Sorry for the delay in getting this out but I had to lie in a dark room for a few hours after Sunday's tournament.

First of all I wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone that came and played and represented the club with such enthusiasm. It was so nice to see the girls get their first competitive action of the season in what turned out to be a very successful day.

Turning out three teams is quite an operation and we wouldn’t be able to do this without the kind support of you the parents. A huge thank you to Zoe, Will, Angela, Dominic, Laura and Emily (sorry if I have missed anyone out) who got the teams out with such efficiency. And a big thank you to all the girls that volunteered to go in goal.

As a club I was extremely proud of how the girls applied themselves and got stuck in. It was evident that there was a willingness to compete but also a true sense of camaraderie amongst them.

Over the course of the day we played a total of 15 matches, winning 7, losing 5 and drawing 3. Goals scored 23 and goals conceded 14. With a little more practice our goals scored could have been far higher. There were large parts of the afternoon where Cirencester were camped inside the opposition D, which was hugely positive. A number of girls took knocks but battled on, so many debutant goal scorers and most importantly everyone played their part.

This was the first taster for a large number of girls playing in tournament hockey but also some their first ever game. It was commented on by quite a few how teamwork and general levels of play improved over the afternoon and I couldn’t agree more.

So many positives to take from the day and hopefully it has sparked a greater interest in the game.

A number of parents have asked if they can get a club number so that they can guy their daughter a club shirt. Can you please email ann@ann-hart.co.uk and she will allocate you a club number which you can then pass onto the Stick Club in Cheltenham.

Thank you all once again and see you on Saturday.