News Archive

• Coach Level 1: 3 days over two weekends in September 2010, cost ~ £150, email Mick
• Coach Level 2: 6/7th and 12/13th November 2010, cost £160, email Paul Westhead
• Referee Grade 4 (and scorer) :  one full weekend (9.30-17.00), cost ~ £50, email Glynn or Sebastien
  
  

They did us proud - best game ever!!

In what was the best game I've ever seen the Ladies (and possibly the whole club!) ever play, Welwyn lost the final today to Watford 3-0. But every set was so closely fought with fantastic rallies. I'm sure a fuller report will be coming , but for now, here's one photo I took: we proudly present the HVA Ladies KO Cup 2010 runners-up:

• Saturday 17th October - 845AM to 1045AM 
• Saturday 24th October - 4PM to 6PM
• Wednesday 16th December - 8PM to 10PM

• AGM Monday 30th June
  
  The 2008 AGM will take place on Monday 30th June starting at 8pm in The White Horse at Burnham Green, following usual monday night play.  Everybody welcome - please come along and have your say in your club - we even have an Agenda (but possibly not the Minutes from last year - my none-too-subtle bid for uselessness as an excuse to not take them this year: webmaster) . By the way, monday nights have been fantastic on the green so far, but turnout has been surprisingly low - make this your chance to start coming for fun play in the balmy summer evenings.
  
  
• Big Nite Out
  
  The Social Committee have organised another night out for Saturday 5th July, starting at Fiona's place (real close to town centre)  for drinks and Nibbles (Snowballs and Cheesy Puffs) then off into town for a meal, style as yet undecided.  Fiona has kindly offered basic sleeping facilities (a floor) for anyone who wants to stay the night.  If you are interested please can you let Will or Fiona know, so we can gauge numbers
  
  
• Bank Holiday Monday 26th May
  
  Weather permitting we will start play at 2pm on Burnham Green. Followed by Soundbites gig in the White Horse starting at 4.30pm. Back to normal times week after!
  
  
• HVA Cup Finals
  
  The HVA cup finals will take place this Sunday 18th May at Rudolph Steiner School. Women's start 12 noon, and Men's 2pm. Everybody welcome for some brilliant matches, a chance for some friendly outside play and a BBQ. Followed by the awards for the season.
  
  
• Brighton August Bank Holiday Weekend
  
  Birkhamsted have invited us to join them for some Volleyball on the Beach in Brighton. We've been before, and this is highly recommended (details below) but we need to know some numbers so we can book extra court time if needs be. Please mail Fiona ASAP to express interest.
  
  
  Beach Volleyball
  Brighton seafront
  Aug Bank holiday weekend - 23rd and 24th August
  1-3pm both days (with possibility of extension if we have lots of people
  interested) with Birkhamsted VC
  Camping at a local site nearby
  
  
  
• End of indoor training - start of Summer Play
  
  Indoor training at the Gosling has now finished. During the summer we will be playing informal games outside (weather permitting) on Burnham Green starting between 6 and 6.30pm on Monday evenings. Note that this Bank Holiday Monday 5th May we will start play at 2pm, and then everybody is welcome to adjoin next door to Guy's Band's gig at the White Horse starting 4:30pm.
  
  
• Harriers Friendlies 7th & 12th May
  
  Harriers have offered us two friendlies, both starting 20:45 in St Albans. Wednesday 7th May, Hornets(ish) v Hawks and Monday 12th May Wasps(ish) v Jets. The "ish" just shows the sort of level teams - all welcome as always, please let the coach know ASAP if you can play (and which day(s)).
  
  
  ** ALSO NOTE THAT WASPS' GAME v RSS IS ON FOR THIS SATURDAY 3rd MAY **
  
  
  
• Wasps win! Last Hornets Game + Bank Holiday Monday Play
  
  What a game! Wasps beat Vale Vikings 3-1 last night in a stunner of a game. Edge of the seat stuff - well done everybody and thanks to everybody who stayed to support and officiate. The result means that Wasps are well in with a chance to come top of Div 2 I think. Hornets have their last match at home v RSS on Wednesday 8-10pm, so everybody's welcome to support again.
  
