Habs Old Haberdashers Sports Newsletter

Old Habs Sport

I N T R O D U C T I ON

Foreword from the Director of Sporting Operations and Development .

Old Habs sport continues to thrive as a cornerstone of our alumni community — a living link between generations, rooted in tradition and driven by passion. Whether it's the fierce camaraderie of lacrosse alumni returning to relive shared memories, or the enduring strength of our clubs across rugby, football, and hockey, Old Habs sport stands as a testament to the lifelong connections forged at Habs.

We take immense pride in the ongoing relationships with the Elstree Schools, with current pupils and recent leavers increasingly involved across all codes. These bonds between past and present enrich both our sporting culture and our broader community.

A particular highlight this year has been the remarkable establishment of the new OH Hockey club. From concept to competitive success in a single season, the dedication shown by all involved has been exceptional. Their immediate promotion is a testament not only to the calibre of players, but also to the inclusive, ambitious spirit that defines the club. Their growth in strength and depth sets a strong foundation for future success.

This year, we've seen extraordinary achievements: from international representation in lacrosse, to footballing flair that delivered over 100 goals in a season, to the rugby club’s centenary celebrations and overseas tours. Each success reflects not just athletic excellence, but the spirit of togetherness that defines Old Habs sport.

Here’s to continued growth, shared memories, and many more moments of pride on and off the pitch. We look forward to further strengthening the links with the clubs and hope to host more fixtures and events in the near future.

Ryan McIntosh Director of Sporting Operations and Development

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Contents Sport

Page

OH Lacrosse

4

OH Cricket

8

OH Rugby

10

OH Hockey

11

OH Football

15

OH Golf

17

OH Shooting

19

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OH Lacrosse

'It was great to welcome back over 20 alumni for the annual Old Girls’ Lacrosse Match on Saturday 6 September. The atmosphere was full of energy and camaraderie as former players returned to the pitch, showcasing their skills and reliving fond memories. A brilliant afternoon of sport, laughter, and connection — we can’t wait to do it all again next year!'

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OH Lacrosse Juliette Wise (Old Haberdasher’s alumna 2014) has had an impressive run representing England on the international lacrosse scene. Last summer, she played at the European Championships in Braga, where she helped secure a gold medal. In April, she competed in the Home Internationals, contributing to wins against Wales, Scotland, and the Czech Republic. October saw her travel to Canada with the Great Britian Sixes squad preparing for the Olympics, earning a thrilling overtime victory against the hosts as well as a win over the Haudenosaunee. Juliette is currently playing in England for Swift in the Fly league, continuing her strong form and dedication to lacrosse.

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OH Lacrosse

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OH Lacrosse We’re proud to announce that Ashley Fawn (OH 2024) represented England in the 2024 World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship, which took place this summer in Hong Kong, China. A recent Habs graduate, Ashley played a key role on the England U20 team, contributing to a strong 6th place finish among the world’s top lacrosse nations.

The final standings saw the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, and Puerto Rico take the top five spots, with England holding their own against fierce international competition.

Congratulations to Ashley on this fantastic achievement!

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OH Cricket Old Habs Cricket Club, 2024 The OHCC 1st XI finished 7th in Division 4A of the Hertfordshire League with a total of 298 points. Their record was: Played 18, Won 6, Lost 10 and 2 cancelled matches.

Hugh Brannan finished with a total of 494 League runs and Rhys Jenkins took 22 wickets.

OHCC won the first 3 games of the season, beating Sandridge by 9 wickets in the first game, with Hugh Brannan scoring an undefeated century as we chased 200.

There were some close games - we lost to Old Camdenians by 1 run. (Hugh Brannan was 91 not out.)

In other games we have beat Sandridge, lost to Shenley Village 2 nd XI and had a good win against Watford Town 2nd XI, chasing 220, having been 125 for 6 at one point.

(Hasit Mehta made 65 not out from 48 balls.)

We fulfilled the 2nd XI fixtures with a variety of players, but the side was easily relegated from Division 10. They finished 9th with a record of: Played 18, Won 2, Lost 10, 5 cancelled game and 1 conceded by the opposition.

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OH Cricket A highlight of the year was again the annual tour to Devon, which began on the 18 th August, based near Exeter. Six matches were played during the week with 3 wins and 3 losses.

