Pitch In Launches

Hailsham Hockey Club player, Rachel Forss, has done the honours and has 'launched' the club's new fundraising campaign 'Pitch In'. Pitch In is looking to raise over £25,000 to contribute to the cost of resurfacing its home pitch at Hailsham Community College.

Rachel has been conducting research in her role at the University of Brighton. This has involved doing research on the gravitational effects on lower limb circulation. This led to the amazing opportunity to experience weightlessness during this week's parabolic flights from Bordeaux, France. On one of these flights she took the opportunity to launch the hockey club's fundraising efforts. This can be seen in the video below.

When asked why she felt it was important to support the hockey club's campaign she said 'the pitch on which the club uses needs updating. This would be to the benefit of the club but also to the benefit of all the children at the school who train on the pitch.'

'As the club has been so welcoming to me and my family, I would like to try and do something in return to try and raise funds and increase awareness of the campaign. This will hopefully enable us to pull together as a community for the benefit of the local teams, children and area.'

Hailsham Hockey Club has over 100 members and caters for men's, women's and junior hockey. Having formed in 1902 it has a long history of providing hockey in the local area. Rachel is relatively new to the club as a player and she now gets to enjoy the sport with her two daughters. Rachel explains how she got involved;

'After bringing my 2 children along to play at Hailsham Hockey Club for years, as they got older and became eligible to play for the ladies’ team, I decided to join in and play to try to improve my overall general health.'

'I'm always impressed with how kind and supportive the club is to all their players, how friendly and welcoming they are and how the club supports each other. Even though I had not played Hockey since school – well over 30 years ago – I was welcomed in, assisted with skills development, encouraged to do what I can manage and to have fun.'

'The club has helped to improve my fitness, develop new friends, given me the opportunity to spend time doing a similar activity as my children and has been a great addition to helping me to manage my work life balance.'

A crowdfunding campaign will start from Monday 22nd January where individuals and businesses will be able to 'Pitch in' to help the club hopefully reach its target in eight weeks. Club members are undertaking several fundraising events over this period. It will culminate in a sponsored walk from Hastings to Eastbourne pier with some litter picking on the way.

In the meantime the club are looking for people and businesses to pledge support either financially or in the form of products or services that it can offer up to those that donate during the campaign window. The club also have sponsorship opportunities available. For more information see our dedicated webpage: