The site has come a long way since its early beginnings. In the past year, the switch to a website format and the development of the site’s excellent photographic arm, culminating in the Irish Hockey Photographers’ dedicated website, were among the projects undertaken.

During the season, the addition of more video elements and our first ever ‘livestream’ – the vast majority with thanks to Tristan Seaton-Stedham – has been a huge advance.

The first Hook Awards’ night – primarily a fundraiser for Glenanne’s EHL trip at Easter – will hopefully become a regular fixture in the local hockey calendar.

Full league tables, updated on Sunday morning’s based on club submissions were integrated mid-season and the Stats Centre will hopefully be tidied up and improved in the coming months.

For the 2011/12 season, using The Hook’s twitter page, the intention is to be ramp up this service and be able to collate virtually all of the divisional results in a simple, free fashion within minutes of game’s completion and, thus provide the earliest possible league table updates.

During the season, the Hook has endeavoured to travel to as many games as possible, taking in trips to Munster, Ulster, the Netherlands and France to cover as many aspects of our sport to the highest standard.

More details will follow on this in due course but to develop these elements and maintain standards, the site does require a personal financial outlay which is primarily attempted to be covered from those who have donated to the site; 100pc of these funds go back into the Hook’s development.

Should you wish to help the coverage and promotion of Leinster and Irish hockey, feel free to contribute to the site via the ‘Donation’ button on the left-hand side of this page (or follow this link).

Finally, thank you all for taking the time to read, contribute and comment to The Hook. Website hits have increased more close to three-fold this season, an indicator that the Hook’s efforts are being appreciated in some form.

Such indicators, along with the feedback received around the grounds week-in, week-out, make the efforts which go into the site much easier to manage.

All the best for the rest of the summer and I look forward to seeing some of you pitch-side as the Irish men and women pursue their Olympic dream, building toward the European Championships in August.

Stephen Findlater

The fixtures for September and October have been initially been released as per usual with the remainder to follow in due course. The IHA timetable – including the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League – however will not be finalised fully until November when it will be known which Olympic qualifier, if any, Ireland will be heading to.

Belgium, Japan and India in the spring are the current options subject to continental qualifiers which could see some re-jigging to the national calendar but the first round of the Senior Cup will go ahead in the first week of October with IHL round one following a week later.

Glenanne begin their title defence against Clontarf on their return to division one while the Marlay derby between Corinthian and Three Rock looks an initial highlight on day one.

The Neville Cup is down to be played on the Sunday of week one with three all division one ties opening the competition, notably holders Monkstown against Pembroke.

Mullingar and Portrane are two notable inclusions in this competition having stepped up from division 4 to 2. The second tier gets underway a week later on September 24 with the Westmeath side playing their very first fixture at this level in a league which has been bolstered up to eight teams for 2011/12.

Going down the leagues, division 3 remains as per last term but division 4 welcomes back Corinthian III, Suttonians II and Weston II while St Brendan’s/Phoenix Park drop down.

Div 5 sees Skerries continue their rise back up through the leagues having bossed the sixth tier last time round while Rathgar II come up from division 8, a relocation based on their impressive if ultimately registration-scuppered run in that league.

Twelve teams will contest division six, Kilkenny II, Mullingar II and Athy’s second successive promotion adding to the table.
Division 7 sees the introduction of Portrane II; Bray’s first team will play in this league after their mid-season withdrawal in 2010/11 while Wicklow and Smithfield have stepped up as the promoted sides from division 8.

Men’s League structure:
Division 1: Monkstown, Railway Union, YMCA, UCD, Corinthian, Three Rock Rovers, Clontarf, Glenanne, Fingal, Pembroke Wanderers
Division 2: Portrane, Weston, Navan, Avoca, Rathgar, Suttonians, Dublin University, Mullingar
Division 3: Monkstown II, Railway Union II, YMCA II, UCD II, Corinthian II, Three Rock Rovers II, Dublin University II, Glenanne II, Fingal II, Pembroke Wanderers II
Division 4: Clontarf II, Pembroke Wanderers III, Suttonians II, Kilkenny, Railway Union III, Naas, Glenanne III, Corinthian III, Monkstown III, Weston II
Division 5: Pembroke Wanderers IV, YMCA III, Avoca II, Skerries, St James Gate, Monkstown IV, Rathgar II, St Brendan’s/Phoenix Park, North Kildare, Three Rock Rovers III
Division 6: Glenanne IV, Corinthian IV, Dublin University III, Navan II, Three Rock Rovers IV, Mullingar II, Athy, YMCA IV, Kilkenny II, Fingal III, Pembroke Wanderers V, Monkstown V
Division 7: Bray, Portrane II, Wicklow, Weston III, Railway Union IV, Avoca III, St Brendans/Phoenix Park II, Smithfield, UCD III, Corinthian V
Division 8: Bray II, Three Rock Rovers V, Pembroke Wanderers VII, Pembroke Wanderers VI, Fingal IV, St James Gate II, Clontarf III, Dublin University IV

