As I am sure the dates speak for themselves, COVID was a particular annoyance early on. However, during that bizarre time it essentially gave me the paid leave to work full time for Bolton Hockey Club. During which a full overhaul of the club policies, procedures, structures and planning.

I approached it with my England Hockey head on at the time having recently left the organisation and implemented the “club strategy” into working practice at Bolton Hockey Club. This allowed us to focus on key themes / strands - facilities, people and playing opportunities.

Some might remember the previous ZOOM AGM with colour coordinated slides for each strand, and anyone who looks at the clubs GDrive will see the same theming!!!

We have been successful in implementing new procedures around finance, membership and payment systems, and most obviously in facilities.

There was, and still is plenty to do…

It was with that long term planning that I tried to bring my previous experience into the role of President, we as a committee attempted to differentiate and structure the roles of Chair and President clearly, possibly where they had not been previously.
With the Chair driving the club on an operational level, looking at the day-to-day for the season, and the President looking more strategically at the long-term objective of the club.

It is my opinion and view that as a current custodian, you should care immensely for what you are looking after, understand its importance and where possible leave it in a better place than you found it.

I believe (whether others do or not) that in some aspects the club is in a better place than it was in 2018, having battled through an unprecedented time for people individually, and for sports clubs where some did not make it and have fallen by the wayside or are still struggling to field teams.

However, I feel that we as a club are at a tipping point, and it needs clear structure, guidance, time and care to ensure that we continue to survive, and more importantly, move towards thriving again.

I unfortunately do not have one of those key elements, and that is time. I care and love this club so much that I do not want to sit back and block progress at such an important junction for the sake of a title, and this is my reasoning for stepping away at this point. I have made myself available to the current and any future committee to support in whatever guise they deem fit, but this is such an important time for the club that it needs someone who can commit themselves fully and give the role the time and commitment required.

As mentioned if feels that the club is at a tipping point, and we - collectively, need to decide what we want Bolton Hockey Club to be…and ultimately if we want it to survive.

For the last few years I have sat and talked about the importance of volunteers, but also the importance of the players to make this club work. And I reiterate again the important part every single person plays in keeping this club going, everyone has a part to play.

I am sure Meach will provide further details regarding the movements being made by England Hockey and the knock on effects this will have on the club, and also individually as players. It would appear that the governance of the sport, the areas and ultimately the leagues will cause clubs to fall in line.

As ever we are competing against other sports, there will be headaches around attracting and retaining players, the need for bigger squads, fielding teams, giving players opportunities at the right level at the right time, transitioning juniors to seniors, developing umpires, supporting coaches, volunteer numbers, people paying subs on time, utilising facilities, maintaining our current pitch, finding a social space, improving our socials, interacting more as one club not sections, bringing people together, recognising achievements, updating social media, increases in costs, changes of rules, travelling times, kit and equipment, insurance for balls flying over fences…I could go on

And that’s before we even look at where we want to be in 5 years - growing the player base, expanding the competitions we enter, going on tours, having a stand put in, working with other clubs locally, ensuring our relationship with Bolton School continues and grows, to mention a few things

Ultimately, I think it is extremely important that people understand that this is OUR CLUB, we all need to work together, contribute in some way, and support each other to make sure it continues

Finally, I’d like to thank all the committee members, current and past over the last few years, and the future ones we’re about to find out about - good luck, I hope this hasn’t put you off, but you know where I am :)

In Summary - I love this club, it will always be my club, and we can make it awesome, I hope you all agree and think the same! Let’s go make it epic!!!