As we welcome a new side to the OCHC family, Jane Taylor gives the website a brief history of the “OC Vamps”
“30 years ago a group of the more experienced (over 30’s) 1st XI ladies at Epsom HC formed the ladies vets team. Unfortunately due to a lack of available pitches the vets left Epsom and moved to the Maori Club at Worcester Park. The Maori club was owned by P&O and sported one of the best grass hockey pitches in the area. Because the majority of players had a reputation for enjoying the more social elements the team name was changed to “Maori Vamps” . We were famous for our hospitality and our legendary cheese on toast teas plus hosting long sessions in the bar. One of the downsides, or some might disagree, was that the showers were sometimes shared with the footballers. After playing in the Surrey League for a number of years and reaching Division 1, we made the decision to come out of the league. However we still played every Saturday and all year round, playing in 2 friendly leagues in the summer and meeting up regularly for socials. When the Maori club was eventually sold off some years ago we had to find a new venue. We had a few different homes and played for a few years at Feltham Community Colleage. In the last couple of years we have been struggling to get fixtures every week and this year decided to bite the bullet and rejoin the Surrey league and, with the change, came a new club. We are very excited to be joining OCs and look forward to hopefully being a valuable contribution to the club.”
I get the impression these ladies will keep the bar busy…..