  There is no indoor training on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May, but we hope to play outside on Burnham Green from 2pm onwards, followed by Guy and his band playing a gig in the White Horse behind the green starting at 4:30pm. As yet, it's not clear to me if we have any more indoor training this season, but I will attempt to find out.
  
  
• Monday Training + Hornets result + Friendly 7th May
  
  Hornets took a set from VK Barnet (currently 2nd in Division) in what's probably our best game of the season. Thanks and congrats to all who played, really great performance. Let's beat RSS!
  Team: Olga, Elaine, Fiona, Julia, Phil, Bob, Sylvester, Piotr
  
  Just a reminder that Monday's training session will be game play from 7-8pm only, followed by a crucial Wasps home match v Vale Vikings. Also, we have been invited to a friendly v Harriers in St Albans on 7th May at 8.45. Please mail Guy if interested: note we will need to contribute match fees to cover the hall hire, £28 for the team.
  
  
• Match training Sat 19th April ON
  
  We're pleased to confirm that training tomorrow Saturday 19th April 4-6pm is ON at the Gosling. Please make sure to turn up if you have confirmed (and you're very welcome if you haven't!).
  


• Training news & Social Event
  
  As rightly pointed out to me last night, Hornets have a game on Wednesday 30th April, so we will not be booking the extra training mentioned below. However, we have provisionally booked the court for this Saturday 19th April, 4-6pm for matchplay training as both Wasps & Hornets have crucial matches coming up. This can only happen if sufficient people can make it though. Please email Bob ASAP to confirm if you can make it on Saturday.
  
  Also we will be holding a Social Event on Saturday 3rd May to mark the end of the indoor training season. Current plan is to meet at Will's house in Stevenage for drinks at 7pm followed by Curry in the Old Town at around 8.30pm. All (and partners) invited - please email Julia or Will to confirm if you can make it.
  


• Monday 28th April
  
  Firstly my apologies for lack of updates to the website recently. Training on Monday 28th April will only be for one hour, 7-8pm as Wasps have a home match starting at 8pm. We will probably just play a match for the hour, with Wasps officiating. It's a great opportunity to stay on and support Wasps in what is likely to be a tough game, and one they need to win to have a chance of winning the Division! It may be possible to book extra training that week for the Weds 8-10pm. Please let us know next monday if you'd be interested.
  


• Summer Tournaments
  
  There are a number of  Tournament Deadlines approaching. These are always great fun, but we're always bad at organising committment early. If you want to play, we need to enter teams, many within the next couple of weeks. Please email Fiona ASAP if interested.
  


• Next training Wednesday 26th March 8-10pm
  
  There will be no training this Monday 24th March (Easter Monday). However, there will be training next Wednesday 26th March, 8-10pm at the Gosling. This will be structured as a proper training match for the Honeys, but they will of course need someone to play against (i.e. the rest of the club), so please come along and have a game against the Ladies. Monday training resumes as normal on 31st March.
  


• Easter Monday UPDATE....Honeys training match 26th March
  
  It looks like Easter Monday 24th March (not April as below, sorry :-) ) training is on, though it is likely to be 6pm - 8pm (confirmation this monday). Plus, Hatfield Honeys have a friendly v Harriers on 31st March, and we are having a training game for them on Wednesday 26th March, 8-10pm at the Gosling. This will be against allcomers (i.e. the rest of the club), but they want a strong team to play against, so please make a note of this in your diaries.
  


• Possible Easter Monday Training.....Wasps match 22nd postponed
  
  If anybody is interested in training on Easter Monday 24th April, please email Fiona ASAP. This will only go ahead if we have sufficient numbers. In a similar vein, please note that the home Wasps match scheduled for Easter Saturday 22nd March is postponed.
  


• Hornets take set (and nearly more!) from Watford
  
  In a spectacular return to our true form, Hornets gave Watford a real scare last night, losing 3-1 in the end (but the 4th only by 2 points!). Everybody really played their socks off, even if the Captaining was embarassingly over-the-top (sorry guys) - if Glyn had been ref-ing I'd definitely have seen my first yellow card I think :-). Anyway congratulations to everybody, all played really well at the top of their game with high skill levels all round. We have 3 matches left this season, and if we can continue to play as well as we have this week we can easily win 2 of them, and certainly give RSS a run for their money too!
  


