ALTON Hockey Club have launched a ‘Push for a Pitch’ appeal to help towards building a new all-weather pitch at Eggar’s School.

Expected to cost in the region of £450,000, the pitch is needed so the club can continue to provide training for their expanding junior section, as well as serving the adult teams.

The club currently use the all-weather pitch at Amery Hill School but, due to restrictions on usage at weekends and the lack of floodlights, the juniors have extremely limited training space on Saturdays and sometimes have to forgo training altogether so that the adult teams can play league matches.

“This the seniors need to do if they are to remain in the league and further the club’s already impressive progress at adult team level,” said Ladies 1st XI captain Vicky Small.

At present, Alton Hockey Club operate at capacity, with two ladies’ teams, four men’s teams, and teams for boys and girls U12, U14 and U16. The club also have 100-plus juniors wanting to learn and better their game. They are having to turn potential new members away.

But Alton HC are hoping to change all this.

The proposal is for the new Astroturf pitch in the grounds of Eggar’s School to be floodlit and that the club would have primary use outside school hours.

“Eggar’s and Alton Hockey Club are aiming to raise £120k between us towards construction costs, with Sport England providing the rest,” said Vicky Small.

Eggar’s would use the pitch for its pupils and potentially for other sports clubs, but Alton Hockey Club would have priority at weekends and on certain nights as part of the deal, to secure more pitch time for training, development and matches.

Alton HC have already raised £20,000 towards their part of the cost and are keen to enlist the support of the local community to help raise the rest.

Anyone interested in helping with fund-raising or wishing to donate money to the cause should visit http://www.pushforapitch.co.uk/ or contact fund-raising committee member Sig Watkins by email: [email protected] or call on 07595 984476.

Humbly Grove Energy, based at Lasham, has generously donated funds to enable Alton Hockey Club to purchase a defibrillator which has been given to Amery Hill School to maintain and look after.

The club recently ran a first-aid course when it was decided that the benefit of having a defibrillator in terms of survival rate was worth investing in.

The equipment was installed on the outside wall of the school’s changing-rooms and is for sport and community use.