Welcome back to the new season at Bowdon Hockey Club! We’d like to firstly thank you for all the support you have shown since we were all thrown into the challenges of COVID-19. The abrupt end of the season meant we lost the chance to properly finalise our season, but we have been so proud to have been – to our knowledge – the first club in the North to restart hockey, providing small group training sessions for all ages, as well as running our Academy. We are very grateful to the many volunteers and coaches who have worked so hard to put all these in place.
KEEPING BOWDON COVID-19 SAFE
This season is going to be different, but we hope that with continued support, we can get all our Juniors on the pitch as much as possible and enjoy a great season. You do need to be aware of the challenges we are operating in – and appreciate your support for all volunteers trying to ensure we maximise all hockey play despite these:
• We have to operate with a cap on pitch numbers at training and matches, which means training sessions are having to be limited or altered for the time being.
• Publicly owned school pitches used for hockey are limited in access, which is likely to have an impact on the number of matches that can be held at weekends.
• We must follow strict guidance in and around the pitch and are held accountable to England Hockey to do this.
• We must take a register of EVERY player and volunteer in and around the pitch, collate this and send it to England Hockey for central track and trace within 24 hours.
• Every time a player attends training or a match, they will be asked if they or a family member has symptoms or has a reason to be isolating. They will also be asked if they have their own hand sanitiser and first aid kit with them.
• Spectators will not be able to watch training sessions and may be limited at matches. They MUST socially distance at all times at the club.
• We cannot offer to lend equipment, provide First Aid or share lifts in the way we normally would so each player must bring their own.
Please support us with the implementation of this and get in touch if you could help with overseeing the guidance is adhered to by your team. You can find more about the guidance on our website. If anyone in your family has a positive COVID-19 test, please notify our COVID-19 Officer and follow NHS guidance regarding self-isolation.
REGISTRATION
All players MUST be registered on ClubBuzz before they train or play, and this year, must ALSO have completed the England Hockey COVID Participation Declaration (link below under ‘ACTIONS FROM YOU’).
We are currently close to full capacity for Junior members and have now established waiting lists for some year groups. Therefore we really appreciate your support in confirming your membership and if you decide your player cannot or does not want to continue, please advise us ASAP so we can remove you from the ClubBuzz membership and finance database and offer a place to someone on the waiting list. Of course, some training times and matches may be difficult, but as long as you keep us updated, we are happy to be as flexible as possible about the extent your child plays.
Please bear with the coaches while they get to know all players and support them and managers as much as possible. We believe that all players will have great opportunities to play due to the variety of tournaments/leagues we have entered and the priority is that they enjoy playing and keep learning. Please note that if you want your child to play in matches, they really need to commit to home AND away fixtures as much as possible. If your player is NOT available, please be proactive by flagging in advance when your child can’t play on their profile on ClubBuzz (instructions on our FAQ link under ‘ACTIONS FROM YOU’). We have a large number of players who would be keen to play if not, and our volunteers don’t have the time to waste checking and chasing!
FEES
COVID-19 has thrown a few curve-balls, it’s fair to say, and that includes to our income. However, due to the immense efforts of some volunteers and our coaches, our summer small-group training sessions and Academy have just about kept us afloat. We have had to account for additional coach input, COVID-related outgoings and losses and have also benchmarked with other clubs in our review so we can minimise increase. Differences in our Minis and Bears sections relate to the need to make our income predictable and avoid cash, but we believe they remain fair.
All payments this season will be collected via ClubBuzz and we appreciate your quick attention to payment matters. Please remember that everyone dealing with hockey administration is a volunteer and chasing payments incurs a huge amount of time.
BOWDON MINIS (RECEPTION – YEAR 3)
(No Bowdon Cricket Hockey & Squash Club membership fees)
Annual Hockey Section fee: £240
Half-termly payments of £42 covering 6 weeks (£7 per week) or one-off payment of £240 p/a
Assumes participation over 36 weeks September – July, including half terms
BOWDON BEARS (YEARS 4-6)
(Separate Bowdon Cricket Hockey & Squash Club membership*: £41 p/a)
Annual Hockey Section fees: £240
Annual payment of £240 or five consecutive D/D payments of £48 from 1 October
PLUS up to 10 external match fees as played of £4/match
Assumes participation over 36 weeks September – July, including half terms
SETTING UP AND MAKING PAYMENTS FOR MINIS AND BEARS
Bowdon Minis and Bears Hockey Section (Reception – Year 6)
– On the 15th of each month, ClubBuzz will email you a fee statement.
– You will need to log into your child’s ClubBuzz account to open this link. Within the statement, on the bottom right, there is a blue ‘Pay With New Card’ button, which will allow you to make payment via debit or credit card. Alternatively, you can set up a direct debit mandate following the process outlined for Bowdon Juniors in school years 7-13 below.
– For Bowdon Minis, charges of £42 will automatically be applied half-termly from 15 September, but should you wish to commit to the whole season till July 2021, please get in touch via Sunday Juniors and we will amend your child’s statement to £240 for the full season – a £12 saving compared with instalments. Payment must be made as soon as possible to guarantee your child’s place at the sessions. If you decide to take a break from hockey after a particular half term, please let us know via email to Sunday Juniors so that we can update our records accordingly. You’d always be welcomed back!