• Extra Match Training Saturday 8th March
  
  Due to the cancellation of Wasps' match this Saturday, we have extra match training 4-6pm Saturday 8th March at the Gosling. All are welcome, but particularly all who are available to play for Hornets on Sunday, away to Watford at 5pm.
  


• National League Matches Sunday 24th
  
  Herts Nomads (Herts Ladies National League team) have 3 matches locally on Sunday 24th. It's a full day of National League matches at St Clement Danes School in Chorley Wood starting 11.30am. This is a great opportunity to see some National League matches, and Nomads would appreciate the support, so everybody welcome for a good day out. I believe the link I've attached above is the correct location,  but I'm not 100% sure.
  


• **UPDATE** Night out 23rd February **UPDATE**
  
  Bowling is booked for 7pm at the Hollywood Bowl Stevenage on 23rd February,  followed by a table booked for 9m at 'The Bombay' curry house, 77/79 High Street, Old Stevenage. Everyone's invited, please mail Julia or Will for further details or to let us know if you can't make it etc.
  


• Night out 23rd February
  
  Julia and Will are arranging a night out in Stevenage on 23rd February - probably bowling followed by a Curry in the Old Town. Everyone's invited, please mail Julia or Will for further details and to express interest.
  


• Friendly Wednesday 23rd January
  
  Hornet's home match v RSS on Wednesday has been postponed. Instead we have a friendly booked v Harriers Wednesday 23rd January, 8pm at Gosling. All welcome, please come along and have a game.
  


• Honeys Friendly 19th. Norwich Tournament cancelled
  
  This weekend we have a Ladies friendly, Hatfield Honeys v VK Barnet, starting at 16:00 Saturday 19th January at the Gosling. **Unfortunately we have had to withdraw from the tournament in Norwich the next day** (apologies for an earlier update here that confirmed).
  


• Harriers Friendly & Norwich Tournament
  
  Harriers Jets have offered us a friendly for Monday 7th January, 8.45pm in St Albans - we have confirmed: please let Steve know ASAP if you would like to play. Also, we have a men's and women's team entered for the next leg of the EVA regional tournament in Norwich on Sunday 20th January 9.30-6.00. We have played here before for the last 3 years, but have missed a couple of legs this year (it's an all day tournament that runs once a month throughout the season. It's strictly non-mixed, and this would be the first year we have a Ladies team entered. It's a hard day, but well worth it. Confirmed so far are the people listed below, but please email Fiona ASAP if you're interested in coming along.
  
  

  Mens	Womens
  Guy Mike Bob Simon Vernon	Fiona Olga Junko Fanny Nicky (Harriers)

  
  


• Xmas Break
  
  Merry Xmas all!! Training will resume on Monday 7th January, but don't forget that Hornets have an away game v RSS on Sunday 6th at 6pm.


• Intra-club friendly Wed 12th December
  
  Following the great success of the Ladies friendly last week, where "Hatfield Honeys" proved to be a superb team in the making, we have another intra-club friendly this Wednesday 12th December 8-10pm at Gosling. Everybody's welcome, and we will divide into teams on the night. As many people as possible will get a game, and others will have opportunity to score and ref. Hopefully we will also organise a third (and fourth!) team for those who can't make it or whatever for a friendly in a few weeks.


• Friendlies and Officiating
  
  Our fixtures secs have been busy setting up some friendlies in the near future, all are welcome and it's a great opportunity to get involved in les "serious" matches. Also, it is very important that we use opportunities such as this to train people ro referee and score - this is an important part of the game and club so please come along, no matter how new and inexperienced you think you are, and help officiate - you will be able to shadow others and learn what all the silly signals mean :-)


• Wasps win derby
  
  ......but what a game. Hornets really gave them a run for their money. Second set score was 30-28!! Fabulous game to play in, well done everybody.


• Return Derby Saturday 24th
  
  The return club Derby match - Wasps v Hornets - is this Saturday 24th November, 4pm at the Gosling. With Hornets on top form from last night and looking for revenge, Wasps will have their work cut out. Everybody welcome.


