World Record Attempt

Would you like to be a World Record Holder? You have been waiting all month for our promised announcement and here it is.
We are offering you the chance to become a World Record Holder, YES YOU.

This coming August bank Holiday weekend (August 29th-30th) we are organising an attempt to set a World Record for the longest ever outdoor hockey match. We have spoken with the record keepers and obtained the rules from them so that the attempt can be validated and authorised as an official World Record. The authorities tell us there is no official world record for this category at the moment so if you take part not only will you be a World Record Holder, but you will be one of the first to hold the record. We have been speaking to a venue and are just finalising the fine details before we can announce where this attempt will be held. Suffice to say it is a premier hockey venue in the midlands of England and will provide a superb platform for the event.

We also plan to run along side the attempt a 6 a side festival over the two days so if you are not selected for the teams then you can come along, play, join in the fun and watch the progress to the record.

Our Objectives
1 To set a World Record in excess of 24 hours
2 Raising money for Cancer Research UK

Players will be asked to raise personal sponsorship from team mates and friends and we would like to set a target of £500 per player thereby raising a minimum of £16,000 from the two squads, which will go to Cancer Research UK. Squad members will not be excluded if they don't reach £500 but it would be fantastic if everyone could try. There will be a special award to the player who raises the most sponsorship money.
In addition anyone and everyone in hockey will be able to donate to the charity fund via Just Giving and we will be contacting manufacturers and hockey related businesses for shirt sponsorship. Our overall target for this event is £40,000, and we know with your help and support we can do it. We know economic times are hard but it is even more important to give to worthy causes in these times. We know most of us will have family or friends who have been touched by Cancer and that is why cancer research has been chosen.

3 The launch of the NE14Hockey 6's Festival - Fun with a competitive edge

We hope to run a festival alongside the record attempt this year and we plan to make it an annual event to be based in a different part of the UK each year building to 2012. The 2012 festival will be run in South East England to coincide with The London Olympics. More details of the 2012 event will be announced later in the year but we have plans that will allow all overseas players to participate if they are visiting the games and fancy a game or two while they are here. You wont need to bring your own team in order to play.

How to register your Interest
World Record Attempters

The 2009 World Record Attempt will be for Men's teams
A 2010 attempt will be run to set a Women's record.

The World Record teams are limited to 16 player squads with normal hockey rules applying regarding rolling subs etc. In addition to a rest on the bench, rest minutes are accumulated during play and longer rests can be taken when a player needs it. facilities for a power nap and restock of food and fluids will be laid on. As our objective is to set a record in excess of 24 hours the first thing is you need to be fit and think you can manage such a feat. You also need to be available from Friday August 28th as we plan a prompt 10am start on the Saturday.

We expect to get plenty of applications to take part in both the record attempt and the Festival so the closing date for entries for both has been set as April 5th 2009 The World Record Teams will be drawn out of the hat on April 6th and sponsorship forms sent to the lucky 32 so they can start their fund raising efforts over the Easter festival period. If we have enough applications from Ireland Scotland and Wales we would like to play England versus the Rest just to add a competitive edge to the match. If you are from any where in the world and will be in the UK in August then you can apply to be in one of the teams too, we would love to make it a true WORLD RECORD

To apply for the World Record Teams just register as at least a basic member of NE14Hockey and send an e-mail to events@ne14hockey.com and your name will be placed in the draw. There will be no entry fees or playing costs for the players in these teams just a commitment to try and raise as much sponsorship as you can.

Festival Teams
To register interest in entering a team for the festival e-mail ultimate@ne14hockey.com If we are oversubscribed with applications for the festival then priority will be given to teams in the following ways:-

Firstly teams connected to a player in a world record team will be given first refusal of a place. This is so they can be there for moral support when the going gets tough in the final hours
Teams organised by a registered member of NE14Hockey.com
Application date
Others

The entry fee per team will be £120 just £10 per squad member and you will guaranteed 7 games over the weekend 4 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday for every team attending. Games will be 17 minutes one-way with a 3 minute change over so teams will have a fixed 1hr 40 gap for a refreshment of your choice and to cheer on the world record attempt. We will ask teams to grade themselves on the application form so that if you want a bit of fun and a few beers you can play against like minded teams. Some groups will be set up in tournament format for those of a more competitive nature and the pool winners will play semi finals and finals on the Sunday.

Team applications will be sent out after the closing date in April and will need to be returned with a deposit of £50 by the end of May.

In addition to the hockey camping should be available on site for those who don't want to miss any of the action and there will be a Fancy dress disco on the Saturday night for those who don't want to hit the night life of the city. There will be food available throughout the day and a the clubhouse is a short stagger from the pitches. We also hope to provide details of accommodation close to the site at a reasonable cost.

Officials and Independent Adjudicators
We would like to provide umpires for the festival games as well as the record attempt so we estimate we need somewhere in the region of 40 umpires about for the weekend. We also need people prepared to monitor substitutions, keep score, and generally make sure the attempt is verified and done within the rules, and these need to be independent of NE14Hockey.com. If you would be prepared to help us out in either of these areas please send an e-mail to admin@ne14hockey.com in the first instance stating if you are an umpire or willing to act as a technical adjudicator. We could also use a couple of team physios per squad and a team management if anyone wants to volunteer. We will be contacting St John's Ambulance regarding medical cover throughout the weekend.

So come on Hockey, lets set a World Record, raise money for a good cause and have some fun in the process.

If you cant attend or participate but would like donate to our charity event now please use the following link to our Just Giving page
NE14Hockey at Just Giving