Women's Area Masters Championships 2025

This summer Area Masters hosted 17 competitions across the country, including the WO70 friendly 7 a-side. More teams than ever took part. A total of 123 teams and over 2,000 players. Huge thanks to all the host clubs and tournament delivery teams including organisers, directors, umpires and match officials. We couldn’t have delivered these tournaments without you.

WO35

The WO35s was hosted by London, at Surbiton Hockey Club, over a weekend of glorious weather. Never has Sugden Road heard so many requests for spots to erect gazebos, water bottle refills and pitch watering (with players for once not avoiding the jets). 

The teams battled hard with lots of close results including honours even in the northern derby between Yorkshire & North East versus North West. But it was South East showing early dominance by closing out the day on maximum points, 12 goals and a clean sheet. The BBQ sparked into life and 150 hot, tired players socialised and refuelled for the next day.

 Sunday was cloudier but no less hot with the teams’ stamina and energy reserves being tested to the extreme. 

Despite being last to leave the bar the night before London banked a convincing early win before achieving the seemingly impossible and making South East both concede a goal and drop points. 

As the Table tightened the TD nervously checked the rules for how to manage a potential 3-way tie.

A strong second day for East left them with the chance to take the title from South East but their 2:1 win in the final game between them wasn’t enough to overtake their rival’s superior goal difference.

West, having beaten North West to overtake them and move into 3rd had a nervous wait to see if South Central would do the same to them but despite numerous short corners, valiant Midlands defended well and secured the draw.

A fun weekend with hockey played in the true Masters spirit.

WO40

The WO40 tournament at Timperley HC enjoyed glorious sunny, warm conditions on the Saturday with two comfortable early victories by Yorkshire & NE scoring 7 goals. By early afternoon on day 1, it seems they were the team to beat, 5 points clear of the field, with 3 wins out of 3 and with nobody else winning more than one match. East and South Central also fought well throughout the day, both remaining undefeated with 2 wins and 2 draws. Y&NE made it 4 out of 4 in the penultimate match of the day against London and South Central pipped the East for second with a good 3-0 result in the last Match over the Midlands.

So overnight Yorkshire & NE, by scoring 13 goals during the day, had a clear 4 pt lead over South Central and East. Whilst home support for the North West was somewhat deflated with only 1 win, it was hoped an improvement from 6^th place could be achieved.

As seems usual with the Women’s tournaments, the evening function was welcomed in the spirit of Masters Hockey and well attended by over 100 players and officials and I’m told a great time was had by all.

An earlier start on Sunday morning in continuing warm conditions, meant not only early warm-ups for the teams but also for the Timperley Club Physios who suddenly became extremely popular. With Yorkshire & NE and South Central both winning their first games the battle for gold and silver remained unchanged especially as the North West had a stirring first performance of the day against 3^rd placed East winning 3-1. Just after midday, NW moved into bronze medal position with another victory, this time over London. Again, with both Y&NE and SC winning their second matches of the day the gold and silver medals were decided and East were left to fight out the bronze with the NW. Just after 1.00pm on pitch 2, a great ironic cheer went up from the crowd as the South East finally scored their first goal of the weekend. They later scored a second and recorded their first win as well to avoid the wooden spoon.

In the final round of matches, the NW continued their remarkable Sunday improvement with their third win of the day against the West and despite the East finally getting a win over the South East…..NW achieved a creditable bronze medal.

Shelagh Everett, Vice-Chair of the NW presented the gold medals and a trophy of liquid refreshment to the undefeated Yorkshire & NE side with of course South Central (also undefeated) in the silver medal position and the North West taking the bronze.

This year the Women’s O40s Tournament involved 8 Area Teams from 88 different Clubs with 140 Players and Team Officials. It produced 58 goals, with only 14 (13G-1Y) disciplinary cards and thankfully, zero reportable playing injuries.

WO45

The WO45 was also held at the Nottingham Hockey Centre on the same weekend as the MO50. The weekend was a particularly hot one. Both tournaments ran well, with a friendly atmosphere amongst all teams.

London women won the trophy winning 6 and drawing 1 match, being held to a 0-0 draw by South Central. The West came second winning 5, drawing with the South East and losing to London. South Central were in 3^rd place winning 4, drawing 2 against the Midlands and London and losing only to the West. Congratulations to all the medalling teams. The Midlands were 4^th, South East 5^th, Yorkshire & North East were 6^th with the North West 7^th and the East 8^th.

A very competitive tournament much enjoyed by all teams.

WO50

The Women’s O50 tournament was held in Bowdon, on the hottest weekend of the year! The action started at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, between the Midlands and Yorkshire North East. The first half was a slightly edgy 0-0, but things were soon livened up in the second half with a-goal-a-piece.

The action in the second game certainly heated up, with the East convincingly beating the West 3-1 before hot footing it over to Bowdon, for the opening match on this pitch, against the Midlands. A quick debrief on the 5-minute walk between pitches certainly kept them warm, but they were held to a 0-0 draw by the Midlands. Alty Boys welcomed the southerners, as the South East opened their account with a 1-0 win over the South Central. The local girls, the North West, stunned London with a 2-0 victory. As Saturday moved into the evening, the heat of the day started to take its toll, with gaps appearing on both pitches but scorelines tightening up.

