The promotion-winning club has been awarded a lottery grant to aid the hockey development of young people in the Alnwick District.

The money is the icing on the cake for the club who grabbed their first accreditation from England Hockey and saw their first team crowned champions of the Northumberland A League.

Their title-topping campaign sealed promotion into the North Division 2 East for the first time in the club's 34-year history.

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The grant goes towards providing coaching, equipment, pitch hire, tournament entry fees and transport to help in the further development of the junior section of the club.

The coaching will take place at Alnwick's home ground, Longhirst All Weather Pitch, near Morpeth.

The money also highlights the needs and pressure put upon the town to provide such facilities within Alnwick itself.

To fulfil their eight compulsory 'home' league games last term, the club, who play at Longhirst because of no other suitable facilities in the area, had to travel the equivalent of 288 miles – almost the same distance from Alnwick to the Houses of Parliament. And that's before training and away fixtures.

The coaching will take place between 10am and 1pm on Saturday, June 14 and 28, and July 19. During these sessions, players will work towards England Hockey Stix Skills Awards, which are for anyone under 14 and are a fun way of finding out just how good players' hockey skills are.

For those who wish to continue playing hockey there will an opportunity to find out more about the paths into the junior development side of Alnwick Hockey Club. All students aged between nine and 14 are welcome.

Information will be set out to all schools soon but for more information contact the club's junior development officer, Ruth Allen, on 07790 673351. The club relies heavily upon grants and sponsorship, which is mainly provided by local businesses and individuals. It thanked existing sponsors and appealed for new sponsors to visit www.alnwickhockey.co.uk