As is tradition, the first match was against Kilmington, which has also become the memorial match for Simon Gelber, as it was one of his favourite fixtures.

The Old Habs batted first making 241 for 5 declared, with 3 people scoring over 50. (OH and current Habs teacher, Stuart Haring, made 94.)

Habs took a few early wickets, before their captain came in and scored 156, enabling Kilmington to make 244 for 6 and win by 4 wickets.

Old Habs then beat Exmouth, lost to Bradninch, before a thrilling game against Exeter where the OH won by 1 run. Old Habs made 204 for 6 off 40 overs, with Lewis Jenkins scoring 60 not out off 52 balls.

We then bowled Exeter out for 203 off 39.2 overs, spinner Hasit Mehta taking 4 wickets.

In the final two games, we lost to Thorverton and then beat Sidmouth on the Friday at their picturesque ground.

There was a good team spirit and Rhys Jenkins did his usual great job of running the club, whilst dealing with the standard issues of recruiting sufficient players etc.

We are always looking for new people to be involved at our friendly club please contact Rhys Jenkins ( r.o.jenkins95@gmail.com )

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OH Rugby Ever since the founding of the mighty blue, white and magentas in 1923, countless lovers of the oddshaped ball have experienced much pleasure (and some pain) representing OHRFC at the Fortress Croxdale Road, Borehamwood (18 minutes from St Pancras).

As a club we have a policy of not training during the season and we welcome players of all commitment levels - those warm weather 3 games a season players to those who want to play the full 22 league games. The club is run by the players for the players and has a fierce commitment to enjoyment on and off the pitch, with a full fixture list and social calendar for nine months of the year.

Originally comprising former pupils from the school in North London, the club has strengthened its numbers in the last few years from the Haberdasher schools in Monmouth and Adams as well as welcoming players from all over London (particularly those who work in the City) who share our ethos. We have strong connections with Universities including Cambridge, Warwick and Sheffield and a former player base all around the world The club has recently returned from Tour in Madrid after completing the league season. In 2023, to celebrate the centenary, we toured in France and have also toured in Italy, Germany, Holland, Ireland and Sweden as well as all over the UK. Next year we are entered into a tournament in Valencia. Our league games are played against clubs affiliated to the Middlesex RFU in North London.

We are always looking for new players – do get in touch if you are interested: Nigel Alexander: eccella52@icloud.com

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OH Hockey Founding the club As some of you may know, a little over one year ago, Roger Llewelyn, Ryan McIntosh and I discussed the idea of setting up the Old Haberdashers’ Hockey Club (OHHC). We all felt that a school with such a rich history of producing outstanding hockey players should have an Old Boys’ Hockey Club so that the entire school community could continue their hockey journey on the astros where so many of us fell in love with the sport. I hope there is no hyperbole when I say that it's been an incredible first season for OHHC and we are looking forward to building on this success next season. On a personal note, I've loved reconnecting with former pupils, former colleagues, players from other clubs, as well as meeting so many new and wonderful people who share the same values on which the club was founded: fostering camaraderie, enjoying competitive hockey and building connections to the school.

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OH Hockey Review of the 2024 / 2025 season

In our inaugural season, OHHC have achieved a huge amount both on and off the pitch.

Having registered with England Hockey and passed their compliance tests, we set about advertising the club. We have built a member base of over 60 members comprising of OHs, current schoolboys, parents of current schoolboys, as well as current and past teachers with an age range of 16 to 60. The club is run by a committee who have all worked exceptionally hard to achieve all we have in our first year.

On the pitch, our Men’s 1s entered into London Division 6 North West and I am delighted to say that we won the league with a record of 15 wins and 1 loss. We are incredibly proud that our Men’s 1s are still undefeated at Fortress Butterfly Lane!

Given the excellent availability of members, we organised five additional friendly matches for our Men's 2s on weekends when we have a surplus of players for our Men's 1s. We have run training sessions on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the school and have entered a team in a Summer League to keep everyone fit and engaged during the off-season. To end our first season, we hosted The OHHC Cup where we invited four teams to play in an all-day tournament at the school. We were delighted to gather over 100 participants in a real celebration of hockey and sportsmanship. To sign off the season, we hosted our AGM and end-of-season awards ceremony.

Not only did we have the best team in our league this season – there is little debate amongst the hockey community that we also boast the best teas on the circuit. We are delighted that post-match teas have been hosted at Bhageecha restaurant after every home league game.