Early season Leinster Men’s Division One/Two fixtures:
September 17 (Week One)
Division 1: Monkstown vs Railway Union; YMCA vs UCD; Corinthian vs Three Rock Rovers; Clontarf vs Glenanne; Fingal vs Pembroke Wanderers

September 18
Neville Cup Round 1: Mullingar v Weston; Monkstown v Pembroke Wanderers; Glenanne v Corinthian; Avoca v Railway Union; Fingal v YMCA; Portrane v Clontarf

September 24 (Week Two)
Division 1: Railway Union vs YMCA; UCD vs Clontarf; Three Rock Rovers vs Monkstown; Glenanne vs Fingal; Pembroke Wanderers vs Corinthian
Division 2: Portrane vs Weston; Navan vs Avoca; Rathgar vs Suttonians; Dublin University vs Mullingar

Sunday, September 25
Division 1: Glenanne vs Corinthian; Clontarf vs Fingal; Pembroke Wanderers vs Monkstown; Railway Union vs UCD; Three Rock Rovers vs YMCA

October 1 (Week Three)
Division 1: UCD vs Monkstown; YMCA vs Clontarf; Railway Union vs Corinthian; Pembroke Wanderers vs Glenanne; Three Rock Rovers vs Fingal
Division 2: Weston vs Navan; Avoca vs Rathgar; Suttonians vs Dublin University; Mullingar vs Portrane

October 8 (Week four)
Irish Senior Cup – round one
Division 2: Avoca vs Weston; Suttonians vs Navan; Mullingar vs Rathgar; Dublin University vs Portrane

October 15 (Week five)
Irish Hockey League – round one
Division 2: Portrane vs Avoca; Weston vs Suttonians; Navan vs Mullingar; Rathgar vs Dublin University

October 22 (Week six)
Division 1: Corinthian vs UCD; Monkstown vs YMCA; Fingal vs Railway Union; Clontarf vs Pembroke Wanderers; Glenanne vs Three Rock Rovers
Division 2: Suttonians vs Avoca; Mullingar vs Weston; Dublin University vs Navan; Rathgar vs Portrane

Sunday, October 23
Neville Cup Round 2

October 29 (Week seven)
Irish Hockey League – round two

The two promoted teams from last year found themselves again in the province’s bottom division after a mid-season amalgamation of division eight and nine.

The two sides will once again hope to move up with the Smiths going up as champions following a showdown 1-0 result, scoring early and holding on for the silverware.

Great performances throughout the season, captained by Mark McKay, from the likes of Allan Dardis and goalkeeper Pat McKay were complemented by Timmy Cooney’s superb scoring form, netting over 30 goals.

It was a surprise victory for the side, though, as Rathgar Chiefs appeared to have the league secured before a registration breach was discovered which saw four of their results over-turned.

One of those was a 3-1 result against the Smiths in early April, the reversal of which opened the door and made it a straight battle for the title.

Back-to-back victories on the final weekend of the season for Smithfield sealed it, then, a 2-0 success against Railway and the win over Wicklow.

The North Dublin club used a panel of 15 who rolled with the mid-season amalgamation maintained a blank in their loss column going into the final weeks of the season, something which was initially blotted before being restored.

Men’s Leinster Division Eight (click here for full results)

Carlsberg, Ed Sports and Gilmour Sports also came on board to support the event with proceeds from the event going to support Glenanne’s EHL bid over the Easter weekend.

The awards themselves took on a two-part process with clubs asked to nominate players, coaches and umpires from within their own club and from others to produce the main shortlist.

From those shortlists, the public vote drew well over 4,000 responses and was the most viewed story on the site since moving to the new format at the start of the season. Winners were determined solely on this basis.

Adrian Boehm received the largest percentage of the vote in any category as he took the Contributor of the Year title with a massive 41.72% of the vote for his sterling photographic work that he provides each week.