• Hornets lose cup match
  
  Hornets lost their 1st round cup match last night 0-3 to Harriers. It was a tighter fight than the set score suggests though, and Hornets played well against a quality Div 1 team. Congrats to Harriers - let's hope you go on to win the cup!


• Hornets Win!
  
  In a closely fought match and despite an attempt to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, Hornets beat Harriers Hawks 3-2 last night. A great match to play in, well done everybody. Next week, Wednesday 21st November 8pm at Gosling, Hornets will play Harriers in the 1st round of the Knockout Cup - all welcome as usual - come and support!


• Xmas party - Saturday 15th December
  
  The always fantastic WHVC Christmas Party will be on Saturday 15th December, 8.30pm (drinks before) at the Sienna Bar and Dining Rooms in Old Stevenage. Cost is £19.95 per head, please choose your courses from the menu and email Julia ASAP with your choices and booking. Dress code is "Dress to Impress!".


• Wasps win Derby!
  
  Last night saw the season open for WHVC with the local Derby, Wasps v Hornets. A good game was had by all - hope everybody enjoyed it. Oh yeah - Wasps won 3-0. But, the chance for revenge comes round pretty quickly with the return match on 24th November. Next game overall is on Saturday 3rd November (TBC), 4pm - 6pm, Wasps at home to Vale Volleyers.


• First match of the season - THE DERBY!!
  
  The first match of the season for WHVC takes place this Wednesday 24th October, 8pm - 10pm at the Gosling, and it's the local derby - Hornets v Wasps!! All are very welcome to attend, come and support and for those of you who are new members, come and see a real league match - and line judges are always welcome! 


• Fees & Teams
  
  We will begin team selection next week (Monday 8th October), so please make every effort to come along to training if you want to be considered for play in the league matches. Don't be daunted by this, we always try to make sure that everybody gets a chance to play matches - it's all about having fun! Also, next monday is the deadline for advance fees please - after that everybody who has not paid "up-front" will be expected to pay £6 per session.


• Fantastic First Session!
  
  The first training session this season was absolutely brilliant. Welcome to all our newcomers, and well played everybody - lots of effort and everybody playing really well. Let's keep it up and finish at the right end of the table this year (and keep having fun!). For all those who've already lost it, here's a link to the registration form. By the way, we also now have the official team photos from Cambridge (thanks Fiona).


• 2007/08 Indoor Training starts Monday!!
  
  Don't forget, the new season's indoor training starts tomorrow,  Monday 24th September, 7pm at the Gosling. This first session is £6 each for all (except first-timers!). This season's match details are now available on the fixtures page - note that some details are still to be confirmed.


• Extra play Sunday 16th September
  
  Weather permitting, we will have an extra day's play outside at Burnham Green this Sunday 16th September starting at 4pm, as well as on Monday 17th starting at 6pm.
  


• **CHANGE**CHANGE**  2007/08 Training  **CHANGE**CHANGE**
  
  Unfortunately the start date for indoor training has had to be changed to Monday 24th September, 7pm owing to previous hall bookings. The first training session will be outside the normal membership fees (as agreed at the recent AGM) and all attending are asked to pay £6 for that session.
  


• **CHANGE**CHANGE**  VK 4s cancelled**CHANGE**CHANGE**  
  
  VK are *not* running their 4s tournament this year owing to lack of organisers.
  


• AGM Monday 3rd September
  
  I hope to post full minutes from the AGM  soon (soon as I write them, that is :-) ), but for now here are this year's officials etc:

• Veterans tournament mixup - WHVC *NOT* entered
  
  Owing to a miscommunication, unfortunately we do *NOT* have a Vetereans team entered in the Peterborough tournament this year. For those who might be wishing to spectate, the date has also changed to this saturday the 5th May. Apologies to all.
  
