I’ll let Charlotte fill in the details for the Ladies but the stats for them are looking good with a doubling of size in 2024 and strong enough to send two teams to some events.
OVERVIEW 2024 - MEN
19 teams sent to 11 different named events plus several friendlies – this is lower than in 2023 as we did not attend the 2024 World Cup in Cape Town or New Zealand. Interestingly in 2024 we used 101 different players during the year which means over 60% of our membership are participating in Thistles Events (some are also heavily involved in National).
Some good, some not so good:
· o55s under John Swift is now an established group and from this in 2025 an o50s has started.
· o60s under Carlos Michelson now had 34 named players, the largest grouping at this age ever, most of whom have played in 2024.
· o65s are holding the world’s best to one or two goals, but are aging and in 2025 a number of regulars have moved into National 70s. To help the situation Ian Chitty has taken this section on for 2025.
· o70s have evolved a regular group of players and increased their competitiveness as shown in the medal placings at Tilburg for example. Again though in 2025 National are scooping up players who would have added to this competitiveness. Neil Ward has taken the reins for 2025.
· o75s, more problematic than we wished. The numbers are not huge and many would prefer only to play National. Also it is tricky to get commitment to multi-day events especially outside the UK. Understandably Duncan Mitchell had to pull back from looking after this age group and he is thanked for his efforts. No-one has yet come forward to take his place though Sandy Weir is helping as he can.
INITIATIVES from 2024
The inside Scotland initiatives are not progressing. Some districts do have a thriving Masters community which is run on the initiative of individuals and use the support of a local club. But there is a lot of league and a lot of National Masters training which occupies pitches and good people. At present we don’t have a solution. Discussions on a Scottish Masters Cup are still discussions. We shall continue to press the powers-that-be into moving Thistles type masters hockey higher up the agenda.
INITIATIVES for 2025
Two major drives got underway: get Thistles more competitive and get our o75s out.
The competitive drive was well accepted and at Tilburg two of the three teams were medal placed whilst our o60s were commended for pushing the quasi-national teams to the wire. We have a 50s team in the European Championship in Valencia at this very moment. We also have strong squads for the Euros at Nottingham at age 55s and 60s. With the efforts of Carlos Michelson and John Swift we have every reason to believe this push will continue.
There is no complaint about National taking players – it is well accepted that they must do what they need to regardless of any knock on effect. The effect though is being particularly felt at 65, 70 and 75. For IGMHF what was three strong squads (60, 65, 70, sadly the 75s were already known to be short) were depleted and now only the 60s and 70s are attending. For the Euros at Ludwigsburg (65, 70 and 75) where there is little flexibility on dispensations we sadly had to pull out all three teams. Demographics are also against us this year with several previous regulars moving up an age group and quite correctly into National. This is why growing the 60s (and younger) is so important to increase the gene pool for the future. Of interest: there is a sense that World Masters Hockey are evolving into a three layer system and we have to be competitive enough to ensure we aren’t in the also-ran category.
The 75s initiative may prove to have been a year early but I registered Thistles 75s for three competitive events in the hope that if National could not attend then Thistles with the benefit of a broader base of players could go instead. This didn’t pan out but we still want our o75s to be at SeptemberFest in Cambridge in, well, September.
OPEN DAYS
In regard to open days – with all the leagues, masters training schedules, work and grandkids we’re not having much luck with the open days. Even though there is inevitably some sort of clash we shall still schedule two a year and please come along they are a great way to meet fellow players and see just how substantial our Thistles club is.
PLANNING
Getting teams together is a major task and needs the discipline provided by the website diary registration system. Without you registering on this we can’t plan. Remember we have to pay to enter often six months in advance and it is highly dispiriting to pull a squad out at the last moment. You pre-registration early in the year lets us see the interest. The website shows a probable schedule of events for the year. The Diary then shows the actual events and the News section displays information as it arrives. Keep an eye on the website so you can plan your Thistles adventure in 2025 and 2026.
Ian McCreath
Events