📣 FHC Newsletter – Q1 2026

Welcome to the 2026 Season!

The season is fast approaching, and there is already plenty happening around the club. With registrations open, trainings underway, and our brand‑new clubrooms ready to unveil, we’re thrilled to kick off another fantastic year at Forestville Hockey Club.

📝 Registrations & Fees

Registrations for the 2026 season are now open!
All players must be registered before their first game to ensure they are insured and included in team planning.

👉Register now:https://www.fhc.com.au/registration

School Sport Vouchers

Junior Panthers (born 2011–2021) can use a School Sport Voucher to help cover part of their membership fees.
More info here: https://www.sportsvouchers.sa.gov.au/how-to-use-voucher/

2026 Membership Structure

Membership will be paid in two parts:

1. Hockey SA component – paid directly via the HA/HSA online registration system.
2. FHC Membership component – finalised fee schedule coming soon from the Board.

We strongly encourage all players to register early so you’re covered for preseason training.

🏑 Senior Training Schedule

Senior teams kicked off training this week and it’s great to see strong numbers on the turf.

*Start time varies and rotates monthly.

🐾 Junior Training – Starts Week of Monday 23 March

Our Junior Panthers program is back with an exciting season ahead!

**Days for U16/18 groups will rotate monthly.

Car Parking

The current parking arrangements for the FHC pitch at Unley High School are:

Mon to Thurs (Training Days) - Southern car park located off Kitchener St. Note the gates leading to the northern school car park will not be opened on these days.

Fri to Sun (Game Days) - Northern school car park adjacent to the Life. Be In It gym. The school has made the southern carpark available for FHC as an overflow in the event the northern car park is full.

Map available - FHC Site Parking

We know parking on Kitchener St or nearby side streets can seem convenient, but it significantly impacts our neighbours. Please help us maintain positive community relationships by using the designated carparks — it’s only a short walk to the pitch.

For everyone’s safety, do not drive down the lane off the roundabout. This path is for pedestrians and emergency vehicles only, and there is no safe turning space.

For drop‑offs, please use the carpark in front of the Life Be In It gym or the area along Kitchener St near George Cresswell Hall. If you’re waiting to collect players, please use the school carparks.

🎉 Season Opener – Sunday 22 March

Join us as we officially launch the 2026 season and celebrate the completion of our clubroom upgrades and new surrounds! The event will be running from 10:30am – 2:30pm.

This is a whole‑club event:
✔ Members past & present
✔ Families
✔ Friends
✔ Junior Panthers
✔ Senior players
✔ Community supporters

Expect a fun, family-friendly day filled with activities, games, gear, food and great vibes.

On the day:

• Mouthguards: Brad from Mouth Armour will be onsite providing professional fittings.
• Uniform & Equipment: Sam and the team from Hockey World will have sticks, shoes, and gear available.
• Clubroom tours, mini games, and plenty more!

🏅 State Team Selections

A huge congratulations to our FHC athletes representing South Australia at the National Championships in April:

Under 21

• Women: Isabelle Hill
• Men: Sam Welke

Under 16

• Girls: Maya Lessue
• Boys: Benji Wiese

Benji has competing priorities as a talented baseball player and is unable to meet Hockey SA requirements to participate in the tournament. The Wiese family would like to extend their thanks to all those from FHC who continue to support Benji. FHC is very proud of Benji and wish him every success with baseball and with hockey as he continues to play with FHC.

We’re proud of you all — go SA!

🎭 Social Subcommittee – Expressions of Interest

Help shape the heartbeat of our club in 2026!

The Social Subcommittee coordinates:

• Presentation Night
• Quiz Night
• Annual Pub Crawl
• Family Days
• And more!

How you can be involved

• Contribute a little or a lot — all help is appreciated.
• Lead a single event or support across several.
• No event-planning experience needed.
• One online meeting per month = low time commitment.
• We’re seeking representation from across all teams and junior parents.

👉Interested? Contact Nikki:
📧secretary@fhc.com.au
📱 0407 609 476

👩‍🏫 Women’s Coaches – Expressions of Interest

We are seeking coaches for the Metro 3, 4 and 6 Women’s teams for the 2026 season.

What we’re looking for

• Passionate mentors
• Commitment to developing players
• Builders of positive club culture
• Available Wednesday nights for training

What we offer

• Discounted player fees or recompense for non‑playing coaches
• Coaching pathway support
• A warm, welcoming club community

👉Apply here:https://forms.gle/gKrr4kez6PswxUPc8

🎁 Pay It Forward – Kids’ Gear Donations

Do you have sticks, shin guards or other gear in great condition but not being used?

We’re collecting equipment for:

• Come & Try days
• New junior players
• Kids trying hockey for the first time

If you can help, please bring items to any training or club session at Unley.

Compliance Update

Hockey Australia requires all coaches and managers to complete the mandatory Safe Behaviour Course through HockeyEd to ensure we continue building a safe, supportive environment for every player. You can access the course here: HockeyEd – Hockey Australia.

As part of our commitment to best‑practice standards, we encourage everyone to complete the training relevant to their club role — including coaches, umpires and technical officials. These courses help strengthen our knowledge, consistency, and culture across the club.

All coaches, managers, umpires and volunteers must also hold a valid Working With Children Check (WWCC). You can learn more or apply here: SA.GOV.AU – Working with Children Checks.
WWCCs are valid for five years, and we’re currently updating our records, so please send your WWCC unique ID and expiry date to secretary@fhc.com.au.

We are also recruiting a Child Safe Officer for 2026. If you’re passionate about creating safe, positive sporting environments, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact Helen at president@fhc.com.au or 0418 846 426 for more information.

2025 Forestville Hockey Club AGM

The following were elected to the FHC board for 2026:

Simon Marsh was elected as Treasurer but has since taken up the position of Finance Manager with his eligibility to continue on the board at its constitutional limit. Peter Schembri has moved into the role of Treasurer for 2026.

Peter will be formalising the implementation of the Finance sub-committee. Anyone interested in contributing to the finance team, and ensuring the ongoing financial sustainability of the club, please reach out to Peter.

At the AGM, the potential for club forums was discussed. These will be commencing soon – keep an eye out for further information, we are interested in the opinions of all our members.