Indeed, his volume and quality of photos over the last weekend can be seen on the Irish Hockey Photographers website, covering all four of the national finals in Belfield to the highest standard.

Gillian McAuliffe, the woman responsible for the site’s overhaul last summer, took second place in this category just ahead of photographer Deryck Vincent.

The umpire of the year award was the closest category but was eventually taken down by Olympic whistle-blower Carol Metchette (left), coming in just ahead of Fiona Davitt and Kieran Bolger.

Metchette continues to impress in both the men’s and women’s division one games while also showing the tenacity in the past week in the line of duty, umpiring in key games this week despite picking up a shiner sustained in the first meeting of Loreto and Old Alex.

A feature of the umpire’s vote was the spread of nominations in the “Other” option with UDP umpires Karl Chapple and Ali Keogh along with Kris Cholewa picking up a number of votes.

Scott Beattie took the Coach of the Year following a bumper debut year with Sutton Park, winning the northside school’s first Senior title when they claimed the Senior Trophy in dramatic fashion while also reaching the Minor Cup final.

Will Powderly was among the “other” nominations, receiving a high proportion of the public vote while Richard Mason and Didi Cole’s dual-work at Monkstown and Gareth Borland’s role as Leinster U-16 boss and Clontarf player-coach also drew plenty of praise beyond the initial nominees.

Onto the player awards and Dannielle Cummins, Avoca’s first team goalkeeper took the Junior Women’s title just ahead of YMCA taliswoman Tara Powderly.

And another goalkeeper took the Junior Men’s gong, Rathgar Chiefs’ Dan Gribben certainly his side’s most consistent performer until he broke his hand recently in the club’s maiden season.

Audrey McCormack tallied the most votes of any of the categories as the Glenanne woman took home the Senior Women’s Player of the Year. The midfielder continues to be a powerhouse in midfield and the engine which drives the Glens all-action approach.

Finally, Gareth Watkins (below, left) added another personal achievement to 2010 Irish Hockey Club Player of the Year crown, as he topped the Senior Men’s Player of the Year tally ahead of Glenanne’s Joe Brennan.

A big thanks again to Gary Shaw and his crew for putting together the night and to all the people who attended on the night, helped with nominations and voted for the various awards.

The Hook exists for and because of the people that take part in our game at all levels week in and week out and so, to receive the support for this venture and, indeed, the site in general is pretty overwhelming and suggests a need is being fulfilled.

These awards honour just some of the people that make the sport a source of enjoyment for people to be involved in and want to prosper, capturing some of the spirit of the game. Long may it continue.

*** The top three in each category is below with the percentage of the final vote in brackets while also mentioned are some of the people who received sizeable votes in the “other” section and are worthy of mention for their efforts in the past season.

Contributor of the Year (Total votes: 676)
1. Adrian Boehm (41.72%)
2. Gillian McAuliffe (18.64%)
3. Deryck Vincent (18.49%)
Honorable mentions outside of the nominees: Emer Keogh – photographic contributions

Umpire of the Year (615)
1. Carol Metchette (18.21%)
2. Fiona Davitt (14.47%)
3. Kieran Bolger (12.85%)
Honorable mentions: Kris Cholewa, Karl Chapple, Ali Keogh

Coach of the Year (904)
1. Scott Beattie, Sutton Park (22.57%)
2. Graham Shaw, Loreto/Glenanne (14.82%)
3. Mick McKinnon, Railway ladies (10.73%)
Honorable mentions: Will Powderly (YMCA ladies), Richard Mason/Didi Cole (Monkstown); Gareth Borland (Leinster U-16/Clontarf); Mary Logue (Hermes); Brendon Carolan (Pembroke)

Junior Women’s Player of the Year (487)
1. Danielle Cummins, Avoca (28.13%)
2. Tara Powderly, YMCA (23.82%)
3. Sarah Lovett, Monkstown (18.69%)
Honorable mentions: Emma Kilbride (Our Lady’s); Fiona Walshe (Swords); Courtney Watkins (Monkstown)

Junior Men’s Player of the Year (454)
1. Dan Gribben, Rathgar Chiefs (31.5%)
2. Martin Naughton, Avoca (21.37%)
3. Stephen Cairns, Clontarf (16.08%)
Honorable mentions: Harry Spain (Suttonians), Tom Noonan (Clontarf), Paul Kennedy (St James’ Gate)

