Along with the pitch, this weekend we are also using the occasion to showcase our new cafe The Wooden Spoon.

The cafe opens this Wednesday between 10am – 4pm. It will open every Wednesday – Sunday at these times, serving a selection of yes, coffee, cakes, sandwiches, wraps, paninis and plenty more freshly made, delicious food.

The cafe will be open to the public, meaning that our premises may now be shown off to those outside of hockey. We are thrilled that we are now in a position to open our doors to the public during the day, while also ensuring our members receive the best quality service for their weekends games.

As part of this new marriage we want to ensure members that the clubhouse is still of course open and functioning as normal as a clubhouse for all teams, players, friends and family. To ensure the cleanliness of the area we ask that gear bags are now kept in the gear bag room of the hall, and that tactical team meetings at weekends take place in the Leinster room. For all other social purposes though, we as a club are open for business, closely linking with the Wooden Spoon and all they have to offer us.

We hope to see everyone on Sunday to enjoy the new partnership!

All club members, friends, family and public are warmly welcomed to our official pitch opening this Sunday afternoon

The opening is a small occasion to mark what was a huge club effort to maintain our facilities to the highest possible standard. The club was in the remarkable position of being able to pay for this update in full ourselves, an event which cant go unnoticed.

The club is keen to mark the occasion as a club event for members and all associated with it. Our juniors will play games with Avoca in the morning, before the pitch is officially opened by our club president at 2pm. The opening will occur just before the mens 1sts first home league game of the season, against Avoca at 2.15pm

Nibbles and cake will be on hand all day and members will also have the opportunity to register for the season throughout the day.

The mens 1sts shared the spoils against Pembroke last Saturday in a tight affair in Serpentine Avenue. With 7 players under the age of 21 the side was considerably changed to that which lined out against the same opposition this time last year. Rovers started brighter but found themselves one nil down before the half following a ruffed short corner drag. Pembroke doubled their league early in the second half as they punished Rovers for 3 yellow cards throughout the game.

Following the second goal the young troops came alive with Mitch, Freddie Morris and Jody combining to set up Mikey Maguire for the first goal. The equaliser game 10 minutes from the end courtesy of Johnny Roberts.

This week the lads face their first double weekend as they head to Glenanne on Saturday at 12.30, before hosting Avoca at home in HQ on Sunday at 2.15pm.

The mens vets played host to Belgian side Bruge last Saturday, who they beat 2-1. Bruce Johnson and David Gilmore were on the scoresheet for Rovers, sealing the win before hosting the team later in the evening in the bar! Match report by Bruce Johnson can be seen here https://www.threerockrovershc.com/s/match-centre-72318/0-2667418

On the ladies side, selection Saturday went ahead with plenty of difficult decisions to make. The ladies firsts play two friendlies this week ahead of the start of their league campaign. The first in Thursday at 7.15 as they play Alex away, before taking on Avoca away at 4pm Saturday.

Due to issues with the water pump in the club, the mens 1sts league game against Pembroke has been changed to Serpentine Avenue.

The game will now take place at 4.30pm away.

Apologies for any inconvenience this will cause.

Junior girls full
All junior girls places for the upcoming season have been filled. For details on next years places please contact Suzanne Stanley at suzannestanley08@gmail.com

All juniors return this weekend!
Lets not forget that all junior coaching returns to normal times this weekend! Boys and girls will arrive back on Saturday and Sunday for the upcoming season.

EGM
The LHA have announced an EGM on the 22nd of September in Bewleys Newlands Cross at 7.10pm. The EGM relates to the place of DULHC in Division 2/3 following last years appeal by Three Rock Rovers Ladies Club.
Details regarding the motion can be seen at
http://www.hookhockey.com/index.php/2014/09/dulhc-convene-egm-over-division-two-status/#.VA8iZku99X8

Umpiring training
The Leinster Hockey Umpires Association are running two training evening in the coming weeks: Wednesday the 17th of September and Thursday the 25th of September. Both sessions will be held in Pembroke at 8pm, with umpires Carol Metchette, Ray O’Connor, Geoff Conn and Tom Goode on hand to present and answer any questions

Trinity pitch opening
We would like to extend our best wishes to Trinity hockey club on the opening of their new pitch this Saturday. As most members will know, DUHC and TRRHC share a close history, with TRRHC recently being the home of the mens 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams during the renovation of the complex in Santry. We are delighted their facilities have been upgraded and wish them all the best for the season!

The mens firsts got their league campaign off to a winning start last Saturday as they came out 3-0 winners over Rathgar.

Alan White, Jonny McCormack and Steven Roberts were on the mark to seal the three points.

This weeks opponents are likely to provide tougher competition as the lads host Pembroke at 1.30pm at home. Pembroke took a point away from their game against Railway last week and will be hoping to make an impact on HQ.

