It was another successful trip for Hertford Hockey Club juniors with 4 out of 5 teams finishing in medal positions at the 12th United World Games in Klagenfurt am Worthersee, Austria.

In a stunning location and with glorious weather it was Gold, Silver and 2 Bronze.

The young players were amazing - 100% commitment on the pitch despite having to get used to a rather different playing surface (artificial football pitch), impeccable behaviour off pitch and supporting each other throughout the tour. They all came up against some very good teams and showed grit and determination and great sportsmanship.

45 players and 40 coaches and supporters made the trip. The players flew the flag for Great Britain in a breath taking and entertaining opening ceremony, Olympic Style.

The players looked great in their Great Britain kit that was kindly funded by 2 sponsors this year: Bathshop321 an online supplier and manufacturer of bathroom suites and products and LJA MIERS based in St Neots, a converter of rubber and plastics.
Additionally, thank you also to County Cllr Peter Ruffles, St Andrews Division, for contributing through his locality budget.

Team performances

U10 Mixed – The U10's faced a tough group with 2 losses to well drilled German sides, however a tight 2-1 victory over Luxenbourg, with other results going their way, was enough to see them earn a opportunity to play for bronze in the 3rd and 4th place play off. Facing one of the German sides that had convincingly beaten them in the group stages, the players were understandably nervous. The nerves were soon settled with an early goal, which, with determination, they managed to hold on to until full time. The victory was a testament to just how far this young team had progressed over the course of the three days. To a person, the commitment and maturity showed both on and off the pitch made all those involved very proud.

Team Awards
Players Player Will
Coaches Player Robyn

U12 Girls - U12 Girls started the tournament with a 1-0 loss which was unlucky given the amount of chances they created and the opposition having several U14's in their team. Despite the loss they didn't get their heads down and pushed on to grab a 0-0 draw and a 1-0 win in the next 2 games.
This was enough to send the girls through to the finals against the German side TG Worms. The game went all the way to penalty shuffles where the Girls handled the pressure maturely and came away winners with some fine saves from Annie in goal. A well deserved Gold for them all!

Team Award
Players Player Ella
Coaches Player Grace

U14 Girl & U16 Girls - With a squad of 15 the Hertford girls were joined by friends from Royston, Letchworth and Blueharts Clubs. The team arrived excited and a little apprehensive. Both age groups had tough opposition from Hockey nations such as Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, as well as Poltava the Slovakian national champions. The girls despite some injuries early in the tournament to key players battled hard in sweltering conditions, securing Bronze in the U16's group, and advancing through to the U14s semi, losing to a very strong Dutch Hoesksche Waard team, and then unfortunately just missing the medals in a very close 1-0 bronze play off with TIB Berlin – frustratingly the goal came when the Hertford defence stopped after a whistle was blown in the neighbouring football competition. The girls came home having had a great 4 days of hockey and with many memorable moments including the opening ceremony where Hertford HC had a sing off with the Mongolian Basketball team and a Hertford “barmy Army” style supporters group encouraging the other younger teams in there finals.

Team Awards
Players Player Ella Sherring
Parents Player Molly Wright
Coaches Player Monique Gettings

U14 Boy's : Hertford Hockey Club provided 6 of their U12 boys to the German side HC Konstanz as part of the ongoing partnership between the two clubs. Ours boys were delighted to play with the German boys and have the chance to compete against strong sides from Heidelberg and Essen. Whilst they lost more than won, it was great to watch the boys interact and develop as a team over the 3 days even though there was a 4 year age difference between some of the boys.

U12 Boy's : Supplemented by two boys from HC Konstanz, the U12 boys played magnificently in the group stages, qualifying from their group as winners, they faced the well drilled Ascalon team from Mons, Belgium who held them to 0-0 at full time. Tension grew as the penalty shuffles commenced but exceptional goal keeping and 2 goals under extreme pressure took them through to the final. Here they met TG Worms 1st team who had been undefeated all tournament. A very tight game with opportunities at either end saw Worms score in the first half and withstand Hertford pressure to hold on the Gold Medal place, and our U12 boys silver and although initially disappointed, every single boy played beyond expectation.

Team Awards
Players Player Benjy
Coaches Player William Aisbit