Women's Blues

Team Info

Captain's Welcome

The Women’s Blues (1st XI) play in the England Hockey IWHL in National Conference West on a Saturday and the National Premier League on a Wednesday in BUCs. As a team, we consistently punch above our weight. Playing in the highest university league against the biggest sporting universities during the week - the likes of Nottingham, Durham, Loughborough, Edinburgh, Exeter and Birmingham. Following a successful 2019/20 season we have established ourselves in this league for seasons to come.  On weekends, we play amongst the top 60 teams in the country and finished 5th last season. We will be looking to build on these successes going into the new season (whatever that may look like), with aims of pushing for promotion and a top 3 position on Saturday, plus regaining the Varsity trophy after a one year hiatus.

The WBs weekly training schedule includes two 2 hour pitch sessions with our professional coach, Tamsin Pascoe, two strength and conditioning sessions in the Iffley Road Blues Gym with our strength and condition coach, and on top of this we play two matches a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We also play a Varsity match in March against Cambridge at Southgate Hockey Club, which is a highlight in the WBs calendar and a unique experience to be part of - it is live streamed on YouTube with over 7000 views last year as well as large crowds pitch-side.  After an agonising loss on penalty shuffles last year following a 3-3 draw and a dominating performance we look forward to regaining the trophy this year.

Playing for the Blues is a large commitment but is a majorly worthwhile one sportingly and socially. It is perfectly capable to achieve academically, play high level sport and enjoy the social life. As a team we like to work hard and play hard in both senses of the word - we have team socials and club wide socials throughout the week and are a tight knit group of friends there to support each other through demanding Oxford degrees. OUHC is the largest mixed sports club in the university with around 150 members, which makes for a great social scene with likeminded people. In addition, there are 3 (to become 4 this season) women’s teams (Blues, Radicals, Mavericks and Renegades), which form the cohesive women’s side of the club, which is fun, welcoming, social and successful.

If you are a new player joining Oxford, we would love to hear from you. Please fill out the new players form on the website or get in touch with the email below. For any other queries, questions or need to get in touch then please email ouhcwbcaptain@gmail.com.

Olivia Lee-Smith

Women's Blues Captain 2020-21