The greens of Woodbrook golf club welcome the TRR members and friends on Friday 3rd of July for our annual golf outing!

David Haughton is once again organising this years event, with all members welcome, be it for the whole day or just for dinner!

All details for this years event can be found below:

Please contact David Haughton at Tel: (01) 2727725 or (M) 0878147380 (evenings) fill in and return the Form attached to David at 9, Avoca Park, Blackrock, Co. Dublin or email derh50@gmail.com

Please arrange your own Partner and Opposition in the Fourball. If this is not possible, let David know and he will try to fix you up with a Partner or Opposition or both. However you do it please come, it is a most enjoyable day.

Please ring David as early as possible and reserve your time on the time sheet. All playing members must tee off at their booked time and to that end Geoff Brooks has again offered his most valuable services as Starter and Neale Webb on the cards.

Smart dress please. Men – Jacket and Tie (or Poloneck must be worn in the dining room. Leave your mobile phone at home – this is a day out!

Soft spikes are essential – available/fitted at Golf Shop.

As usual any gifts for prizes will be most welcome and my thanks to those members who generously gave prizes last year.

Total – €57.00 Golf and Dinner (3 course)
(special green fee rate for students – €18.00)
Time Sheet 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm

Pre season fitness has already kicked off in HQ with bootcamps courtesy of Johnny Bruton in SMART training!

Tuesday and Thursday sessions are running on the pitches for anyone looking for fun and hockey specific fitness given by our own very experienced personal trainer JB.

If you want to sign up for the next round, or join in now, please contact JB with all relevant info attached at the end of this page

Summer has already started for the kids attending the Celtic Sports Academy camps associated with TRR!

The senior academy runs all week with the usual games, prizes, themes, goal celebrations and baking all running with some top class hockey and coaching.

This is just one of a number of camps available all summer. All dates and prices can be found in the attached registration form at the end of this page.

When so many in the club have contributed to the running on such a successful event, its important for us to share some of the feedback we are getting from those who were officiating, participating and visiting the event. Below are notes from some of those involved:

‘Just a quick note to say thank you to you for all your efforts with the event in Dublin. It genuinely was one of the best organised events I have been to and enabled all involved to have an excellent competition.
Do pass on my gratitude to the rest of the team and the wider Three Rock Rovers family. I hope to visit again!’

‘On behalf of the Umpiring team, just wanted to say again, THANKYOU for a wonderful tournament in Dublin.
Your teams tireless work meant the event was a massive success. Umpires can be the forgotton team at tournaments, but your attention to detail for us was outstanding. We even ran out of things to put on Ali’s "To Do" list !!
Everything went so well and I will long remember the Hogfest evening, including Johns "Umpire" dance with Siobhan and the Boat Race, finishing a very close 4th was’nt too bad at all !!’

‘I hope you were energised (as well as being exhausted) by the achievement of it all and how we can build on it for our 5 year plan! Hopefully it will have brought out a few new volunteers out of the woodwork for future duties‘

‘The feedback that I received was that the event was on par with a Dutch club, who do these events in their sleep, but, with an Irish twist. It was a special weekend and I was so proud to be a member of TR. Thank you for making it so.’

‘It was a weekend that all the members were extremely proud to be a part of TRR. I never imagined that we could put on such a fantastic event. I was as guilty as others, of underestimating the depth of talent and energy that we have within the club – I sincerely hope that the wider membership sees the value of continuing to contribute time/effort and to spread the load across all the more mundane but very valuable tasks that the club needs to operate effectively‘

‘We are so appreciative and grateful for the hours of work that was put in by all involved and we are so lucky to be a part of a club where so many wonderful volunteers helped in putting on what was a wonderful tournament that was run so well. I hope that the most important aspect of hosting the tournament worked for us and that we inspired many young club members to want to play hockey more and more and aspire to compete in a tournament like that someday. I would like to thank you all sincerely for all the work you put in over the past number of months and over the weekend in running wonderful tournament.‘

‘Just a quick email to say congratulations on a fantastic tournament, all your hard work paid off and it’s safe to say that it was a success! Unfortunately I couldn’t make it up yesterday however I can safely say there was a great buzz around on Fri/Sat/Sun and the smooth running of all aspects was clearly evident. A great job, very well done!‘

‘Wonderful club effort, you should all be so proud! Well done!‘

‘Everyone – just wanted to say thank you so much for hosting and facilitating a wonderful tournament. I enjoyed every minute and feel that I have taken away a lot from the experience. TRR put on a fantastic ‘show’ and I don’t believe there was anything that hadn’t been thought about or that wasn’t put in place for us throughout the 4/5 days we were there. I hope that I get a chance again to visit the club in the future‘.