Our efforts have been recognised by England Hockey as the club has been shortlisted for Emerging Club of the Year at the annual England Hockey Awards. The result is not yet known at the time of publication; however, everyone at the club is very proud to have received this nod of approval from the sport’s governing body.

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OH Hockey Looking ahead to the 2025 / 2026 season With a new Committee in place for next season, we have set ourselves some fairly ambitious targets for 2025/2026: •

Creating a Men's 2 league side who will enter East Division 7 South West

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Growing our member base to over 70 members

•

Working closely with our new Director of Hockey (Chris Yoxall – ex-staff) and Head Coach (Arman Islam – OH 2020) to further develop our players and playing style

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Running weekly training sessions (on Wednesday nights)

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Working closer with the school to create a framework for schoolboys to play adult hockey at OHHC alongside their school hockey

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Promoting an Under 14s Junior side

•

Developing our Umpire Base

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OH Hockey Thank you They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to build a hockey club. There are so many people to thank, without whom the above simply would not have been possible. This really has been a community effort with so many people playing an integral role in the first year of the club.

Thank you to the committee Basil Letts (OH 2010), Arman Islam (OH 2020), Anthony Ko (OH 2008), Aden Irwin, Kishan Ganatra (OH 2019) and Juvraj Singh 2018) for driving the club forwards since its very inception.

Thank you to the entire playing squad, the supporters and external helpers who have formed the community that is central to what the club is all about.

Thank you to three hugely important people at Haberdashers’ – Ryan McIntosh, Roger Llewelyn and John Miller, your support of the club has been invaluable. Thank you for giving up so much of your time to help us spread the word as well as assisting with kit, resources, pitch hire, recruitment and so much more.

Thank you to Sundeep Bhamra and the team at Bhageecha for the amazing hospitality and brilliant teas! A special mention to Gaynor at England Hockey who have been at the end of an email or call to help us navigate the intricacies of forming, growing and developing a hockey club from scratch.

We’d also like to thank the school and our sponsors, Trefoil Tutors, for their generosity in supporting the club financially. With their assistance, we have been able to offer one of the lowest membership costs of any London Hockey Club.

Getting involved As we look to grow in the 2025/2026 season, we would love to get more people involved with the club. Whether this is playing (men, ladies or juniors), coaching, umpiring or even sponsoring the club, we’d love to hear from you!

If you or someone you know is interested in getting involved, please do not hesitate to reach out to me on chair@ohhc.co.uk.

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OH Football Old Haberdashers FC: A Season of Change and Community The 2024-25 season has been a transformative one for Old Haberdashers Football Club (OHFC). After a decade of trophy-laden leadership, Joseph Stolerman stepped back, passing the baton to veteran Neil Weyman. Under Neil’s guidance, we’ve forged a vibrant new identity, strengthening ties with the Haberdashers’ School community and welcoming players from diverse leaving years, with a special focus on 6th formers and recent graduates.

Season Highlights •

• • • • • •

Dynamic Squad: 56 players proudly wore the OHFC jersey across 18 league matches, with 23 different goalscorers contributing to an electrifying 104 goals. Entertainment was never in short supply!

Youth Integration: Several 6th formers, including the school captain, joined the ranks, bringing fresh energy. We warmly encourage more 6th formers to get involved.

Veteran Spirit: OH parent Rajesh Shah, at a sprightly 51, donned his boots and delivered a standout performance as the season’s oldest player.

School Showdown: Our annual match against the school’s talented 1st XI saw the boys triumph 6-1. Mark your calendars for next season’s clash on September 13, 2025!

Homecoming: Matches returned to the OH Clubhouse and grounds at Croxdale Road, reinforcing our roots.

New Tradition: The inaugural Andy Evans Trophy pitted OHFC Veterans against the main squad, kicking off what we hope will become a cherished tradition.

League Standing: A respectable 7th-place finish in the league table (excluding a 6-point deduction) showcased our competitive spirit

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OH Football

Looking Ahead With plans to establish a 2nd XI in the coming years, OHFC is buzzing with ambition. If you’ve got the fitness to play 90 minutes and a passion for the game, we’d love to see you on the pitch in our fun and sporting league.

Get in touch to join the OHFC family and be part of our exciting future!

