Edinburgh University Men's Hockey Club
Edinburgh University Men's Hockey Club is the official men's hockey club for The University of Edinburgh. It currently comprises seven men's teams, which makes it the largest Men's University field hockey club in the United Kingdom, with over 180 active members. Each team plays in regional Saturday league matches across eastern districts of Scotland and the top teams play in the national leagues and central leagues. The 1st – 6th teams participate in extra leagues on a Wednesday afternoon, where they participate in their respective British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) league , playing other universities in Scotland and across the UK. Home games are played at Peffermill playing fields, which are water-based pitches located in southern Edinburgh. Training, which happens on a Thursday evening for the men. These pitches are of an international standard, giving players of all abilities within the club an opportunity to play their best hockey. The hockey club has a vast range of abilities within the club from international players to people who have just started to play the sport. All are welcome and the aim of the club is to not only improve players' abilities within  the sport but to also provide a worthwhile and competitive sport for players to play throughout their university experience. The club is sponsored by Edinburgh University Sports & Exercise, Revolution, Aratac Hockey, Maki & Ramen, Dough, and Bonnie Burrito. Club history. The first mention of Hockey at the university was in 1899 when a notice was published in the Student which read "Would those in favour of starting a Hockey Club in connection with the University kindly forward their names and addresses to the Secretary, Hockey Club, University PO?" One of these founding members was G.M.Melville who although was born in Ireland  he was schooled in England and attended university in Scotland. There is no further mention of the club until 1901 when pitches were secured at Craiglockhart and play commenced. On 18 November that year the University Hockey Club as represented that year at the meeting of clubs in Scotland when it was agreed to form a Scottish Hockey Association and so it would seem that the club was instrumental in starting the Scottish Hockey Union! The first match was played against Dumbarton and it was lost with the rest of the season recording 11 played, won 4, lost 5 and  drawn 2. By the end of the season a second XI was started and so the sport must have proved a success. The club was admitted to the University Athletic Club (now the Sports Union) in 1902 when W. Sibbald Robertson was the captain and in that year no less than 5 University players were recorded internationalists. T.P Caverhill was one of these 5 and must have been especially good given his numerous mentions and was subsequently awarded blues. The 1905-1906 season was especially good when of the sixteen matches played, twelve were won, three drawn and only one  lost. One member of this team was especially of note. Frank Fasson was a former internationalist rugby player and must have brought all his speed and fiery temperament to the Hockey pitch which he demonstrated one match when he took a dislike to his opposing number and slashed his stick against the man’s shins. The next week Frank had a tooth ache and went to the dentist and much to his dismay found that his dentist consultant was none other than his previous opposing player. However the great sportsman Dr N.L. Stevenson took neither advantage nor a fee! It  was Fasson who was playing later that season when Scotland secured the first Scottish victory when playing against the Welsh; the result was 3-1. The best season in the club was recorded in 1908-1909 when the first XI was unbeaten and six of the squad were chosen to represent Scotland. It was around this time that toy rabbits first appeared in the team photos presumably as mascots of the club. Like most sports the First World War halted hockey matches although the club was re-established for the 1919-1920 season. The remarkable growth in the Sport meant  that in the following season five teams were fielded for the University. The club suffered a dry spell for victories until 1930-1931 when the competition for places on the teams was so great that an inter-society matches were organised. This successful season saw the first touring side to go down to English Universities and victories were recorded against both Durham and Manchester. It is also in this season that the Scottish Inter University Championship was first recorded which Edinburgh won which was followed the next season with the first successful tour to Ireland. This successful vein continued with  the Scottish Championships residing with Edinburgh University until the 1938-1939 season, the last before the Second World War. There was no shortage of matches to be found during the war this time with 20 matches recorded each season. It is the 1942-1943 season which saw the first incarnation of the Scottish university teams play the United Services with no less than six Edinburgh men in the team. Much of the success gained by the team was attributed to the brilliant E.Evans Anfom as club captain. In the history up to 1959 the club recorded a total of 32  full internationalists and one (S.P Theobald) who represented Great Britain and between these players they recorded 183 international caps. Recent History. During the 2004/05 season, the club's socials took place at The Crags bar near Pollock Halls of Residence. This continued until 2012. In the 2011/12 season, the 1st XI finished in 8th place. Whilst in the 2012/13 season they finished 7th In the British Universities & Colleges Sport the 1st XI compete in