The ladies 1sts were narrowly defeated by Banbridge 1sts in a pre-season friendly. Having gone 1-0 up courtesy of Isabelle Hoyne Banbridge came back to equalize before eventually netting the winner in the last 1/3 of the game. The 1sts, along with the rest of the ladies side will take part in Selection Saturday this weekend from 11-1. All coaches will be on hand to help select this seasons teams for the first round of upcoming registrations. Any queries regarding the day, please contact Mandy at ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com

Sunday week sees the official opening of our new pitch and clubhouse. It also marks registration day as the club is offering members the opportunity to pay this years subs easily and efficiently on the one day!

Subs this year are due on October 1st. After this time players will not be insured to play unless part of their sub has been paid. Should you decide to pay in full at registration day, or before October 1st, you will receive your bar tokens for the year.

Registration can take place all day. We have plenty on offer on the day with the Wooden Spoon open, junior boys and girls playing friendlies with Avoca, and the mens 1sts playing Avoca in the official pitch opener.

When registering please to be sure to fill out the attached form so that we can update the new database system and provide the best communication service possible to all members.

Subs rates for the year are as follows:
Subscriptions for the 2014/2015 season will be as follows;
Full membership
€375 (if paid before 1st Oct 2014. €420 if late)
* early payment entitles members to €4 x 10 bar vouchers
Student membership
€210
* early payment entitles members to €4 x 5 bar vouchers
School/Junior membership
€150 u14- u18
€130 u8-u12
Veteran membership
€135 women
€275 men
*early payment entitles members to €4 x 3 and €4 x 6 bar vouchers respectively
Pavilion membership
€50
OFFER!!! Junior Parent pavilion membership: 2 pavilion memberships for the price of 1!

Our pavilion members are offered the following :
€4 x 9 worth of bar vouchers
Invitations to all our social events, including some pavilion lunches
Discounted rate at our annual club dinner

Payment options are as follows:
1) Cheques made payable to Three Rock Rovers Hockey Club, to be sent to;
Mandy Bools – ladies side
Andrew Walker – mens side
2) Cash
3) Electronic transfer to account number 43634986 , sort code 900084. PLEASE reference your name!! This is essential for us so that you dont get people chasing you when you have already paid. Details are as follows:
IBAN: IE10BOFI90008443634986
Paper form: IE10 BOFI 9000 8443 6349 86
Branch: Dublin – St Stephens Green
BIC: BOFIIE2D

Junior Blitz
Last Sunday saw over 140 of our junior boys and girls try out the new pitch for the first time in a day of mixed fun and games!
Our junior coaches received information from junior coach co-ordinator Niall Denham in the morning, before all the kids arrived for their day. 40 u8s and u10s arrived in the morning before 100 u12-u16s packed onto the pitch for the afternoon!
It was great to see all the juniors together on the one pitch. The future is bright!

Junior training days
The weekend of the 13/14th of September marks the start of the junior season as both the girls and boys return to action next weekend. Usual times apply with boys u8-u12s on Saturday morning, the u14s Saturday evening and all girls on Sunday morning. Contact info for both sections can be seen in the ‘contact us’ section, or on their team pages.

Repairs
Can all members please note that should you come across an area of the grounds or clubhouse that requires some sort of repair or has any sort of problem associated with us, please let us know!! Any issues as small as new lightbulbs, showers not working or as big as a broken door may not always be picked up depending on the week. However, Martin our club manager is on email and will fix anything asap once notified. His email is club.manager@threerockrovershc.com. Likewise, anything can be written down by the bar and it will be picked up by Martin or the groundsmen

Ladies selection day
Next Saturday between 11 and 1, the ladies sides will have their annual selection Saturday. All coaches will be on hand to watch all players for the morning as matches are played. Please be sure to be there and give your details. This will act as one of the ways that teams are selected for the upcoming season. Ask your coaches or Mandy (ladies.captain@threerockrovershc.com) if you have any questions on the day.

Sunday the 21st will be a busy day in HQ as we officially open our pitch and show off our brand spanking new clubhouse!

The day will also run as a club registration day. Subs are due to be paid this year by the 1st of October. All members will have the chance to come to the clubhouse on Sunday the 21st to register, update their info and pay their subs. Should you choose to pay in full you will receive bar tokens for the year. Please complete the attached form if you are registering.

The day itself will be packed with plenty of action. Our junior box and girls will take on Avoca in friendly games in the morning before the mens 1sts take on Avoca in their 3rd league game at 2.15pm.

The official opening will take place at 2pm prior to the start of the cake. Refreshments will be in the clubhouse while the Wooden Spoon cafe will be up and running with their usual delicious food.

This week the mens 1sts start their 2014/2015 league campaign.

The league fixtures have been brought forward this year to accommodate international fixtures in February.

The men start their campaign this Saturday away to Rathgar. The game kicks off at 12.30 in the High School.

Elsewhere the ladies 1sts will play their first pre-season friendly against Banbridge. They play at home at 12pm on the front pitch.