Senior Women’s Player of the Year (977)
1. Audrey McCormack, Glenanne (22.01%)
2. Chloe Watkins, UCD (14.23%)
3. Kate Dillon, Railway Union (13.61%)
Honorable mentions: Maebh Horan (Trinity), Jeamie Deacon (Railway Union), Sinead Walsh (Railway Union), Nikki Symmons (Loreto), Sinead Dooley (Railway Union)

Senior Men’s Player of the Year (710)
1. Gareth Watkins, Monkstown (21.55%)
2. Joe Brennan, Glenanne (15.07%)
3. Alan Blennerhassett, Corinthian (12.25%)
Honorable mentions: Ali Haughton (TRR); Andrew Walker (YMCA); Brian Groves (Monkstown); Shane O’Donoghue (Glenanne); Andrew Sutton (Corinthian); Fran Lee (Monkstown)

The poll is also still open for the Hook’s Contributor of the Year with the nominees for Junior Player of the Year (those operating for first teams outside of men’s and women’s division one) set to go live later today.

Nominees for these awards have come about from proposals in the various categories, seeking to honour the broad spectrum of Leinster hockey.

Voting will be open up until March 30 with the winners being announced at The Hook’s Awards Night and end of season party – held in conjunction with Glenanne SC – on April 2 in Kobra on Leeson Street.

To secure your ticket for the event, contact Gary Shaw on 087 986 1942 or email shawsie14@gmail.com. Tickets costs €10 and will also include free entry into NV nightclub while there will be finger-food and spot prizes on the night.

Here are the five votes online thus far:

Refixed games will be played on Saturday April 9, 16 and 30, skipping the Easter bank holiday weekend which runs from April 22 to 25.

Such an extension, though, is not possible for men’s division with April 16 and 30 reserved for the final four of the Irish Senior Cup and Irish Hockey League’s latter stages, respectively with Leinster sides potentially involved.

As such, from the three rounds of top tier games lost to the weather, one round has been fixed for March 26 – the original date for the senior interprovincials, since moved to May 13 to 15.

The others are scheduled for the weeks beginning February 13 and March 6.

A date for the Neville cup will be finalised in the next couple of days with the Branch to notify as soon as it is finalised.

Meanwhile, the after-effects of the weather on the fixture calendar, below, can be seen in this weekend’s matches with the big catch-up hoping to begin in earnest.

Leinster and National level fixtures:
Men’s Leinster Division One, Saturday: Weston vs YMCA, 3pm, Griffeen Valley Park; Pembroke vs Glenanne, 2pm, Serpentine Avenue; Fingal vs Railway Union, 1.30pm, ALSAA; UCD vs Corinthian, 1pm, Belfield; Three Rock Rovers vs Monkstown, 2.15pm, Grange Road
Mills Cup, Sunday: Railway Union vs Clontarf, 3pm, Park Avenue; Avoca vs Glenanne, 12.30pm, Newpark
Men’s Irish Hockey Challenge, Saturday: Kilkenny vs Limerick, TBC, KCK; Ballymena vs Saintfield, 1pm, Ballymena Showgrounds
Avoca U-21 Cup, Tuesday: TRR vs Glenanne, 8pm, Grange Road

Women’s Leinster Divisions One, Saturday: Hermes vs Pembroke, 12pm, St Andrew’s; Railway Union vs Trinity, 12.15pm, Park Avenue; Bray vs UCD, 1pm, Loreto Bray; Old Alexandra vs Glenanne, 1.15pm, Milltown; Corinthian vs Loreto, 3.45pm, Whitechurch
Sunday: Loreto vs Old Alexandra, 12.30pm, Beaufort

Jacqui Potter Cup, Sunday: Hermes vs TRL, 1.30pm, St Andrew’s
Division Two, Saturday: Railway Union II vs Old Alexandra II, 10.30am, Park Avenue; Muckross vs TRL, 11.15am, Teresians; Loreto II vs Hermes II, 12.45pm, Beaufort; Our Lady’s vs Genesis, 2.30pm, Terenure; North Kildare vs Pembroke, 3.15pm, The Maws
Sunday: Pembroke vs Loreto, 2.30pm, Serpentine Ave

Women’s National Indoor Trophy, Sunday (all at Loughlinstown Sports Centre): Armagh vs Trinity, 1pm; Trinity vs Avoca, 2pm; Avoca vs Armagh, 3pm
Women’s Irish Hockey Challenge, Saturday: NUIG vs Kilkenny, TBC, Dangan