– For Bowdon Bears, charges will be applied from October following the same process that is outlined below for Bowdon Juniors (except that the annual fee is £240 as sessions continue through to July, payable either as a single sum upfront or in 5 instalments of £48 without an administrative surcharge).
Please contact Heike Addiscott if you have any questions on the payment process or the setting payment preferences.
BOWDON JUNIORS (YEARS 7-13)
(Separate Bowdon Cricket Hockey & Squash Club membership*: £51 p/a)
Annual Hockey Section fee: £120 as a single sum or five consecutive D/D payments of £25.50 (including a £1.50 instalment surcharge) from 1 October
PLUS match fees as played of £5 per match, also charged via ClubBuzz (reduced due to no match teas)
SETTING UP AND MAKING PAYMENTS FOR BOWDON JUNIORS (YEARS 7-13)
The Annual Junior Hockey Fee applies to all players in school years 7-13, even if they are members of senior teams, and will be added to their ClubBuzz accounts in early October. All players in years 7-13 must have their payment plans set up before selection for competitive play and anyone managing their own ClubBuzz emails needs to discuss the fees with their parents before deciding to play!
Between now and 28 September, please take a few minutes to choose your payment preferences within ClubBuzz to indicate whether you wish to pay in one single sum or in five instalments over the course of the season:
– Log into the player’s member profile on the Bowdon Hockey Club Buzz website.
– Click on ‘My Account’ in the menu on the lower left-hand side of the screen.
– On the right, under ‘Account Settings’, select the blue ‘Edit Settings’ dialogue box, setting your ‘Pay Subs Monthly’ category to one of the following two options:
1) To pay the Annual Junior Hockey Fee of £120 in five instalments (a surcharge of £1.50 per instalment is applied by the system), set ‘Pay Subs Monthly’ to ‘YES’ by ensuring that the corresponding box is ticked.
OR
2) To pay the Annual Junior Hockey Fee of £120 in full as one single payment, set ‘Pay Subs Monthly’ to ‘NO’ by unchecking the corresponding tick box.
Activate your GoCardless direct debit mandate in the next step (this will set the direct debit activation status under ‘Account Settings’ to ‘YES’). To finish, press the green ‘Update Settings’ button at the bottom right of the screen.
You will receive an email statement on 15 October, with direct debit payments being collected via GoCardless around 1 November (GoCardless will issue an email notification 3 days prior to a payment being taken). Please contact Heike Addiscott for any questions on payment options or the GoCardless direct debit payment process.
*Remember that membership fees for the Bowdon Cricket Hockey & Squash Club are due separately and will be requested directly by the Club office on 1 October. For anyone who already is a Club member through the Cricket or Squash section, no additional fee payment is due as all three sports are part of their membership. To view the fee structure, visit the Club website or for any queries, contact them via email here.
TRAINING
Invitations will be issued to you for the relevant training time via ClubBuzz, as part of our COVID protocol. Training will commence as follows from Sunday, 6 September:
BOWDON MINIS & BEARS
Reception, Year 1 & 2: Sundays, 9 – 10am
Year 3 & 4: Sundays, 10.15 – 11.15am
Years 5 & 6: Sundays, 11.30am – 12.30pm
BOWDON BEARS
Years 4-6: Fridays, 5 – 6.30pm (until Easter)
(Emphasis on Fridays is on match play; AS WE CANNOT USE BIBS DUE TO COVID REGULATIONS, CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD HAS A DARK AND LIGHT TOP WITH THEM EVERY WEEK TO MAKE GAMES EASIER)
BADGERS
Mondays, 5 – 6.15pm
BEAVERS
Thursdays, 5 – 6.15pm
England Hockey Cup training TBC
Our Training page will be kept updated will all training times. Further information on teams, fixtures, dates etc. will be available here (please select the team you are looking for from the ‘Meet the Teams’ section at the top).
KIT
Kit can be ordered from Playerlayer – delivery can take up to four weeks (shirt numbers can also be added to orders free of charge). We also have a ‘Preloved Kit Kiosk’ at the Club, which we will restart as soon as the COVID-19 situation allows us to do so safely.
SHIRT NUMBERS
Players aged 13 and over will need to apply for a shirt number if they are going to play in Senior teams or in the EH Cup team. If they don’t already have, please click here to request one. We will need the player’s name, gender and age. Further information about number printing will be available on the club website or when you order your number.
ACTIONS FROM YOU
• Log into your Club Buzz account and ensure that all contact details, medical information are up to date; we must have email addresses on there for whoever is responsible for paying fees. Take a look at our ClubBuzz FAQs to answer questions on password resets, payment preferences and setting up omissions.
• Ensure you have completed the England Hockey COVID-19 Participation Declaration
• Log into your child’s ClubBuzz account to choose your payment options (annual or instalments) and set up your Hockey section fee payments before 28 September 2020. Anyone not set up will not be selected for matches.
• Contact [email protected] if you could be added to a rota for ‘COVID gatekeeping’ -tracking attendance at either training or match sessions or generally supporting your team with supervision during this time.
• Consider if you may have any skills you could offer, even ad-hoc: umpiring, photography, match write-ups, team co-ordination, technology, sponsorship etc. Please email [email protected] if you think you could help in any way.
Thank you for your patience and understanding!
FOR ADDITIONAL MEMBER INFORMATION, CHECK OUT THE MEMBERS’ AREA.