‘Very big well done over the weekend. The place looked amazing and all seemed to run well. Very proud to be a Rovers member!’

‘I wanted to send a quick personal note to you and everyone involved at TRRHC for the fantastic job you did hosting us all. I have been fortunate enough to attend various tournaments, and can say without any doubt that everything from the pre-tournament communications, hotel, transport, atmosphere at the club and organisation for matches was absolutely first class. It was great to see the wider European hockey family being able to experience the fantastic hospitality of Three Rock Rovers and Irish hockey.‘

‘Great credit to you and committee on pulling off a fantastic and hugely well organised event – it will be even easier the next time!!!!’

Four games over four days is not an easy feat but is a task that faced all eight of our participating teams in the Tilman Brewin Dolphin EuroHockey Trophy.

Pool A was tight, with Slavia Praha eventually running out as table toppers, despite a first game draw. However, they won their remaining fixtures to ensure a spot in Mondays final. Their other group opponents, Atasport finished 2nd in the Pool, followed by Amsicora and Whitchurch.

In Pool B, for our mens 1st XI games were equally as tight. The guys came into the tournament ranked 7th out of eight. They blew away OKS from the Ukraine on Friday 5-2 (Hosking x2, Darling x 2, Blakeney), before getting past Grange 3-2 on Saturday (Hosking, Bruton, Canning). This left them needing just a draw against Stroitel Brest to progress to the final. All was going according to plan on Sunday as the guys went one up thanks to a Luke Madeley corner. However, two quick goals allowed the Belarusians to claim their stake, as they then camped in their half, relying on aerials to get them out of trouble. Five chances to Rovers 33 in total, was enough to see them through as they won 2-1.

That left the bronze medal to play for on Monday against Atasport. Once again, despite leading, a 2-1 lead was pegged back to 3-2, leaving the team from Azerbaijan to collect the medal.

Slavia Praha and Stroitel Brest played out the final later in the day, all of which was streamed live and can still be seen on YouTube. The Czechs went ahead but the corner routine of the Belarusians won out, eventually running 3-1 winners.

The final standings were as follows:
Stroitel Brest (BLR)
Slavia Praha (CZE)
Atasport (AZE)
TRR (IRL)
Grange (SCO)
Amsicora (ITL)
OKS (Ukraine)
Whitchurch (WAL)

The player of the tournament went to the number 10 of Stroitel Brest, as their team also picked up goalkeeper of the tournament.

Our medals and prizes were presented by an array of guests including Inez Cooper of the EHF, Matt Minch from Tilman Brewin Dolphin, Simon Walker of Kepak, Stephen Martin of the Olympic Council, Richard Kendrick of the IHA, Mandy Bools ladies club captain, Andrew Walker, mens club captain, John Findlater club president, David Balbirnie, and Angus Kirkland, both of the EHF.

Events of the magnitude of a European Trophy cant just happen alone. When we budgeted for this event, we expected a cost of roughly 35k. We are therefore indebted to those who have helped and sponsored us and the players in any way for this event. In no order, please note the help received by us from:

Tilman Brewin Dolphin
VHI Swiftcare
Maxol
Stript snacks
AIL group
Wesley College
Irish Hockey Photographers
HookHockey
Nichols Funeral Care
Avolon
Davy
The Guiness Storehouse
Christie & Co Solicitors
Capnua
McCann Fitzgerald
Capita
Sandford Park
Whitney Moore Solicitors
Lisney
ED Sports
Towers Watson
Rustlers
Roadstone
Mercer
Bank of Ireland
Arachas
ECI JCB
Setanta Sports
Dun Laoghiare Golf Club
Simpson Marketing

Trinity College
The Down Syndrome Centre
Apollo Aviation
Capventis
DWM
R&C McCormack Jewellers
Lewis Motors
Henderson Food Service
Kingston Motors Stillorgan
Myoreflex
Stuart Insurances
SMART training
Websmart
Celtic Sports Academy
Chris van der Lee & Associates
Witt Nutrition

Proud doesn’t even begin to cover it. Get ready for a sentimental post as we take a look back over what was a wonderful weekend in the history of the club.

Back in July when our mens 1sts coach approached us to host this competition, we were dubious! However, after consideration of the costs of the event, and the time required to run it from a volunteer perspective, we ultimately decided that the event would be another great chance to bring all aspects of our club together following on from the trend we have been building over the last few years.

When we accepted the hosting honour, we never imagined what we would ultimately achieve as a club this last weekend! To say it was a success is the under statement of the year….we well and truly nailed it!

