South Central Masters is growing

Masters Hockey Continues to Grow

Once again, the profile and participation in Masters Hockey across South Central has continued to increase.

We particularly pleased to report that a South Central team from the former Wessex Supervets Fixtures Alliance has successfully transitioned into the England Hockey South Masters Open – Men's Over 60 South League, providing another excellent opportunity for players to continue competing at a high level.

Personal mention goes to John Ingram-Marriott from Warlocks & Handbags for his tireless efforts in promoting Masters Hockey. His seemingly endless ability to organise fixtures means that opportunities to play are available almost every day of the week, helping to keep players engaged and active throughout the season.

England Hockey Area Tournaments

Disappointingly, for yet another year, South Central was unable to enter a Men's Over 35 team into the England Hockey Area Tournament.

As the natural entry point into Masters Hockey, this remains a vital age group to develop. However, we will continue our efforts to find someone willing to lead this important age group forward.

On a more positive note, under the management and drive of Des Legg, we successfully fielded a full South Central representative side in the Men's Over 75 competition for the first time.

We also enjoyed some outstanding performances across many age groups this season.

A special mention must go to Colin James, manager of our Men's Over 65 squad. Due to circumstances beyond his control, he lost four of his younger players – several of whom are England internationals – to the Over 60 team. Through excellent collaboration with Peter Cowan, he successfully integrated several Over 70 players into the squad without significantly weakening the Over 70 side, who themselves once again secured a silver medal, missing out on gold by just a single point.

2025–26 Area Tournament Results

Women

These are excellent results overall and demonstrate a clear improvement on last year's performances. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Men

Hosting Area Tournaments

Once again, South Central was asked to host two England Hockey Area competitions, although this year they were spread across separate weekends.

• Women's Over 45 Tournament – Basingstoke Hockey Club
• Men's Over 60 Tournament – Bournemouth Hockey Club

Both venues hosted events last year and once again delivered excellent tournaments.

The local organising teams, led by Miranda Smith at Basingstoke and John Stuart at Bournemouth, did a tremendous job in ensuring the events ran smoothly.

Looking ahead, it would be fantastic to see other clubs with two-pitch facilities volunteer to host future tournaments.

Thank You to Our Umpires

None of these events would be possible without the support of our umpiring community.

Once again, David Boyle and the South Central umpiring team delivered outstanding support throughout the season.

A huge thank you to everyone involved for their time, commitment and dedication.

South Central Masters continues to thrive thanks to the efforts of our players, managers, coaches, umpires, volunteers and host clubs. Together, we are ensuring that Masters Hockey remains a vibrant, competitive and enjoyable part of our hockey community.