News

Phew! That was a very busy season both on and off the pitch. Firstly I really have to express my sincere thanks to all the women who took on a club role and worked so exceptionally hard to make this season run smoothly. 

I have to thank Moira Edwards who has kept the ladies section running, doing an enormous amount of liaising with South Wales league, and also for taking on the mantle of umpires’ manager along with Julie Cook as no one stepped forward.

Kath Hunter's extraordinary and superb efforts in her first season as fixture secretary have been outstanding and a shining example to all club members, thank you, and also to Elin Bowen for keeping on top of subscriptions and match fees through the season. 

I must thank our amazing team captains for their extremely professional approach, hard work and organisation to get squads ready each week. These ladies have worked their socks off the entire season. Thank you for putting up with me and also for being so responsive, cooperative and flexible.

1s Captain - Lucy Allen and fitness trainer extraordinaire; 

2s Captain - Becca Daniels who also somehow fitted in coaching and running the U15s and U18s girls sides, ably abetted by Gerry Blake; 

3s Captains - Elin Bowen, Emma Drain and Emily Cook; 

4s Captains - Emma Harvey, Vanessa Maidment, Alice Hammond and Louise McCarroll;

5s Captains - Kenny G and Hannah Walter who worked miracles. 

This season, the highlight has to be the Ladies 2s reaching the 2nd XI Cup Final to play Howards 2s from Prem One. The squad did exceptionally well to reach the final and were unlucky to go down to a very early goal. Well done ladies and I'm sure all would agree it was a great game to watch, with plenty of support from the side line. 

As with the last league season, no teams were promoted but the 3s and again the 4s went extremely close with both squads finishing third in their respective leagues. On the plus side, for the first season in three years, no Saints teams were relegated. 

The 1s had a steady season again, finishing in 5th position in Premier One for the second year running. The 1s also enjoyed one of their best cup runs, reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup before narrowly losing out to Howards 1s in a very tight game. The 2s endured a tough start to the season but managed a credible 5th place in Premier Two. Both squads have worked extremely hard on fitness and performance and we are looking to expand both squads by recruiting more quality players to add to the present talented crop of dedicated players; and to build better capacity to counter the effects of availability issues as this is a big problem within the ladies section.  

The 3s had a fine season consolidating and rebuilding despite a hiccup for the first game. The squad had a nice blend from all age groups with new, old and returning faces and a great team spirit, although attendance at training did fluctuate throughout the season. A special mention is made to the youngsters in the team whose skill and energy levels and individuals with pace, contributed to a very successful season with a positive goal difference. The squad performed with determination throughout the season which shone through when playing at Llandrindod Wells with ten players in lashing rain and win. The side eventually lost after a great fight against the eventual champions. The 3s are looking forward to next season and need a new team captain, new youngsters to replace the ones, and sufficient squad numbers to attend at training to practice penalty corner routines, which in turn may assist in achieving promotion.

Meanwhile in Division 3, the 4s enjoyed one of their best seasons, finishing a strong third and narrowly missing out on promotion. The squad was invigorated with a crop of new talent and a core team emerged as the season progressed meaning better consistency. Amy Bowen made her debut for Whitchurch Saints and was a key contributor to the 39 goals scored and this was recognised in her being voted 4's player of the season. The 4s hope next season to be just as successful and are hungry for promotion to Division 2.

The 5s squad have been a refreshing treat and wonderful example of Saints spirit for the rest of the club to witness. This was their first season in the league and despite some heavy defeats; they always got a team out and clearly enjoyed themselves. 

Overall, we have been hampered by availability issues throughout the season. Many of these issues are unavoidable due to work shifts, parenting and childcare issues, illness and injury, but the signs are there, we need greater commitment from players to look ahead at the season's fixtures and their own personal diaries. 

There are changes afoot as Dougie is stepping down as ladies lead coach and I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his hard work and expertise over the past three seasons. We will miss him. We look forward to working with our new head coach to take us further in all areas and to strive to reach new heights of performance and achievement.

BUT LADIES WE NEED YOUR HELP 

We need far more women to volunteer to do more roles on the management committee in order to maintain the direction of the club, and to ensure issues that affect the women's section are taken seriously and thoroughly addressed at a whole club level. Further to this, even though some of us want to continue in our roles, I have to stress ALL positions are up for election. So if you would like to help please put yourself forward and officers/positions will be elected at the whole club AGM in June – we will send out a brief job description in the next few weeks. In particular, we are looking for captains for the 2s and 3s teams, an umpires’ manager so please step up ladies, we need committed and organised leaders to function effectively. 

I look forward to next season and to great things from all our sides, we have to say goodbye to a few who are moving on and say hello to new exceptional players who will continue to promote the Whitchurch Saints tradition of being one of the most fair minded, caring, honest, friendly clubs in Wales. 

Go Saints 

Elspeth