This weekend, on the 27-28th August, the annual Y1 Championship will be taking place at Sugden Road, Surbiton. It’s an exciting new club tournament set up by Y1 Hockey to enhance the coverage and fan experience of club hockey. Not only is this set to be a great spectacle for hockey fans but there will be over £20,000 worth of prizes up for grabs for the competing teams.
Off the back of England’s Commonwealth Games success, this is an opportunity to see some of those players up close, including the likes of Phil Roper, Nick Bandurak and Ollie Payne. The tournament will be showcasing both men’s and women’s hockey at senior level, u16s and u14s.
The senior tournament will be a shorter format, with 10 minute quarters, creating a fast paced style of hockey. The new rule introduced is a 5 minute power play! Each team can call one power play per game and during this period their goals will count as 2. In the Y1 Champs Qualifiers tournament, Sevenoaks used their power play to claw back a 3-1 loss by scoring a penalty corner on the full time whistle during a power play. With £2,500 prize money on the line we expect to see teams going all out to use their power play to help secure victory.
In the junior finals, the new rule implemented is that shootouts will replace corners. This has been well received, adding excitement, individual skill and more goals. The winners of each u14 and u16 final will each receive a free Y1 stick, worth a total value of £4,700. Huge game for these talented youngsters playing in front of a big crowd.
Media coverage is at the forefront of the Y1 Champs. Galvanised will be filming both pitches and Y1 will be live streaming the semi-finals and finals on their Youtube channel. Pitch 1 will have 4 different camera angles and commentary from international athletes; Brendan Creed & Phil Roper. They host their own hockey podcast called ‘Lets Stick Together’, if you’ve listened to it you will be prepared for some lighthearted banter.
If you can’t make it to Sugden Road, make sure you follow along at @Y1Champs Instagram for all the behind-the-scenes from Y1’s team of content creators.
Saturday will kick off at 11am for the group stages and Sunday will be a 9am start and a day packed full of knock-out hockey and a big Bank Holiday party!
Get Your Tickets
Tickets are still available and you can get a 20% discount using code ‘HWNCHAMPS’ at checkout. The action starts at 11am on Saturday and 9am on Sunday. The after party is set to be a big part of the event on Sunday, so make sure you stick around for the DJ sets and enjoy a drink with the players.
Men’s Teams:
Wimbledon, Hampstead & Westminster, Holcombe, East Grinstead, Oxted, Exeter
Women’s Teams:
Surbiton, Wimbledon, Holcombe, East Grinstead, Buckingham, Beeston, ISCA
U16 Girls Final:
Knole Park vs Hockey Mentors
U16 Boys Final:
Surbiton vs Wessex Spartans
U14 Girls Final:
Surbiton vs Knole Park
U14 Boys Final:
Wimbledon vs Surbiton
The Format:
- Two-Day Event
- Men’s Matches- 4 x 12.5 Mins ¼’s (150 or 200 mins of hockey)
- Women’s matches 4 x 10 Min ¼’s (160 or 200 mins of hockey)
- Event to go ahead on the Weekend of the 27/28th August at Sugden Road
- Five-Minute ‘Power Play’ Rule – when a team calls for their power play, all goals scored in that 5 minutes are worth two! Power plays must be called at the start of a ¼ before that ¼ starts
The Prizes:
- Men’s Champions: £2,500 cash
- Women’s Champions: £2,500 cash
- Junior Champions: Free Stick for each player
- Top Goalscorers (Senior): £100 Y1 Voucher
- Goalkeeper of the tournament Senior: £100 Y1 Voucher
- Player of the tournament Senior: £100 Y1 Voucher
Men’s Group 1: Oxted, East Grinstead, Wimbledon
Men’s Group 2: Holcombe, Hampstead & Westminster, Exeter
Women’s Group 1: Surbiton, Holcombe, Buckingham
Women’s Group 2: East Grinstead, Wimbledon, ISCA, Beeston