Up the Habs! The OHFC Committee

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OH Golf

Old Habs Golfing Society, 2024 The first event for the Old Haberdashers’ Golfing Society was the Spring Meeting at Harpenden in April - it was a very good afternoon.

Andy Ward, having recently retired from the school, was the winner - Andy also won the prize for the longest drive.

This was followed by our annual match against Old Lyonians and Old Millhillians at Moor Park on the 9th May. Great weather and Moor Park is an excellent setting.

The result was close, with Old Millhillians winning with 7 points and Old Habs and Old Lyonians joint second with 5.5 each.

On 21st June, the OHGS hosted the quadrangular match at Harpenden. This comprises Old Habs, Old Aldenhamians, Old Fullerians and Old Merchant Taylors.

There were 8 players per side with the top 6 scores counting for each team. Old Aldenhamians just beat Old Fullerians by 2 points, OMTs were third and the OHGS fourth.

It was a very successful event, enjoyed by all and with good food afterwards.

The school organised their golf day at Porters Park on 8 th September - it was affected by rain / thunderstorms and results judged after 9 holes. Neil Weyman was the winner with the highest number of points after the first 9 holes.

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OH Golf Old Habs Golfing Society, 2024 On 18th September the OHGS had their annual match against Old Cholmeleians (also at Porters Park.) This was an eight-a-side match, playing as pairs in a four-ball - and it was a good afternoon and post-match meal. The result was a convincing win for Old Cholmeleians 3.5 points to 0.5 points - it’s always a match played in a good spirit. Our half-point was gained by Peter Mackie and Michael Estorick. Michael was playing in his first OHGS fixture and Peter and Michael had not seen each other since leaving school -so after about 50 years.

The final event for 2024 was the Autumn meeting at Gerrards Cross on 4th October. Although a lot of people were unavailable and only a small number played, it was still a good day. The team prize was won by Paul Harrison, Richard Pitt and Nigel Cooper. Peter Annett won both the longest drive and nearest the pin. In terms of individual performance, Richard Pitt had the highest number of stableford points and won the cup.

Similar fixtures are planned for 2025.

We welcome all Old Haberdashers' and friends who play golf - it's a relaxed and enjoyable golfing society - so if you would like to get involved, please contact Robert Clarke. robertc.clarke@btopenworld.com

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OH Shooting - Old Haberdashers’ Rifle Club

Shooting started at Haberdashers’ back in 1905; indeed, the rifle club was the precursor to the CCF. Unfortunately, the army declared the range ‘unsafe’ some ten years ago (December 2014) and it has been closed ever since. In consequence there has been no rifle shooting at the school since then and our source of recruits has dried up.

We shoot out of doors in all weathers and don’t like shooting in rain or snow, so we hibernate from November to February and only emerge when the weather warms up in early March. Because very special conditions and facilities are needed for rifle shooting, we do all our shooting at the National Shooting Centre at Bisley in Surrey (GU24 0PB).

We alternate between practice shoots and serious team competitions and generally expect to have at least one successful result each year.

We have been entering two teams in a league organised by the London and Middlesex Rifle Association, which consists of three shoots over April to June, but this year could only field one team. The first two matches are at short range – 10 shots to count at 300 and 500, or 300 and 600 yards. The final round is at 900 and 1000 yards and it is here we normally make our mark. This year the third round will be on June 14th.

We also enter two matches for “Old Boys”, the first run by the LMRA, where this year we could only manage third place. The second is at the start of the National target rifle meeting, this year on Thursday 17th July. This match is followed by our Annual Dinner – generally enjoyed by shooters and spectators.

Once a year, or so, we also lay on a curry lunch for participants in a practice shoot and this improves attendance!

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OH Shooting - Old Haberdashers’ Rifle Club The last shoot of the season is the club championship, which this year will be held on Saturday 14th September. The championship itself consists of two sighting shots and 10 to count at 300 and 500 yards and is decided on gun score; but there is a concurrent handicap competition where everybody declares in advance what their score will be and the shooter closest to what he declares is the winner In the meantime, we are having a practice shoot and Open Day on Saturday 28th June and anyone who would like “to have a go” should drop me a line at rwinney@compuserve.com to let me know they are coming. Unfortunately, there is a cost to this and ammunition costs between £1.20 and £1.60 per ‘bang’ and we also have to pay for targets and markers, which cost around £20 per head, depending on numbers.

Dick Winney, Chairman.

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