• End of Season
  
  Apologies to all for late update of the site. Indoor training officially ends tonight, Monday 30th April - everybody who can make it is invited out for a curry after the session. We will start outside play at Burnham Green on Monday 14th May, 6-6.30ish start. Many thanks to all for a good season - hope everybody enjoyed it, and let's look forward to those tournaments (please check the tournaments page for details and let Fiona know which ones you can do). Other dates for diary are below:
• Sunday 20th May 12 noon: HVA Cup Finals, league presentations and BBQ at Rudolph Steiner School, Kings Langley
• Monday 3rd September (provisional): Club AGM (time and venue to be decided)
  
• Monday 1st October 19.00: 2007/08 Indoor Training begins
• Team 1 win Intra-Club League
  
  Congratulations to Team 1 who beat Team 2 last night 3-1 to win the Intra-Club League unbeaten!
  
• Referees needed THIS WEDNESDAY 18th April
  
  We need to provide a referee for the First Division Enfield v Watford match at 8:00pm at Aspire Sports centre in Enfield. This is extremely important, please mail Steve or Carl ASAP if you can do this - we failed to provide a referee last week for a match and we must make up for this.
  
• Extra play tonight 4th April at Harriers
  
  Owing to a match cancellation, Harriers have offered us some extra play tonight Wednesday 4th April at Francis Bacon School in St Albans starting 8.30pm. Cost £5 per head to cover court fees.
  
• Easter Holidays and new Tournaments details
  
  There will be no training Easter Monday (9th April). Training will resume on Monday 16th April with the final intra-club match (though if Team 2 win, we might need a decider!) as below. Our new Tournaments Secretary, Fiona, has kindly collated info on some upcoming summer tournaments, Please see the details on the Tournaments page, and mail Fiona about which ones you're interested in. The summer tournaments are always great fun - highly recommended!
• Team 3 meet their match!
  
  Though they took us to the wire, Team 3 met their match in Team 1, losing 14-16 in the 5th and final set. General low turnout though, Team 1 were only saved by being able to call on some Team 2 members, and a completely new member (well played H!). Next match, with all to play for, will be Team 1 v Team 2 on Monday 16th April.
• Team 3 victorious!
  
  Rumour reaches the webmaster in Amsterdam that Team 3 beat the Coach's Team 2 in the first Intra-club match. Congratulations. Everyone is reminded that they face the obviously more daunting match with the webmaster's Team 1 on Monday 2nd April.
• Intra-club league starts Monday 19th March
  
  The intra-club league will start with Team 2 v Team 3 starting 7pm prompt Monday 19th March at Gosling. Matches will be 5 sets played to HVA rules. All club members should still attend, since there will be scoring and ref'ing to be done, plus in all likelihood play after the match, and it should be good fun anyway! Other match dates (provisional) can be found on our fixtures page.
• Hornets match Sat 10th March 3pm!!
  
  Owing to a slight booking problem, Hornets v Watford at home this Saturday 10th March will now start at 3pm..
• Eastern Region Championship
  
  The final leg of the EVA tournament in Norwich originally booked for 18th March has now been cancelled. They are looking to replace it with an Eastern Region Championship on Sunday 15th April at UEA Sportspark in Norwich. Format of tournament will probably be standard matchplay, not sure about if it's mixed yet.
• Veterans' Tournament
  
  This year's Veterans' Tournament will be held on the 12th May in Peterborough. The organisers apologise for the short notice, but need to know how many teams will be entering by this Friday 24th February so as to be able to book the right number of courts. So could anyone interested in playing for WHVC as a Vet (Men 40 and over, Ladies 35 and over) please email Bob ASAP.
• Herts Sports Partnership Seminar
  
  On Wednesday 28th February, 6.30pm-9.30pm there is a Herts Sports Partnership Seminar introduced by Bernie Cotton from the British Olympic Association. Topics will include how to grow your club, how to get funding etc. This will be held at Beale Hotel in Hatfield. Further details can be downloaded here, along with a booking form. Do we have any volunteers to attend?
• Sportset sale
  
  Members may like to know that Sportset are currently running a New Year Clearance Sale - time for those new shoes/pads etc guys....
• Training tonight (Weds 31st January) with Harriers
  
  Due to their cup match mentioned below, Harriers will have fewer people than usual at training tonight and have invited anybody who would like to go from WHVC to join them at Francis Bacon School in St Albans 8.30pm. We encourage everybody to go, should be a good session as always.
• Referees needed
  
