We would like to welcome all adult club members to what we hope will be an uplifting and enjoyable day of hockey in honour of our wonderful son Costas Georgellis, who many of you knew and/or played hockey with over the years. According to his coaches and teammates, Costas was a quietly confident hockey player, who was highly valued for his reliability, humility, sportsmanship and wicked reverse tackle, which many struggled to get past.
The memorial hockey event (26th April) will consist of a morning triangular involving many of Costas’s former teammates from the three clubs he played for – Eastcote (where his hockey career began aged 5), ACHC (where he played from age 11-18) and Loughborough University (where he rose through the ranks to play for the Men’s 3rd team at a uni where the 1st and 2nd teams were nearly all national league players). The afternoon will consist of ‘spontaneous’ mixed festival matches for anyone else who would like to honour Costas’s love of hockey with time on the pitch… so bring your sticks and shinpads! Food will available for sale and the bar will be open.
A key goal of the day will be to raise awareness of support for bereaved families and struggling young people and to remind ourselves of the importance of checking in with our friends and family members, especially young men, for whom sharing how they are feeling is often discouraged by society and the sporting world. We will be raising vital funds for two charities close to our hearts – SoBS (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide), whose group meetings were a lifesaver for me (and, in turn, our family) in those early days, and Papyrus, which provides a range of vital services aimed at preventing suicide in young people.
Come along to play, spectate, share memories, support a good cause or just say hello. We hope to see you there and keep fingers crossed for good weather.
Finally, a huge thank you to those who are helping to organise this event – we couldn’t do it without you!
