Uddingston Hockey Club wins EHF Large Club of the Year

Uddingston Hockey Club has won the EHF Large Club of the Year for 2022, a tremendous achievement for the club who previously won Small Club of the Year in 2015.

The award is a huge success for hockey in Scotland as the details of the nomination stood out against some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Uddingston Hockey Club’s support for the local community was a huge factor in winning the award, and the sheer variety of projects the club runs, on and off the pitch, for the community.

The club is committed to being a high performing club that lives in the heart of its community and works as a hub for those living in the local area. This has prompted a string of initiatives, which have burst into life in the last two years.

Uddingston is working with local community partners on projects such as the Men’s Shed to help tackle men’s mental health and give a positive space for the local community to come. They have donated land and resources at the club to this project and it’s a well-used facility.

With the Bothwell/Uddingston action group, the club participates in food bank deliveries. In conjunction with the Harvest Church Group, they provide six weeks of hockey, food and transport for a local church group working with disadvantaged youngsters which will run every year.

As part of the South Lanarkshire active schools initiative, the club brings hockey to over 250 kids a week with all costs absorbed by the club. They are working with active schools to identify barriers for children participation in sport and break them down.

Another initiative focuses on children from with the Women’s Aid Service project, offering hockey sessions and services to children within the school holiday period to provide respite for women who need to focus on their own needs as well as their children.

Walking Hockey is offered, providing a physical and emotional support to a group less mobile while to help with the current financial crisis, the club host a “kit bank” where people can bring their unwanted sticks, shoes and kit and offer these out for free to people who might need them.

Supporting this range of ideas requires big volunteer support which Uddingston nurtures through a volunteer reward scheme, giving credit for every hour they help out; this credit can be spent within the club structure.

The club also partnered with Scottish Hockey to deliver the Men’s EuroHockey Qualifier D during the summer, with the tournament held at Uddingston’s newly upgraded facility.

That success was evident in the supporting statement of Scottish Hockey in its application form for this award, stating: “The biggest success for the club has been the number of external partners they have cultivated across Scotland and beyond to help them drive their projects. They have in excess of 15 partner organisations they work with to bring together the projects they currently run.

“This has meant an increased profile for the club which has led to benefits in the local community but being chosen to work with Scottish Hockey to host the recent EuroHockey qualifiers to great success and domestically becoming a Gold accredited club with both Scottish hockey and sportscotland.”

Scottish Hockey Regional Development Manager Kelly Fillingham added: “Having worked with Uddingston hockey club for the last two years, I have seen first-hand the tireless work the club put into all their projects to develop as a club both on and off the pitch.

“They work to offer a space for the entire community to come together with the club at the heart of that. They have developed a world class facility for their hockey teams but, bigger than that, they have become a standard bearer for what can be achieved if we look beyond the pitch and engage in the community around us.”

Uddingston Hockey Club President, Allan McGill commented “the club is simply delighted to have been awarded this award, particularly after winning European Small Club of the Year in 2015, which even then was a major achievement for the club”.

“From the win in 2015 we have continued to develop the club with a particular focus on community engagement, and youth development, as we felt this was key to the long term sustainability of the club as a whole.”

As winners of the EuroHockey Club of the Year, Uddingston will receive €1,000, an EHF Club of the Year Pennant and a VIP visit by a EuroHockey ambassador to present the awards.

Harry Dunlop and Emma Little of Uddingston Hockey Club

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