  We have a refereeing committment to fulfil on Weds 31st January in Edmonton - Harriers v Enfield in the KO Cup. Volunteers are urgently required since we have 2 other ref'ing committments on the same day!!
• Wasps and Hornets matches Saturday 20th January
  
  Hornets and Wasps both have home matches this Saturday 20th January at Gosling. The first match (Hornets) starts at 2pm, and the second at 4pm. As always, supporters (and scorers!) always welcome! Plus - we have a refereeing committment to fulfil on Weds 31st January in Edmonton - Harriers v Enfield in the KO Cup. Volunteers are urgently required since we have 2 other ref'ing committments on the same day!!
• "Exhibition match" with Harriers Monday 15th January
  
  Remember that we have an "Exhibition match" friendly with Harriers on  Monday 15th January 2007, 7pm at the Gosling. This will be a great opportunity for everyone to both watch and take part in a real match. We also have the whole hall booked, so will still be able to run training/drills as well.
• Happy New Year!!
  
  2007 training starts Monday 8th January. Not for the faint-hearted, pictures from the 2006 Xmas party are now available.
  
• Friendly with Harriers Monday 15th January
  
  We have arranged a friendly with Harriers for Monday 15th January 2007, 7pm at the Gosling. All welcome - it will be a good opportunity for all members to see, and hopefully take part in,  a "proper" match. We will be having lots of substitutions to let as many people as possible play.
• Christmas Party Saturday 23rd December
  
  The Christmas party will be on Saturday 23rd December at Bollywoods in Hertford. We need to make the final booking this week, please email Julia by the end of the week to let her know how many tickets you would like. 
  
• Wasps first round cup match Wednesday 13th December
  
  Wasps their first round cup, and it's actually the Quarter-Final,  match this coming Wednesday 13th December, 20.00 away against VK Barnet. Should be a great match, all supporters welcome!!
• Christmas Party Saturday 23rd December
  
  The Christmas party will be on Saturday 23rd December at Bollywoods in Hertford. We need to make the final booking this week, please email Julia by the end of the week to let her know how many tickets you would like. 
  
• Extra training Saturday 2nd December
  
  Wasps have postponed their game this Saturday 2nd December, but we still have the court 4-6pm. Everybody welcome to come along for a game, £6 per head. Please email Bob by wednesday if you can make it.
• Christmas Party Saturday 23rd December
  
  The Christmas party will be on Saturday 23rd December at Bollywoods in Hertford. We need to make the final booking this week, please email Julia by the end of the week to let her know how many tickets you would like. 
  
• Wasps v VK Barnet this saturday
  
  Welwyn Wasps have a home game against last year's league champions VK Barnet at the Gosling, Saturday 25th November 4pm. Should be a great game, all welcome to come and support!
  
• **URGENT** HVA meeting 23rd November 2006 **URGENT**
  
  There is an HVA meeting next week, on Thursday 23rd November 06 , 8pm, at Rudolf Steiner School. We need a volunteer to attend this meeting on behalf of WHVC, or the club faces a fine. Please email the coach if you are able to attend.
  
• Theory training sessions
  
  For the next two mondays (20th and 27th November), we will be running "theory" sessions from 6.30pm on the balcony overlooking the court at Gosling. These will cover court positions, rotation systems, tactics, rules etc. - all are welcome, especially new players.
  
• Christmas Party
  
  The WHVC Christmas Party is provisionally booked for Saturday 23rd December - keep this date free, look how much fun it's been before. More details to follow.
  
• Wasps nearly beat Watford :-)
  
  In a very closely fought game with some really long and exciting rallies, Wasps just lost out in taking Watford to 5 sets. A vast improvement on the first game by all accounts, so we're moving in the right direction! Well done all.
  
• WHVC withdraw from EVA Round 2
  
  Owing to a lack of player availability, we've had to withdraw from Round 2 of the EVA tournament in Norwich this sunday.
• Hornets win again
  
  After a fairly poor start where we managed to give away the first set, the Captain managed to pull the team together for Hornets to take their second win of the season. Two out of two guys, keep it up!
  
