MEMBERS of Canterbury Ladies’ Hockey Club are looking forward to a well-earned summer break after the most successful season in their history.

Canterbury won the Hockey Association Cup for the first time by beating Slough 4-0 in the final and also lost 2-1 in the Premiership final to the same opposition, but by finishing runners-up they qualified for European competition next season for the first time.

Team manager Sue Bodycomb, who lives in Deal, is justifiably proud of their achievements. The former Deal HC player said: “When you think that we are also the only club in the country which has teams in both the men’s and women’s Premier Divisions, it shows how strong the club is, and it’s so locally-based in terms of where the players come from.”

The ladies’ team has particularly strong Deal and Dover connections. Captain Mel Clewlow is another former Deal player, Alice Dunn and Jackie Laslett live at Ash, while Nicky Litchfield and Laslett both work at Buckland Hospital. Many of the youngsters who attend the mini and junior sections also come from this area.

Canterbury Ladies have been in the national Premier Division for five years, but few were predicting so much success at the start of the season.

As Bodycomb said: “We had been in the doldrums for two or three years and we made a fairly mediocre start this season, but we lost only one game after Christmas and the team spirit has been just fantastic.”

The downside of their success is that they are likely to suffer from international call-ups next season in the build-up to the Athens Olympics.

Clewlow, Anna Bennett and Frances Houslop are all likely to be involved with Great Britain while Jen Wilson and Susan Webber are expected to be in the South Africa squad.

So Canterbury will be looking to their younger players to come through and the success of the junior section this season, including the Boys’ Under-18 team winning the National Plate competition, suggests the future is in good hands.

* Any youngster interested in attending Canterbury’s mini and junior training should ring John Maylam (boys) on 01227 830419 or Sue Spight (girls) on 01227 264022.