The National Cup Qualifiers 2008 were held at the Ross Peers Sports Centre, Soham over the weekend of the 12th/13th January for the under 11’s, Under 13’s, Under 15’s and Under 17’s.

The entries were as follows :-
Under 11’s BURY, ELY, HBU, KINGS LYNN & MANCHESTER.
Under 13’s BURY, ELY, HBU, HERNE BAY, KINGS LYNN, MANCHESTER & PETERBOROUGH.
Under 15’s BURY, ELY A, ELY B, HBU, HERNE BAY, KINGS LYNN, LETCHWORTH, MANCHESTER, MIDDLESBROUGH & PETERBOROUGH.
Under 17’s BURY, ELY, HBU, HERNE BAY,MANCHESTER, MIDDLESBROUGH & PETERBOROUGH.

For those of you who did not manage to get to the event, you missed two days of fantastic Roller Hockey, a statement that I am sure will be supported by those who did attend.
As you can see from the results, apart from one or two large scores, most of the games were close and very exciting.
The atmosphere, created by the play and the spectators was very special.

My congratulations and thanks to all the teams taking part for providing us with a great spectacle and entertainment over the two days and particular congratulations to those teams who will play off on Cup Finals Day on the 5th July for the various trophies.

Referee Training
Over the years we have had various people take on the job of training referees. Like other areas within our sport, one of the problems has been lack of continuity.
We now have the opportunity, with Carlos Amaral working full-time for Roller Hockey, to establish the continuity required and we took the first step over this weekend to hold a Basic Referees Course for Beginners.
Six people took part, the course comprising of a 3 hour classroom session on Saturday. which finished with a written examination, and a practical test on Sunday which was assessed using a standard assessment form.
The advantage of using Carlos for this purpose is to standardise the courses at the various levels, standardise the instruction and pass marks, and most importantly have a long term record of applicants and results in one place.
Any Club or Region requiring a Referees Course only has to contact Carlos or me and we will endeavour to arrange it to suit you. There is no cost attachment for this.

For me, this is another brick in the building of a stable structure for the future development of Roller Hockey.
Added to the National Calendar, the National Training Weekend, the training weekends abroad for our National and Development Squads and the Coaching Courses that Carlos is implementing, the structure is growing and improving.

However, we must never forget that none of this is possible without the invaluable work that is done by all those working in the Clubs, the players, the parents, and their collective support and co-operation.

Keith Allen
President – National Roller Hockey Association