Member's guide

Member's Guide

Thank you for being a member of Wilmslow Hockey Club! We are delighted to have you!

This page is your guide to membership at our club. If you are new to the club, check out the Getting Started tab first.

If you have any questions, please ask your Captain or our Membership Secretary using the link below.

Contents:

  • Getting started is to help you get oriented at your new club
  • What you can expect from your club - how the club supports you, our members
  • What the club expects from you - as a non-profit organisation we rely on the support of members to keep the club running.
  • For Parents/Guardians - is to help introduce you and your youngster to the club
  • How does the club spend my money? - explains how the club committee spends membership income.
  • Club Rules & Policies - how the club operates, including our Constitution
  • Safeguarding - providing a safe environment for all
  • Insurance - explains the club's insurance cover via England Hockey
  • Injury reporting - how to report injuries on and off the pitch.

How to get started as a new member

Now that you're a member, you'll want to:

Find out "what's on" at the club:

  • the Home Page and Club Calendar (and Club Page on Teamo app) shows all club fixtures and social events
  • the Home Page and News Page show the latest updates and news - including match reports
  • Notifications in Teamo give you prompts for what's coming up

Get assigned to a Team and meet your Captain

  • if you're not assigned to a team in Teamo, ask the Membership Secretary or relevant Club Captain for help
  • you can be assigned to more than one team on Teamo
  • introduce yourself to your Captain and discuss where you like to play

Meet your team mates at training

  • meet your team mates, improve your fitness and hone your skills at training.
  • check out your Team's own page on the website

Get your playing kit and shirt number

  • order your personalised playing shirt with your name/number ASAP - it will take several weeks to arrive
  • shirts are normally purchased in a bundle with socks, hoodie and shorts/skort, but items can be ordered individually too

Register in GMS (England Hockey's Game Management System)

  • If you're going to be playing any league matchees, you need to register on GMS
  • If you're transferring from another club, you're old club will need to contact GMS to approve your transfer.

Read the club rules and Code of Conduct

  • when you register on Teamo you agree to abide by the Club Rules and Code of Conduct - see the Club Rules and Policies tab on this page
  • the Code of Conduct is important to us as it supports our Club Value of "Respect"

Learn how to use Teamo

  • you'll need to get very familiar with Teamo as it's how you see fixtures, training and social events
  • its also how you show your availabilty and pay for match fees and tickets

Follow us on social media

  • we regularly post news from the club and our sponsors - the same content goes on all our social media channels
  • follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news

Support club fundraising

  • sign up for 100 Club, EasyFundraising and race marshalling
  • check out what to expect from the club and what the club expects from members

Look out for club emails and notifications

  • we regularly send club news bulletins and announcements to the email address you registered on Teamo
  • you're entitled to unsubscribe if you wish, but you could miss out on important relevant information
  • amend your subscriptions to emails and notifications in Settings in the Teamo app main menu

Get your discount card for the bar

  • members who show their discount card can get 10% off at the bar
  • ask the Membership Secretary to arrange your card and collect it from the bar

Find out who's who in the club

  • see who the club committee is. Get in touch if you would like to help or have feedback/suggestions to offer

What you can expect from your club

The club will

Description

Live up to its Purpose

Our Purpose is To promote a supportive, social & family environment for all to learn and play hockey at all levels

Live up to its Values

Our Club Values are: Enjoyment, Welcoming, Respect, Growth, Inclusivity

Provide competitive and social hockey

We offer 5 Ladies, 5 Men's and 3-4 Junior's teams plus Masters teams - all of whom play in various NW League, cup and regional competitions.

Provide a range of social events

We have a full social calendar to suit eveyone's taste - starting with the Club Day in September and ending with the Dinner Dance in March/April. There is a modest charge for most social events to cover costs and make a small profit towards club income.

Spend money wisely to minimise cost for members

We aim to keep membership and match fees as low as we can so your committee manages our costs closely and we put effort into lots of fundraising too.

Provide coaches and training

Coaches make up our biggest cost but we believe most members value the training and coaching we offer.

Listen to feedback and respond

We welcome feedback on how to improve the club in any way. Please get in touch at via Teamo chat and have your say in our regular Member Surveys.

What your club expects from you

The lists below is aimed primarily at adult members, but we welcome our junior members and their parents/guardians taking part in any aspect of the club too. For example many of our juniors and parents take part in race marshalling for which we are very grateful.

