Upper Clutha Hockey Club has been crowned the 2024 hockey champions, securing season wins across the men’s, women’s, and U18 teams, and cementing this as arguably the club’s most triumphant season.

The Upper Clutha Hockey Club Premier Men’s team won the Central Otago Men’s Hockey Championship with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over rivals Whakatipu.

The intense match, held in Cromwell, began with Whakatipu capturing an early lead 30 seconds into the second quarter. Upper Clutha (UC) responded shortly after as Sam Fitzgerald levelled the score with a reverse tomahawk from a penalty corner. As the first half drew to a close, Conor Doyle set up Will Anderson, who scored with another reverse shot into the corner, giving UC a 2-1 lead.

Whakatipu demonstrated resilience in the second half, equalising midway through the third

Upper Clutha Hockey Club’s Premier Men’s team after their win against Whakatipu.

quarter to make the score 2-2. No side relented and the tie seemed firmly fixed. With just two minutes remaining, penalty shoot outs seemed inevitable. Luke Hall of UC took a quick penalty outside the 25m line, driving the ball into the circle where Olly Hart deflected it into the back of the net. Upper Clutha held off Whakatipu during the last 60 seconds to secure the victory.

The Upper Clutha Women’s Team also emerged victorious, in a closely contested game against Cromwell.

The match at the Cromwell Hockey Turf ended with a dramatic 1-0 scoreline, securing the trophy and title for Upper Clutha Women’s Team for the first time in six years. 

Upper Clutha Women’s team after a closely contested game against Cromwell.

From the first whistle Upper Clutha Women played with intensity, exerting pressure on Cromwell and dominating possession - but were unable to convert chances into goals in the first half. But the third quarter was a triumph, which secured a goal from Chrissi Petit to put them in the lead. Upper Clutha Women held off Cromwell for the remainder of the game.

In a highly competitive game against Dunstan High School 1st XI, Upper Clutha Hockey Club Senior Reserve Mixed High School (UCHC) dominated from the beginning of the game with Matt Botting scoring a goal after beating three players and the goalie within four minutes from the first whistle.

The local team displayed great team play with all players contributing to the team strategy laid out by coaches Sam Fitzgerald and James Leech, the club said in a statement. 

For the second year the final between UCHC and Dunstan was taken to shootouts. Kalan Evans (playing in the goal for the first time in his hockey career) remained composed, having only practised shootouts a few days before: he saved three attempts by Dunstan. Hudson Weathington and James Dougherty both scored their shootout attempts resulting in a 3-3, 2-0 win for UCHC.

It was a well deserved win for a team which has developed well throughout the season, the club said in a statement. 

The team will be off next month to the South Island Secondary Schools tournament in Timaru looking for their third tournament win. UCHC is busy fundraising for their tournament through selling raffles and seeking sponsors and donations. To support them in their fundraising contact team manager Rachel Prendergast (0272809094).

Upper Clutha hockey has been supported by major sponsors Wanacare Pharmacy and Auto Super Shoppe Wanaka, with grant providers Grassroots Trust, Lion Foundation, and Queenstown Lakes District Council Travel Grant.

PHOTOS: Supplied