Ely City Hockey Club make welcome return to match action amid pandemic with President’s Day fundraiser

It was a welcome return to the pitch for Ely City Hockey Club as past and present players took part in the annual President’s Day tournament.

Although small group training has been running over the last few weeks, the tournament on Saturday, September 12 was the first time matches of any kind had been played since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Matches were spread across the afternoon and all players relished the chance to play again, with the ladies’ legends, ladies’ masters and Ely 2020s battling it out for this year’s ladies’ crown.

The Legends team were keen to extend their three-year winning streak to four successive wins, but the Ely 2020s had other ideas.

Despite registering many attempts on goal, the Legends were unable to score in the deciding match, losing 1-0 courtesy of a short corner five minutes from time.

Two men’s teams played in the tournament in the form of the Old Boys and the President’s team.

Despite many players being unavailable for the event, this failed to take away any rivalry between the sides in two fast-paced matches.

While the Old Boys showed they had not lost any of their skills, it was the President’s team who triumphed.

Martin Brown, vice-chairman of Ely City Hockey Club who organised the day, said: “The day was a great success and it was lovely to welcome back many old faces.

“It was really good to see people playing hockey again and it gave us a chance to practice putting the new Covid regulations into place before the season starts.

“We also raised over £1,100 which was fantastic, and which will be shared between the Motor Neurone Disease Association and the club’s floodlight replacement fund.”

MORE: Hockey: Ely City junior goalies get funding boost for kit Hockey is allowed to continue under the latest government guidelines and in accordance with England Hockey as it moves towards step five of its ‘return to play’ guidance. The East Region Hockey League 2020-21 season are scheduled to start on Saturday, September 26, where Ely will be fielding both men’s and ladies’ teams. Organised team sports including hockey are exempt from the government’s ‘rule of six’, which came into force today (Monday), restricting social gatherings to no more than six people in England, Scotland and Wales. The club welcomes players, coaches and umpires of any age and ability to attend. If interested and for more information, visit https://www.elycityhockey.org/ or go to the Ely City Hockey Club Facebook page.