• Hornets win first game of season
  
  In a closely fought match, Hatfield Hornets won their first match of the season against Harriers Hawks 3-1 last night - well played everybody!  So good they wrote two match reports!
  
• Hornets and Wasps first games - Harriers friendly
  
  Hornets have their first Division 2 home game this Wednesday 11th October at 20:00, and Wasps their first Division 1 game on Saturday 14th at 16:00. Both games will be at the Gosling, and supporters are very welcome!  There is also a friendly match with Harriers on the same Wednesday 11th at 20:30 at Francis Bacon School in St Albans - all not playing in the home match welcome!
  
• Volunteers required for refereeing
  
  As we have a team in Division 1 this year, we have Division 1 refereeing commitments. We have "twinned" with VK Barnet to referee all their home games, and they will referee ours. Please check the refereeing dates on the fixtures page and volunteer for one of the (only) 4 remaining fixtures. We will, of course, also require volunteers to referee and score the Hornets' home games. Note that for performing a refereeing/scoring duty you will be credited with one set of match fees! 
  
• 2006-07 Indoor training
  
  Indoor training begins Monday 2nd October, 7pm-9pm at the Gosling. This year we have one team Welwyn Wasps in Division 1, and another Hatfield Hornets in Division 2. Match dates can be found on our fixtures page.
  
• EVA Norwich Tournament
  
  The first leg of the annual Eastern Volleyball Association tournament in Norwich is on Sunday 8th October Note: sorry, date previously wrong - it is definitely the 8th. Please mail Carl if interested ASAP.
  
• Volleyball Exhibition at the Gosling,
  
  We have been invited to take part in the Gosling Open Day on Saturday 16th September. Our session runs 2pm - 4pm in the main hall. The Open Day is open to adults and juniors and is designed for people to come and try different Sports and Activities for a one off payment of £2.00. Let's get a good turnout to adverise the club and Volleyball in general!
• 3-a-side tournament Sunday 3rd September
  
  Cambridge Rhinos are running a 3-a-side outdoor tournament this Sunday (3rd Sept) on Jesus Green in Cambridge. Cost is £15 per team, and we have two teams so far. Mail Carl ASAP if interested please.
• Outdoor play moves to Sundays
  
  Monday evenings are getting too dark for a good session, so out door play is moving to Sundays 4pm, starting this Sunday 3rd September. Venue still the same on Burnham Green.
  
• No game status reports until September
  
  The webmaster is away until the end of August, so there'll be no more game status reports or pitch inspections for a while. Please sheck the 5 day weather forecast link above and make up your own minds for monday games!! Many thanks to all who came to Amanda's surprise party yesterday, particularly to Soundbites - fantastic as always guys. Hope everybody had a good time, Amanda and I certainly did and having everybody there made it. Well done for keeping the secret! See you all in September. By the way, if anyone's lost a Sony Cybershot digital camera, we have it and will keep it safe till then.


• Three-headed Hornets sting Cambridge!!
  
  This weekend a team of  so-called Volleyball players calling themselves "Welwyn Hornets" blasted their way to the top of the Men's Div 3 Plate competition. Rumours of a 3-headed freak playing for the team have yet to be confirmed.....
  
  
  Apparently, the same club entered another team in the Mixed Division 3 who came third. Despite winning more games. And scoring more points. And being better looking.
  


• Cambridge 5th and 6th August
  
  We have two teams entered for the always brilliant Cambridge tournament the weekend of the 5th and 6th of August. It's always great fun, lovely venue, good camping and a party to boot (never have understood that expression.....). Cost is £8 per person, and we have a mixed or mens team to fill, so get your money in to - Carl  ASAP please, preferably tonight (24th)..
  


• Tournaments
  
  There are lots of tournaments coming up soon, in particular Ashcombe this weekend (1st & 2nd July) and Cambridge (4th & 5th August). We were medal winners last year at Ashcombe, and Cambridge is always brilliant - so please let Carl know ASAP re. availability and interest.
  


