Caradon Hockey Club had a slightly further trip than many of their away games this season, travelling to Leicester to attend the England Hockey Awards Dinner as a nominee and returned to the county as national winners.

Following on from their Adult Club of the Year success at the Cornwall Sport Partnership Awards in November, the Liskeard based club were shortlisted in the Club of the Year category but this time facing nine long established and large national hockey clubs such as Hampstead & Westminster, Holcombe and Bishop’s Stortford to name a few.

Taking place at the Athena in the city centre, the black-tie event featured award categories for umpires, teams and coaches, as guests rubbed shoulders with TeamGB and England players, including a number of the Olympic gold medal winning women’s team and their coach Danny Kerry who was a nominee himself. Caradon received a special mention at the start of the evening for being the furthest travelled attendees, a special round of applause from the room for their 500 plus mile round trip to represent their Club.
Following a three-course dinner the awards began, hearing some truly inspirational stories it was a fascinating insight into how hockey has become more and more popular following the golden success in Rio.

The Club of the Year Award was the last category of the night, and despite their own confidence, Caradon knew that whatever the outcome to be shortlisted and recognised on a national level was a mile stone accomplishment. Their success with the Women’s 1st and 2nd teams winning both the Cornwall County Cup and Cornwall County Plate, the U12 Boys representing their Club and County at the South West Regional Finals and rising membership numbers across all ages and levels to become the biggest Club in Cornwall were already impressive achievements and statistics.
The nominees were read out, each club receiving a cheer from their respective tables with Caradon making enough noise to be heard back home in Liskeard. The winner was announced and to the surprise and joy of the travelling group, Caradon had won the award. With great pride they walked to the stage to collect the trophy, with kind congratulations from fellow nominees and the hockey family as a whole as they returned to their seats.

A massive achievement for the Cornwall Club, it will help to kick start their 10th anniversary celebrations this year. With ever increasing numbers in the senior, junior and Back2Hockey teams and training sessions, the next 10 years and beyond certainly look positive for Caradon. This accolade will promote the Club on a national level as they continue with their determined aims and objectives for the next chapter, while maintaining their enjoyable and family friendly outlook.  

Photos from the exciting evening can be found in our Gallery section.