Scottish 1A, which they won in the 2011/12 season. In the British Universities & Colleges Sport the 2nd XI won Scottish 2A during the 2011/12 season and  so won promotion for the first time to Scottish 1A since the leagues were re-organised in 2003. They finished the 2012/13 BUCS 1A season in 3rd place. The 2012/13 season was a pivotal season for the club. Then player-coach Graham Moodie stepped up to coach the 1XI full time, becoming the club's Head of Performance. During his near decade spell at the club, he led the team several Scottish Cup Finals, winning BUCS leagues, cups, and promotions, and professionalised the higher end of the club as one of the most dominating sides, not just within Scottish university  hockey, but Scottish hockey as a whole. Moodie stepped down from his position in August 2021, Scottish International Hamish Imrie has since taken up the role as Head of Performance. The club moved it's bi-weekly socials to Malones Bar (now McSorleys) on Forrest Road, Edinburgh, and is widely recognised as the modern home of the EUHC socials scene, with hundreds of match teas and official socials taking place there. It was also in the 2012/13 season that saw the beginning of Edinburgh Fives and Exeter Fives. Members of the club welcomed a fresher from University of Exeter Hockey  Club to Edinburgh in December 2012 as part of Edinburgh Fives. The return journey (Exeter Fives) was held the following February, so forth starting the long social tradition that is still upheld to this day. At the end of the 2019/20 season, then Director of Hockey at Edinburgh University, Eugene Connolly, who spent many years at the club developing coaches, umpires, and growing the size and image of the club, retired. Along with Dennis Hay, Eugene is often regarded as a mentor and father of hockey at Edinburgh University. The Director of Hockey position was removed and replace with Head  of Hockey Development, a role which has since been taken up by Scotland Women's over 55s coach, Janice Hudson-Windsor. The Golden Season. As of the beginning of the 2021/22 season, the club bolstered a membership number of over 190, making it the largest men's university sports club in the United Kingdom. The 1XI, with the support of Edinburgh University's Performance Sport Programme, continued to dominate Scottish Hockey. With high finishes in both the Scottish Hockey Premiership and the Scottish Cup, the 1XI continued to be one of the only men's university hockey club in the  UK to actively compete for EHL qualification. In the 2021/22, the club secured several titles after a return to play due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. In March 2022, the 2nd XI (Bill's Angels) led by captain Jack Cahalin won BUCS Scotland 1 in their final BUCS game of the season against Glasgow University, 3-1, in which they needed to win their game to win the league. The 3rd XI led by captain Ted Porter beat the history books after winning the BUCS Scottish Conference Cup, 3-3 (3-2), against Edinburgh Napier in St Andrews. Later on in  March 2022, the 1st XI won the BUCS National Vase at BUCS Big Wednesday in the final against University of Birmingham Hockey Club Men's 1st XI, with the full time score at 1-0. 1st XI Captain Robbie Croll scored the single goal of the match. On the same day, the 3rd XI won BUCS Scotland 2 in their final BUCS game of the season. In April 2022, the 5th XI won East District 1. In February 2022, the 1st XI finished 2nd place in BUCS Premier North, behind University of Nottingham Hockey Club Men's 2nd XI. Due  to the BUCS Regulations on promotion within the Premier leagues, the 1st XI were entered into the BUCS Premier National Playoffs in order to contest promotion. BUCS Premier National, since the formation of BUCS in 2008, is the highest competitive league for men's hockey in the United Kingdom. There has never been a Scottish men's side qualify for BUCS Premier National. In April 2022, the 1st XI lost their first opportunity at promotion when they lost 2-2 (1-4) against University of Oxford Men's 1st XI. Their final chance at promotion was left to their last  playoff game against Oxford Brookes University Men's 1st XI at Peffermill. The 1st XI secured the victory, winning 4-1, and securing promotion to the top flight of BUCS Men's Hockey for the first time as a Scottish men's team. At the end of April 2022, the 2nd XI (Bill's Angels) won the Scottish Men's Regional League, the highest competitive men's league in Scotland for non-first teams. Their title win came down to their final game of the season that was left in a tight tie breaker between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place . Current and Former International Representatives. The following list are players who have represented their country and level during their time as members of Edinburgh University Men's Hockey Club. Committee. The club is run by the club committee, which is elected every year from existing club members. The day-to-day operations of the club are handled by the committee with the support of persistent staff members employed by the club and the University. Fixtures was split into two roles from the 2019/20 season - National League & BUCS Fixtures and East District Fixtures. Website and Publicity were combined into one role  from the 2019/20 season. In the 2022/23 season, the role was split again to accommodate the growing demands of the role and the club. The 2022/23 Season saw three new positions - Welfare, Scholar Representative, and Goalkeeper Representative - added to the committee as well as the introduction of an 8XI captain to take over the newly formed 8XI team. References. "The story of Edinburgh University Athletic Club" edited by Colonel C.M.Usher. Published in 1966.