WTHC APPOINT NEW CHAIRMAN
Wisbech Town HC have appointed Matt Esser as the new Club Chairman, following the Annual General Meeting on April 22nd 2022.
Matt, who was a key member of the Mens 2nd XI which achieved promotion last year, succeeds Natalie Ward, who held the post for six-years, and will be assisted by new Vice Chair Jo Gomm, who will also take over as Ladies 1st XI captain for the 2022/23 season, following Jo Bland’s decision to step down this summer.
Harriett Bateman will continue in her role as Ladies 2nd XI captain, with Emma Webb set to take over the Ladies 3rd team captaincy. Charlie Baxter and Brandon Ruff remain in place as the Mens 1st, and Mens 4th XI captains respectively, while Jonathan and Kevin Shippey will continue to run the Mens 2nd team on a co-captain basis; Kevin will also be serving as Men’s Club Captain for another season. Mike Lawrence was selected as the new Mens 3rd team skipper. Georgie Dunn will continue in her role as Mixed team captain, with Sharon Empson taking over as Ladies’ Club Captain.
As part of the meeting, several new Committee members were also selected, with Ian Scott taking over as Fixture and Umpire Liaison Officer, Sam Markillie assuming the role of Junior Development Officer, and Harriet Bateman acting as the new Club Secretary,
Jason Mallett, Jason Esser, Natalie Ward, Louise Cooper, Charlie Baxter, Hannah Welcher were all co-opted onto the Committee, which will aim to meet once per month both during the summer, and the 2022/23 season.
A full list of all Club Captains and Committee Members can be found at the bottom of this page.
MATT ESSER IN ACTION FOR WTHC LAST SEASON (PHOTO: ADAM FAIRBROTHER)
A Message From Our New Chairman
Hi all, at the WTHC AGM on the 22nd of April I was appointed as the new chairman and I thought it would a good idea to formally introduce myself.
I would like to start by thanking our outgoing Chair, Nat Ward, for her 6 years’ service, during which she has faced some extremely difficult situations, such as Covid-19 and the issues with our pitch. She has dealt with these admirably and is a credit to the club. Thank you, Nat.
Nat has kindly agreed to remain on the committee moving forward. We haven’t quite decided in what role yet, but I know that whatever it is, she will be fantastic and will continue to be a great asset to myself and the club. We have agreed to give her a break and a good rest for a little while first though!
I am aware there will be some members who do not know who I am, so I thought it would be a good idea to tell you a little bit about myself. I have been a member of the club for over 20 years, playing both cricket and hockey. I have held various committee positions, including on the Joint Committee and have most recently been vice-chairman of the cricket section. I am now looking forward to putting my efforts into leading the hockey section as we move forward into what should be an exciting few years ahead.
As you will all know, the club have been attempting to fundraise for a number of years for a new pavilion and more recently for a new Astro Turf pitch. As we announced in December 2021, due to a very generous donation, we are now moving into a phase where we can start properly planning the delivery of these projects. My focus will be ensuring we get these projects over the line, supporting and helping several other key people behind the scenes to do this.
The AGM was attended by more people than it has been for several years and as a result we have appointed several new faces to the committee in addition to those staying on from last year. All captains were also appointed and it’s great to see so many people wanting to do their bit. I have attached a full list of officers and captains at the end of this letter for your information and I would personally like to thank you all in advance for the role you will play. The role of Sponsorship Officer was unfortunately not filled, and this is something that will be crucial to the club to the club going forward. If you think you may be able to assist in this area, please get in touch.
The new committee and I will be holding our first meeting in May as we want to start working on our priorities to improve the club as soon as possible. We will also ensure we regularly communicate to the membership about what we are up to as we want to be as open as possible. We have a lot of great people within the club and my role will be to listen, direct and guide in order to make WTHC a better place for everyone.
One of my main goals is to make WTHC as inclusive and open to everyone as possible. With everything going on the world right now, playing hockey or in fact any sport should never be a choice affected by personal circumstance. I will always be available to anyone wanting to discuss this. I want the club to be open to all. This includes juniors, who are the future of the club. We will be setting up a separate Junior Sub-Committee to ensure we have a direct focus on this part of the club, which is where we will grow and develop our 1st team players of the future.
During the summer we will be arranging a ‘Chairmans Event’ which will include some informal hockey as well as some food and drinks, where you will have the chance the to ask me or the committee any questions you may have – Watch this space! It’s very important that all members are given the opportunity to have their say and you are more than welcome to contact me at any time on this email address with any questions you may have.
Finally, we are always looking for more volunteers. These come in all shapes and sizes such as umpiring, coaching, catering, maintenance, admin and many more. Volunteering is a great way to develop club spirit, so should you want to get involved please contact myself or any other committee member.
I look forward to the challenge of leading the club forward in this next chapter and will see you all soon.
Matt Esser
Wisbech Town Hockey Club Chairman
WISBECH TOWN HC 2022/23 OFFICIALS
-
· Chairman – Matt Esser
· Vice Chairperson – Jo Gomm
· Secretary – Harriet Bateman
· Men’s Club Captain – Kev Shippey
· Ladies Club Captain – Sharon Empson
· Fixture and Umpire Liaison Officer – Ian Scott
· Sponsorship Officer - TBC
· Membership & Finance Officer – Claire Burton
· Marketing & Communications Officer – Rob McGregor
· Junior Development Officer – Sam Markillie
· Welfare Officer – Sharon Empson
· Social Officer – Andrea Eggleton
· Co-Opt Members – Jason Mallett, Jason Esser, Natalie Ward, Louise Cooper, Charlie Baxter, Hannah Welcher
-
· Men’s 1st XI – Charlie Baxter
· Men’s 2nd XI – Kev Shippey/Jonathan Shippey
· Men’s 3rd XI – Mike Lawrence
· Men’s 4th XI – Brandon Ruff
· Ladies 1st XI – Jo Gomm
· Ladies 2nd XI – Harriet Bateman
· Ladies 3rd XI – Emma Webb
· Mixed – Georgie Dunn