The Club

Who Are We?

We are Clifton Robinsons Hockey Club. We have been formed from two of Bristol’s premier clubs; Clifton Ladies and Robinsons Hockey Club. The clubs have been working closely for many years sharing pitches, umpires, junior coaching, social events and annual dinners and in 2016 took the final step of merging to form arguably Bristol’s strongest hockey club.

We are based at The Redland Green Club a fabulous facility in the heart of Redland and a short distance from our Astroturf pitches at Coombe Dingle Sport Complex, Badminton school and Red Maids school.

We offer hockey for any standard right from National League through to mixed social hockey. We pride ourselves on our investment in youth hockey and nurturing local talent as well as catering for Masters Hockey for both men and ladies.

We believe hockey should be inclusive whatever your standard or your interests, we encourage our players to get involved in umpiring and have a training programme for aspiring coaches whether that be to assist with junior or the adult formats.

What does the future hold?
The merger between the two clubs leads us into a new and exciting era. We are looking to draw on the best core values and experiences from both clubs and build on previous successes. We are looking to cement the ladies 1st XI as the strongest side in English Hockey, now we have our men back in the National League we want to sustain that and continue the successes that our thriving juniors section has experienced so far.

At the heart of all of this the key value for us is FUN! Fun for those taking part, fun for our loyal spectators and fun for those who help to make the magic happen. Hockey is a fiercely competitive game that can be enjoyed by all the family, there is something for everyone and the most important thing for us at Clifton Robinsons Hockey Club is that we all have a good time being part of this wonderful sport.

Clifton Robinsons Ladies

#silentassassins

Running five successful league sides and a thriving junior section, the ladies section has around 170 playing members. The name is synonymous with high achievement and quality hockey played in the right manner and we have a focus on training players at all levels.

Clifton first team attracts players of the highest calibre from both home and abroad, many of whom have represented their country at either U16, U18, U21 or senior levels. The players in the squad are all supremely fit athletes and highly motivated individuals.

The earliest records for the club found date back to November 1897. It would appear that in the early years upon introduction and approval, men were allowed to partake but by 1908 there was an amendment to the rules of play to 'All England Women's Hockey Association' which the club adopted. Clifton Ladies were born!

In the 1980's success came rapidly as the club reached the Nationals for Indoor in 1982. The club dominated the West Clubs Outdoor finals (85, 86, 87, 89) and qualified for the clubs first outdoor Nationals in Oxford. The 1988-89 season saw the club winning the SunLife West Premier League on goal difference having won their last two matches. This saw Clifton promoted to the newly formed Typhoo National League, where the club remained for 15 years. (Now the EHL Premier League).

1990's onwards has seen the club gain even greater achievements both here at home and abroad. Including twice winning the coveted EH Womens Cup and being runners up on four occasions. Also Clifton has produced a line of 'homegrown' talent who have gone on to represent their Country, notably amongst others Tammy Miller (England/GB double Olympian), Denise Marston-Smith (England, GB, Olympian with over 100 caps), Gemma Ible (England, GB), Georgie Twigg MBE (England, GB, Bronze and Gold Medal Winning Olympian), Joie Leigh (England and part of the GB Gold winning squad in Rio) and we have been recently joined by Alex Danson MBE (England Captain and Gold Medal Winning Olympian).

The club encourages all its teams to challenge on a national level and in the 2012 season we became 2nd XI National Cup champions, in the 4th season of entering the competition. A successful defence of that title was achieved in 2013 - the first time a team has successfully defended the trophy.

In 2013/14 the 1st XI broke into the coveted Top 4 of the Investec National League, claiming a spot in the Play Off tournament. Lastly in 2015/16 the 1st XI won the HA Cup for a 5th time at The Lee Valley Olympic Park.

Clifton Robinsons Men

Blue Army

Formed in 1920 from a group of employees of the company ES&A Robinson, the club has grown and evolved significantly in the last two decades. The 1st XI playing in West Premiere 1 gained national praise and acclaim for it’s very vocal and enthusiastic travelling support – The Blue Army – who took over the National hockey stadium at Milton Keynes during National League play-offs in 1998 and 1999.

Since then Robinsons have climbed to the giddy heights of Premier 1 of the English Indoor Hockey League for a season and have reached the National League West Conference for the second time. The 2nd XI play in the Championship (a blend of exciting young players with key experienced players) the 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s provide competitive hockey at a lower level which is just as enjoyable but involves a lot less travelling!

The club has a very strong Vets section with a number of players having represented England Veterans in Masters Hockey World Cups. They have now been in the final three times of the Masters Over 40’s cup winning it twice. Of course it doesn’t stop there we also now have a thriving juniors section with the U14’s and U12’s proving to be dominant in the tournaments they have entered so far. For those who would prefer a more social game we also run a mixed team called ‘Clobbies’ who can often be found running around a pitch on a Sunday morning trying to shake off the events of the night before!

Thanks primarily to its loyal older members the men’s section has a long established touring tradition, with ESANDARs (E.S AND A Robinson) being annual visitors to the Torbay Easter Festival for each and every one of the past 51 years! Other touring sides from the club have attended overseas festivals in Barbados and Holland in recent years, as well as attending other tours and tournaments in the UK.