We've just had another significant donation to the pitch fund, this time from Persimmon Homes, who are currently redeveloping the old High School site in downtown Kinross. They have just sent a cheque for £1000, which takes us over halfway to our funding target.
We're getting there.
We're pleased to announce some excellent news for the Pitch In campaign. We have had a pledge of support from the Arthur and Margaret Thompson Trust, a significant funder of community projects in the Kinrossshire area. The trustees have pledged the sum of £80,000 to the fund (subject to a few conditions that we believe we should be able to meet).
I'm sure everyone at the club would like to pass on their thanks to the trustees for helping us in our moment of need.
The Trust's pledge radically changes the picture for the fundraising campaign and means that there is now a realistic possibility that we will be able to replace the playing surface this summer.
Applications to other funding bodies are ongoing and negotiations with PKC continue over the council's contribution.
We'll keep you posted.
As well as having to come up with a new club logo for the combined hockey club, we have also set ourselves the task of developing a new club kit, with everyone playing in the same colours. According to the club constitution, we are to play in purple.
The kit committee has come up with some preliminary designs and we can now offer you a sneak preview. These will need to be updated with sponsors' logos once agreements are finalised - as announced here recently, the second sponsor for the ladies is already in place, and wheels are in motion for the men's and Kobras sponsors. Watch this space.
The manufacturer is Adidas, which has a rather nice shade of purple in its range. The apparently monstrous size of the men's shorts is an accident of photography rather than a design feature!
Just a reminder that we are collecting Sainsbury's Active Kids Vouchers again this year. Keep them coming...
When the men's and ladies' clubs merged nearly a year ago, one of the tasks we set ourselves was to come up with a new logo for the combined club and a new strip design that would work for everyone in the club.
A subcommittee has been working away at this for several months and here are the first fruits of their labours - a new logo which brings the crossed sticks of the old ladies' club logo into the badge and castle of the men's club one.
The intention is that this will be the logo for all arms of the club, including the Kobras.
Ladies training this week had a special visitor in the shape of Morna Strachan, Clark Thomson's Group Marketing and Communications Manager, who was there to mark the launch of the new sponsorship deal.
Cue lots of photography in the freezing cold. You do it for the club, ladies!
Another £250 was paid into the pitch fund today. This represented the proceeds of a group of hockey club members who marshalled at the cyclocross race run by Kinross Cycling Club.
Many thanks to the team from the men's section who put in a long, long shift on a very cold day: Dan Marsh, Andy McIntyre, Pete Smith, Dougie Ogilvie and Gurdi Duhre.
It looks as though the KGV has been swept at least. I have no idea whether this means we will get back on or not though.
There was a great turnout from the Kobras for the Grove Menzieshill indoor tournament in Dundee this weekend. Two teams at U10 and two at U12 had a great time, clocking up some notable wins and having the usual hard time against JHA.
Conditions were tricky for photography, so the pictures are mostly poor, but you get a flavour of the day.
A few pictures of last weekend's Burns Supper have come my way, and I have to say, doesn't everyone polish up nicely?
If anyone else have photos they'd like to share, do send them along.
At the end of last week, Scottish Hockey announced its under-16s girls squads and there are many familiar names on the roll of honour.
There is one current Kobra, in the shape of Lucy Smith, and no fewer than five former members: Georgia Smith, Olivia Mears, Erin Stevens, Jenny Walls and Susie Green.
Congratulations to all of them.