Each and every single corner of the club helped to create the event we just ran…..over 254 volunteers is nothing to be dismissed. Our junior players, parents, vets, mens and ladies players, ex-members and more all joined together to create what has been billed as something similar to what the Dutch would host! To be compared to Dutch hockey in any shape or form is the biggest compliment we can receive. Hockey in Holland is known for its inclusiveness, its family atmosphere, its engaged members, and its professional manner. Each of these areas has been mentioned in both verbal and written feedback we have been getting over the last 5 days.

The Tournament Director stated that our club was ‘something different’, and pinned that statement down to the good nature and friendliness of our club members and volunteers. For that, the organising committee, and executive committee of the club can do nothing more than thank you all profusely for coming together and ensuring that TRRHC will forever be remembered by all those participating in the event.

Whether it was collecting officials, acting as ball patrol, manning the gate, baking for officials, driving lost players back to hotels, bringing injured players to hospital, dancing in the warm up of the Czech team, or simply making someone tea, we fulfilled each of our tasks with a smile and a helping nature that screamed how happy we were to do it. It is this welcoming and inclusive atmosphere that we will be remembered for, long after all the participants have gone home. The proof was there to see on Monday night as the teams partied together during our traditional knees up. Officials joining in with the party is a rare site, and proves how comfortable they were in our environment, as they finished 4th in the ‘boat race’!!!

Although on pitch results didn’t always go our way, we more than punched above our weight off the pitch. Comments came to us that suggests that our tournament was one of the smoothest running events organisers had seen. To complete this using just volunteers is a testament to the pride that our members have in our club. The comments and appreciation were echoed by the mens 1st XI coach Joe, who noted that, ‘ we are so lucky to be part of a club where so many wonderful volunteers helped in putting on what was a wonderful tournament that was run so well. We hope we inspired many young club members to want to play hockey more and more and aspire to compete i a tournament like that someday‘.

Within this group, special mention is required for the organising committee that has been working on this tournament since September. The expertise and advice of the following people ensured that not only did the event run smoothly, it was funded and promoted professionally:
Bruce Johnson
Natalie Rule
Pauline Corrigan
Siobhan Madeley
Stephen Findlater
Andrew Walker
Simon Walker
John Findlater
Pat Walsh
Arthur Johnson
Ryan Shirley
Ali Keogh

In particular however Rick Johnson is to be applauded and thanked for his tireless co-ordination of this event since September. Without him, it simply would not have happened. His competence and organisation, which he carried out in good humour at all times, cannot be compared with.

In the coming days we will post some of the feedback and comments we have received from the officials and others in the last few days. Adrian Bohems superb pictures are on Irish Hockey Photographers website for all to see. A selection, plus others which were taken around the grounds are on this site to see and enjoy. The grounds never looked so well, thanks to the hours of preparation by JJ and Sylvie in the weeks leading up to the event, to make our club clean, picturesque, and somewhere for our European visitors to be envious of.

We hope that each of you is as proud of our club and of yourselves as we all are. We each deserve a collective pat on the back! TRRHC is now on the map of Europe, as a fun, welcoming environment to all. The committee and council will now look to build on the goodwill and enthusiasm gained in this event to continue to build our club into what we believe it can be. To under estimate the talent and motivation of our members would be foolish, as this weekend has more than proved that we are capable of achieving anything that we set our minds on. Please be on the look out for our finalised 5 year plan in the coming months, as we look to ‘provide a welcoming environment that fosters lifelong engagement within our club. We strive to create the best hockey environment for the best hockey experience for all of our members; elite, club, junior and social‘.

The happiness and appreciation that we have for our members following this weekend, simply cant be expressed sufficiently. But please take enjoyment in the part that each of us has played in the past few days, weeks and months.

We collectively have each ensured that TRRHC is now not only a home to Leinster and Irish hockey, but to European hockey too.

To say we are excited is an understatement! Just seven days to go until the second tier of European hockey arrives in HQ!

The officials and teams arrive on Wednesday and Thursday, staying locally in Bewleys in Leopardstown. The action kicks off on Friday, and runs all the way to Monday afternoon for the Tilman Brewin Dolphin EuroHockey Trophy.

All information regarding prices, rules, schedules, results and teams can be seen on Ryan Shirleys fabulously designed website eurohockeydublin.com

The event is split into two pools: A and B. Pool A sees the Welsh team Whitchurch, the Azerbaijan team Atasport and the Italian team Amiscora. Pool B has the Belarusians Stroitel Brest, the Ukranians OKS SHVSM, Scottish champions Grange and of course TRR.

All Three Rock games are being played last each day, so 5.45 on Friday, 4.45 Saturday and Sunday, and then results depending on Monday.

