Morecambe Veterans play occasional Sunday games during the season including matches in the National Veterans Cup and Plate Competitions. Over recent years Morecambe Veterans have enjoyed games against Leicester, Sunderland, Morpeth, Bournville, Huddersfield, City of York and this season Bowdon and Kingston-upon-Hull.
We also play in the Annual Timperley Veterans Tournament and were finalists in 2006, losing out to a strong Nottingham side. In other years we have generally made the semi-finals.
After the season finishes Morecambe usually enjoy April games against touring teams from the North East, the Lake District and in September we plan to play Horsham Veterans when they come to Lancaster.
We have also had fixtures with England LX Club when they come North.
Our senior player is Bill Warrender who for some years has played for England LX in regional matches in this country. Abroad he has played in Grand Masters Tournaments in Kuala Lumpur and Athens. In 2006 he was centre forward for England over 65’s and won a gold medal in Munich at the Great Grand Masters Tournament. In 2007 he travelled to Chile & Argentina and in 2008, Hong Kong.
Dave McCormack, the Captain of our Vets Team, and Chris Hills have travelled to Chelmsford to represent the North of England at the Vintage Masters (55+) Territorial Tournament for the past 3 years and are now hoping to play for the over 60’s at Cannock in June 2009. They were both invited to play for England LX in a fixture against a North Lakes side in February 2009.
Gordon Davidson (our player of the season last year) is attending trials for the North of England over 45’s and hopes to be selected for the Territorial Tournament at East Grinstead in May 2009.
Lancashire Cloggers
We also have an International Touring side “The Lancashire Cloggers” (formed in 1992) who play in distinctive harlequin shirts. Each year we participate in an International Veterans Tournament. We have hosted the Tournament in Lancaster on two occasions in 1996 and 2003 and will do so again in 2010. In other years we have visited Aberdeen, Aberystwyth, Portsmouth, Bristol, Duisburg (Germany), Terneuzen and Arnhem (Holland). In 2006 we were runners-up to Olympia, the host side in Terneuzen having earlier won the Tournament in Duisburg.
Former Club player Nick Cassidy returns to play together with Steve Hunt from Majorca and Richard (Blobby) Boyd our keeper from Boston, USA. We also have guest players from Springfields and Kendal.
View pictures from previous Tournaments here on the clogger blogspot http://clogger-hockey.blogspot.com
Veterans Hockey is always played in a good spirit with both sides mixing socially after the game whilst enjoying a good meal and often a bottle or two of fine wine!!
Any Club members reaching the grand old age of 35 should contact Dave Mac to make themselves available for selection!