The club expects members to...

Description

Be a marshal for at least one race per year

Providing marshals for the two Run North West 10k races and the annual Running Festival provide vital income for the club - around 12% of all club income. It's easy, fun and rewarding being a marshal - please get involved.

Introduce new members

We are always looking for new members - of all ages and abilities. Bring your friends, relations, colleagues etc.

Join the 100 Club

The 100 Club gives the chance to win cash prizes. It only costs £12 a year but when enough people take part, that adds up to a lot of income for the club

Register for EasyFundraising

EasyFundraising raises funds for the club whenever you buy online through 1,000s of regular online stores and it costs nothing!

Suggest club sponsors

We are always on the lookout for sponsors for the club as they provide around 10% of our annual income. Please put us in touch with local businesses you know and we'll do the rest.

Help train our juniors (1st Team Players)

We want our juniors to grow and learn at the club. Having our top players spending just a couple of evenings each season at junior training will provide inspiration and help them learn from our best.

Comply with our Code of Conduct and Club Rules

We have high standards of Conduct by which we expect all members to abide.

Use Teamo actively

Teamo has made a huge difference to the club and members. Please update your availability at least 3-4 weeks ahead of time to help your captain. And check Teamo frequently for updates on social events, fixtures and training.

If you would like to do more, there are lots of ways to help, including

Could you....

Description

Learn to umpire

We can never have too many umpires! EH provide training and the club can help with costs if needs be. You would have lots of support and would not have to umpire any more frequently than you want to - and match fees are waived if you umpire!

Help out at Junior Training

With the numbers of juniors at training, we always need helpers to support the coach. Could you offer your time every now and again - with guidance from the coach as to what to do? EH provides training too for those interested.

Join the Committee

Yes this might sound daunting, but we welcome and support anyone willing to help - in whatever small way. Skills we are looking for include leadership, finance, digital marketing, photography, website admin, fundraising etc.

Parents/guardians of new Junior Members

As parents/guardians of a junior member, you may not be a member but we consider you as part of the club "family".

One of our Club Values is GROWTH and that includes the fostering the growth of your youngster as a hockey player, a team member and a person. We take pride in helping our juniors progress through the juniors ranks and into our senior sides - to the highest level they are enjoying. We hope you will help the club along the way!

Safeguarding is also a club commitment - see the Safeguarding tab on this page.

Please:

  • Do as many of the things in the "What your club expects from you" as you can - including marshalling, joining the 100 Club and registering with EasyFundraising. Every small contribution is important. More details here
  • Join the Club as a Social Member if you would like to. This helps the club's finances and entitles you to discounts at the bar!
  • Encourage your youngster to stay for "tea" after an adult fixture. It is totally normal in the hockey world for juniors to take part in adult games once they are strong/skilled enough and over 14 years old. If your youngster is taking part in adult fixtures, please encourage them stay for "tea" after the game rather than collecting them the minute a match ends - we'll take good care of them. All hockey clubs provide a light lunch/tea after a game - it's a chance to relax with teammates (and opposition), talk about the game and enjoy each other's company. We make sure that your youngsters get lots of encouragement and support. Staying for 30 minutes or so after the game is an important opportunity to get to know the team members and develop their social skills.
  • Do give your youngster access to use Teamo if they are capable but please help them be responsive and proactive in using it e.g. putting in availability a few weeks in advance.
  • Do come along and support your youngster from the sidelines. You are very welcome to take a seat in the stand, watch from the sidelines and even come along to away matches.
  • Get involved: if you would like to be involved in the club in any large or small way, or have ideas which could benefit the club in any way - please talk to us.

Where does my money go?

Membership fees pay for....

  • England Hockey affiliation fees
  • North West League affiliation & competition entry fees
  • Club insurance - includes personal accident insurance for members
  • Training - including pitch hire and coaching (coaching cost is one of our biggest costs)
  • Club systems - website, Teamo subscriptions, Stripe transaction fees
  • Membership of the Association of CASCs - for compliance with HMRC
  • Phoenix contribution - for clubhouse/grounds maintenance, rent, licencing - entitles a WHC member to use the bar
  • Kit purchases e.g. goalkeeping kit, balls etc
  • Incidental expenses e.g. first aid kit


Match fees pay for....

  • Hire of our own pitch - which in turn builds the "sinking fund" to replace the astro carpet in due course
  • Contribution towards competition fees and other items in the membership fees list above


Kit prices pay for....

