50 years ago in November 1975, the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) took its first steps in promoting indoor hockey in England. They did this by organising what was then billed as the first National Ladies’ Indoor Tournament. It was held at Birmingham University on 2 November. The AEWHA had received an invitation to send a women’s team to the HDM Indoor Tournament in the Netherlands – HDM (Haagsche Delftsche Mixed Hockey Club) is a major club in The Hague that organised an annual indoor event. Without any sort of structure for indoor women’s hockey in England at the time, the AEWHA’s inaugural event was the method chosen to select a team to attend. Due to clashes with County outdoor fixtures, only five teams were able to attend: Ealing, Redland (Bristol), Stafford, Sutton and Swindon. The tournament was played to a round-robin format with Ealing coming out on top winning all four of their matches, with Redland placed second. As a result, Ealing were invited to attend the tournament in The Hague in December and Redland had the unexpected bonus of an invitation to play in Hamburg, Germany, at the end of November. What an experience for both of … Continue reading Following Europe’s Lead: the Dawn of Women’s Indoor Hockey in England