Eastcote hosts Annual Hillingdon Borough Junior School Quicksticks Tournament

On Friday 11 November, Eastcote hosted the annual event which took place at the end of the school day on the Eastro. In previous years we have become used to getting wet or cold or very often both. On this occasion, the conditions were positively balmy! Once again we were able to showcase our most important asset - our youngsters. Although I had been given the dubious responsibility of running things on the day, the good news was that I did not have to do very much other than occasionally shout at teams for not being on their correct pitch at the right time ready to start. Other than that, I am pleased to say that other people did all the hard work to ensure once again, this was a tip-top event. Visiting schools came from all ends of the borough and matches were officiated superbly by our Junior Umpires photographed above. Well done to Anisa, Paige, Freya, Adrian, Max, Pat, Mya, Arun, Kaya, Minnie, Ella and Jamie. In the Performance competition, the final standings were as follows: 1st Place - Hermitage from Uxbridge 2nd Place - Glebe from Ickenham 3rd Place - Whiteheath from Ruislip In addition, I would also like to thank the following for being absolute superstars in ensuring I did not have to do too much: Peter for making the pitches and organising the Aspire matches, Sharon for supporting and providing treats for everyone, Lesley for crowd control, Jane as tournament medic, Becci for setting the whole thing up with the schools and finally a special mention to Charlotte and Penny for managing the scores and the standings, a particularly high-pressure job but completed to perfection. We look forward to supporting the borough again next year and hopefully picking up some new talented hockey players in the process. Colin Carter.