  • Just your kit, at the lowest price we can buy it from our supplier
  • The club doesn't make any profit when you buy kit through the club.


Why do we need to do fundraising too?

  • Membership fees and match fees are not enough to cover all our costs
  • Hence we need to raise funds through social events, race marshalling and sponsorship otherwise membership fees and match fees will have to increase.

Club Rules and Policies

Please download the Club Rules and Policies below.

Contents:

  1. Code of Conduct for Players
  2. Code of Conduct for Junior Members
  3. Code of Conduct for Club Officials, Coaches and Volunteers
  4. Code of Conduct for Parents, Guardians/Carers and Spectators
  5. Membership Application Policy
  6. Disciplinary Rules And Procedures
  7. Equity Policy Statement
  8. Procedures for Emergency First aid at Matches and Training Sessions
  9. Guidelines for Dealing with an Accident/Incident
  10. Procedures For Informing Coaches Of Medical Details and Emergency Contact Details 
  11. Development Selection Policy
  12. Keeping Safe –Your welfare as a young person
  • WHC_Policy_and_Club_Rules July 2024 v0.4
    Download

Other Club Policies and the Club Constitution can be found on the Policies and Documents page.

Welfare and Safeguarding

We take the welfare of junior players very seriously and believes all young people participating in hockey (regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, ability or disability) have the right to play in an environment free from poor practice, abuse and harm.

Wilmslow Hockey Club adopts England Hockey’s Safeguarding and Protecting Young People in Hockey Policy, Procedures and Guidance to ensure all those in the hockey family have a safe and positive experience.

All Managers and Coaches for Junior teams are DBS checked, as well as all Managers and Coaches in Senior teams as many Senior teams have junior (13 years plus) players. All coaches are required to attend a Safeguarding Course.

Please contact our welfare officer if you have any concerns about welfare of safeguarding at Wilmslow Hockey Club by clicking on the Welfare Officer details below.

Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU)

The Child Protection in Sport Unit (CPSU’s) ran a "Parents in Sport Week" in early October 2021. This is an annual campaign where the CPSU aim to show how parents can help to keep children safe within sport. For more information, access the home page by clicking here.

For this year’s campaign, the CPSU are aiming to show parents of those who have children in sport how they can be involved in the wider picture of safeguarding in their sport. To do this, they have produced a series of new resources that shows parents what safeguarding in sport looks like and what to do if they have a concern. These resources include:

·         A 3-minute-long animation.

·         A 10-15 minute long free e-learning course.

·         A new look Parents Hub, which collates safeguarding information that parents can use.

Please see below for more information on Wilmslow Hockey Club's commitment and policy for safeguarding.

Protective Equipment

In accordance with Rule 8.8 of the EH Regulations, it is advised that children wear shin guards and mouthguards (gumshields). These should be provided by parents.

Video & Photography

When you apply for your child to be registered to the Club, you have an option to not have your child’s photos published on the Club website. 

Please ensure that you make your preference clear (in terms of potential use of photos/videos of your child on our website and social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube) in the personal profile section in Teamo.

Club Insurance

The Club is insured as part of our England Hockey Membership + affiliation via Marsh and Bluefin Sport who are the appointed brokers to England Hockey.

As part of the England Hockey Membership + the club automatically receives the benefit of Combined Liability insurance for players, members, helpers, volunteers, and employees, as well as Personal Accident benefits.

For full details on what is provided under our cover, please see England Hockey insurance page.

INJURY REPORTING AND INSURANCE

Injury Reporting Process

All injuries sustained by members (players, coaches, umpires or social members) must be recorded by the club AND reported to England Hockey. The injury reporting process is set out in the policy document below and is summarised in this graphic.

The link to England Hockey page to report injuries is also shown below.

  • WHC Injury Reporting Procedure Aug 2022 v1
    Download

Injury Insurance Claims

In the event of injury for which an insurance claim may be needed, please refer to the Insurance page (see left) for details on the club's insurance cover for members and claim link.

Our Partners

Crow Hockey
Crow Hockey
Mizuno
Manchester Grammar School
DBL Asset Management
Chelsea Flowers
Oxygen
Orbit Developments
Business Support Centre
Mizuno
Manchester Grammar School
DBL Asset Management
Chelsea Flowers
Oxygen
Orbit Developments
Business Support Centre
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