusive approach shown by the Club was a credit to the Club and its officials. The kindred spirt, on field success and charitable achievements (especially for Mind) have been tremendous, and in no small measure down to Luke’s leadership.’ The progression and developments the club has achieved this year have been outstanding, and are testament to Luke’s leadership, motivation and inspiration.
Congratulations Men’s Hockey! You are very deserving winners of the ‘Club of the Year’ Award 2020!