• St Christopher's School Fair
  
  St Christopher's School in Letchworth (I think that's where it is :-) ) have their school fair on Sat 17th June, 12 noon - 4pm. That's the school where Sylvester teaches, and he's asked if a few of us could go along for a few informal games with his junior team and others at the fair, and share some skills. The fair is a fun day in itself, with a lot going on - live music, bouncy castles, classic cars, all sorts of food, bar, as well as all the usual stalls. Mail Sylvester for more details.


• AGM
  
  The AGM will be held on Sunday 18th June at Lynne's house (directions and agenda to follow by email) starting at 12 noon. We will also have some outside play and a barbecue. Please bring some food and drink. **Please make every effort to attend - it's your club and we want your views** (and it'll be fun anyway, and is our last chance to say goodbye to Marco!).


• Tournaments weekend of 24th/25th June
  
  There are two tournaments coming up on the above weekend. On the saturday, it's a mixed Vets (over 35) sixes in Essex, and the sunday mixed 4s in Ealing . We need to know ASAP who would like to be involved, particularly for the Vets please. Mail webmaster if interested.
  


• Welwyn & Hatfield Times 1st June Issue
  
  We feature in this week's issue of the Welwyn & Hatfield Times! Rush out and buy a copy tomorrow, or here is the online version (but obviously you want your own copy too, right?).
  


• Captain receives Division 2 Trophy
  
  
  The Welwyn Captain receives the Div 2 trophy on Sunday
  


• HVA Finals Sunday 21st May
  
  The finals of the HVA knockout cup will be held at Rudolph Steiner School (Kings Langley) starting at 12 noon on Sunday 21st May . The ladies final (Watford v Berkhamsted) starts at 12, with the mens (VK Barnet v Enfield) to follow at 2pm. The highlight of course will be the presentation of the Division 2 trophy to Welwyn. Everybody welcome to come and see some top class volleyball matches, plus informal outside play and barbecue (I believe).
  


• Welwyn win Div 2!!
  
  It's official! A 1-3 loss ro RSS last night still enable Welwyn to win Division 2 on points difference !! Hatfield in their first season finish a highly respectable 5th. Great season - congratulations to everybody.
  


• Summer Play starts Monday 8th May
  
  Summer play outside returns to Burnham Green on Monday 8th May 6.30pm - all welcome. Please remember to check back here and the links above for weather and game status throughout the summer.
  


• Welwyn play for Div 2 title
  
  Welwyn have their last league game away v RSS on Sunday 7th May. We believe the game will start at 6.30pm at RSS . If Welwyn win, they will win Division 2- if they win by 3 sets to nil, then Hatfield will finish 4th!! Supporters very welcome.
  


• Harriers Jets friendly Wed 3rd May
  
  Harriers Jets would like to play a friendly this Wednesday 3rd May 8:30pm at Francis Bacon School in St Albans . Please mail Bob re. availability ASAP.
  


• Summer Play starts Bank Holiday Monday 31st April 4pm
  
  The 2005-06 season has now ended, but we will be starting our traditional summer play outside at Burnham Green on Monday 31st April 4pm - all welcome. Yes, that's Bank Holiday, but we'll have a game if enough people turn up! Normal mondays will start at 6:30pm. Please remember to check back here and the links above for weather and game status throughout the summer.
  


• Vets Tournament
  
  We have a chance to enter a WHVC Vets (men aged 40 and over, women 35 and over) team in the annual Vets tournament in Peterborough on Saturday May 13th. Please mail Bob if interested ASAP.
  


• Return Friendly with Harriers Hawks
  
  Hawks have offered us a return friendly at Francis Bacon School in St Albans on Weds 10th May, 8:30pm. Please again mail Bob ASAP if interested. As last time, priority will be to play people who don't usually play matches.
  


• League Tables as of 27th April
  
  Welwyn are second with one game to play v RSS. If they win 3-0, then Hatfield will finish 4th!
  

   Played Won Lost Points 
  Men's Division 2 Vale Volleyers 14 10 4 68 
   Welwyn 13 10 3 66 
   Watford YMCA 14 10 4 65 
   Hatfield 14 8 6 58 
   Harriers Jets 14 7 7 57 
   R.S.S 13 8 5 56 
   VK Barnet 14 2 12 27 
   Harriers Hawks 14 0 14 17 
  

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