The East topped the table at the end of the day with 10 points and a goal difference of 5. The South East lost 1-0 to the East, and sat in second with 9 points. Mid-table were South Central with 7 points, the West with 7 points, and the North West with 6 points. It was all to play for on Sunday!

On Sunday morning South East beat the West 2-0. Had these 2 teams really played the day before, as the match was played at such a high pace by both teams, whilst South Central finally found their form, cruising 3-0 past London. The East followed suite knocking 2 goals in against Yorkshire North East, and the North West also returned to winning ways in edging 1 past the Midlands.

With one game to go, the race for gold was still being keenly contested. The newly created bronze medal was also up for grabs - with South Central, West and North West all still in the mix. The East then drew 1-1 with South Central and the South East drew 2-2 with the North West. The West also drew with the Midlands and London snuck 1 goal past Yorkshire North East.

Congratulations to the East who are worthy Champions. They played with great spirit both on and off the pitch. Last year's Champions - South East - pushed them all the way in second place. South Central with bronze, really found their form as the tournament went on, and with another day of action, could well have topped their table - if the weather and legs allowed it!. The West will feel slightly hard done by on missing out on a medal by a goal difference of 1, but this doesn’t take away from the great team hockey they and all the teams played over the weekend.

WO55

The WO55 was also won by the East at Ben Rhydding HC. Lovely North Yorkshire weather on the first day helped provide great conditions for hockey and the competition was fierce and games close and hard fought. The trophy holders West had a slow start and tripped up against a strong South Central side losing 1-0 in the first game but then went on to win the other 3 games and end up on 9 points at the end of day 1. East won all 3 of their first games but were held to a draw by a resilient YNE in the last one – despite having a flick saved and an appeal for another one turned down as the umpire felt it was going wide. South Central were also unbeaten on the first day although North West held them to a 1-1 draw. So at the end of day 1 it was a three horse race with East and South Central on 10 points each and West on 9 – the rest of the field were a bit behind with 3 teams all on 4 points, South East on 3; and YNE on the one point they got from the draw with East.

Sunday saw blustery and sharp showers and less clement conditions while the showers lasted. It started with East seeming to slip up by being held to a 1-1 draw by South East, and seeing West win to overtake them…. But they had both West and South Central to play – so knew it was still in their hands. And they delivered victories in both games to take gold. West overtook South Central in the run in to take silver; and South Central took bronze. North West were fourth and to show how close the competition was in the rest of the field, the next 3 teams ended up on 7 points split only by goal difference.

WO60

The WO60 tournament was held this year at Stourport HC in the Midlands. The weather was very cool and rainy but it didn’t dampen the competition and the comradery amongst players across all teams. It all kicked off win a win by South Central over the hosts the Midlands followed by a win for Yorkshire & North East over the West and draws between the East and London and South East and North West. The North West then beat South Central, the Midlands drew with South East and Y&NE drew with the East. London managed a tight 1-0 win over the West but lost to the North West and South East beat the East 2-0. Y&NE then played out a 0-0 draw with South Central, as did the East and the Midlands. The South East then lost to London 2-0 and the West beat the NW 2-1. So all very close at the end of day 1. A big evening meal for all teams was held at the club with a fun higher and lower card game to entertain afterwards.

Sunday was still cool so warm ups very necessary! Y&NE started the day strongly with a 1-0 win over London and NW drew with the East. Meanwhile the South East just beat south Central 1-0 and the West just beat the Midlands 2-1. London then had a win against the Midlands and the two North teams share a 1-1 draw. The East kept their run going with a wins over South Central and the West. London also won their last two games against the Midlands and South Central so it was all down to the final game.

Y&NE drew a very hard fought game 0-0 with South East giving each a point and putting Y&NE into second place with London the outright winners. Congratulations to London. North West won the bronze with the east 4^th and the South East 5^th. The West were 6^th, south Central 7^th and the Midlands 8^th. A really well run tournament that was greatly enjoyed by all the players.

WO65

The sun came out at Folkestone Optimist HC for the WO65 for the latter part of day one which the players, officials and supporters all enjoyed. With 29 goals scored on the first day it was going to be a very competitive tournament. Yorkshire & North East finished day 1 on top having played 4 games with 4 wins, closely followed by the West team who won 3 and drew 1. 

After a hard day of hockey, all the teams got together in the evening and enjoyed a meal and table quiz with lots of laughter and time to catch up with friends. 

Day 2 on Sunday started with a top of the table clash between Yorkshire & NE and the West.  An exciting game with the West winning 2 - 0.  This set up an exciting last two games with the East playing both teams. Despite attempts by all three teams both games ended with nil-nil draws.

The South East started the day with a win and had the opportunity to finish in third place with a win in their final game. Unfortunately, it ended in a draw and with the East’s two draws they claimed the bronze medal by two points.

Congratulations to the West who won the gold, Yorkshire & North East the silver and East the bronze. The South East was 4^th, London 5^th, Suth Central 6^th and the Midlands 7^th.

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend with some great hockey!

WO70

The O70s women had a super one day 7 a-side friendly tournament held at Hampton in Arden HC.  Not all Areas were able to field a team, so some were combined. No medals, but sweets all round for the players and umpires, and of course tea and cake afterwards. Wonderful.