1 July 2012

Please note: this news article is in our archive. Articles were correct at time of publication, but should not be relied on for accuracy after the passage of time.

The EHL is Europe’s premier club hockey tournament and East Grinstead Hockey Club has been competing in this event since October 2008, thanks to consistently strong performances in the English Premier League by the Men’s 1st XI. The competition is for the best 24 teams in Europe and is hockey’s equivalent of the Champions League, but instead of running matches at home and away throughout the season, it is arranged across four long weekends. In October / November each year, the qualifying teams are divided into two groups of 12 and each group competes on a league basis in rounds 1.1 and 1.2 at two different venues. These two “mini tournaments” eliminate four teams each and the resulting 16 teams then compete on a knockout basis over the following Easter weekend – firstly as “KO16”, then as “KO8”. The Final Four then play in the Semi-finals and Final in May.

The EGHC Committee has considered very carefully whether we could host one of the first rounds and we have decided to commit to doing so during this Olympic Year. We are planning to host Round 1.2 on the weekend of October 26th to 28th. We feel this is an ideal time for the Euro Hockey League to make it’s debut appearance in England, with the boost that hockey’s profile will receive during the 2012 Games. We also think the EHL presents a fantastic opportunity to bring the many strands of our family Club together.

The Committee has put a team in place to make this happen, but we will also need a large number of club volunteers between now and the end of October to help our plans come to fruition. We will be posting details of the volunteer roles on the website very soon, but if you would like to find out more about this now, please email EGHC_Grinner@Live.com.