All weekend we will be serving sandwiches, hot food, pastries and cakes from the kitchen. We have a members rate of €5 at the gate, and all children under the age of 18 get in for free!

On Monday evening, following the tournament, we are welcoming all 7 other teams plus to officials to the clubhouse to enjoy music, food and of course, our bar facilities! Given the huge numbers of volunteers from the club that have helped make this tournament happen, we would love to see as many people as possible in the clubhouse on Monday afternoon to see of all our new international friends!

If you cant make finals day, we are delighted to announce that we will be streaming all matches YouTube, courtesy of HookHockey!!! Keep an eye on twitter for the link.

Twitter, Facebook and the European website are the best places for updates over the week. In the lead up to the event we have also been tweeting the player profiles daily to introduce our team all over Europe!

The event of course cant happen without our sponsors. We are indebted to:
Tilman Brewin Dolphin
Rustlers
McCann Fitzgerald
Stript Snacks
Maxol
Nichols funeral care
Sandford Park
Capnua
Capita
Wesley College
Avolon
Davy
The Guinness Storehouse
Christie & Co Solicitors
HookHockey
AbraKebabra
O’Briens
The Bagel Factory
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Yo Sushi

and all of our player sponsors:
The Down Syndrome Centre (Westy)
Apollo Aviation (Peter Blakeney)
DWM
Capventis (both Ali Haughton)
R&C McCormack jewellers
Lewis Motors (both Johnny McCormack)
Henderson food services
Kingston Motors Stillorgan (both Luke Madeley)
Sandford Park (Alan White)
Myoreflex (Gary Ringwood)
Stuart Insurances (Alan Bothwell)
SMART training
Websmart (both Jonny Bruton)
Celtic Sports Academy (Jody Hosking)
McCann Fitzgerald
Avolon
Capnua (all Daragh Walsh)
Chris van der Lee & Associates (Stephen Dawson)
Witt Nutrition (David Kane)

JB and SMART training are back for another year, as they hist Bootcamps in TRR over the summer! Hockey may be over but nows the time to get fit for next year!!!!!

This programme contains 4 weeks of hockey specific drills, a nutrition manual and a blueprint plan on how to get what you want out of your training. All for only €50!!

Bootcamp 1 runs from Tuesday June 2nd to Thursday July 2nd. Sessions run form 7pm to 8pm every Tuesday and Thursday.

Bootcamp 2 runs from the 14th of July to August 6th, even Tuesday and Thursday from 7 to 8pm.

Call or email Jonny now at 087631451, or info@smarttrainingdublic.com

All details attached in the sheet at the end of this page

Golf outing
Don’t forget about this seasons upcoming annual got outing! The 3rd of July has been set aside as this years date, with the event being held in Woodbrook.

Celtic Sports Academy
TRR in partnership with Celtic Sports Academy are hosting a number of camps over the summer for children of all ages and abilities. The registration form attached in this page outlines the dates and prices!

Irish u18s
Congrats to Daragh Walsh and Freddie Morris who have been named in the travelling Irish u18 panel for this summers Europeans, and to Sam Grace who has been named as a non-travelling reserve. The boys travel to Santander in Spain in Mid July as they compete in the A division of u18 hockey.

Irish Senior Squad
Well done to Mitch Darling, Stephen West and Johnny Bruton on their selection for this weeks internationals in Germany. Unfortunately the men lost both games to the Olympic Champions, 3-2 and 6-2, with JB scoring both goals on the second day. The lads continue their preparation for World League 3 in the coming weeks.

Leinster Junior Interpros
Congrats to all the Leinster Junior mens players on winning the Interpros last weekend! The squad included our own Ben Epstein!

Grand Masters
Somewhat late with this news but Ireland’s Grand Masters recently won the Celtic Cup.

Stuart Switzer a former Club Captain and current member of the Men’s 5th X1 (Winners of the Cup and League double this year) was a member of the Irish Men’s Grand Masters team won the Celtic Cup this weekend in Bangor Co Down. They drew 1-1 in a tough encounter with Wales on Friday night then trounced France 7-1 on Saturday. Sunday’s final game was a winner take all scenario. Scotland started the stronger but Ireland took the lead when Glenanne’s Eddie O’Malley shot high into the roof of the net. Bangor’s George Blackwood then scored twice from penalty corner moves to make it 3-0. Scotland pulled one back but Ireland held on to win their first tournament in only their second season. The Irish Grand Masters play in the European Cup in London this August with the World Cup in May 2016 in Australia.

Stuart joined Three Rock in 1969 and has been a playing member a mere 46 years