England: Hockey Writers’ Membership Announce Participant Of 12 months Awards

Maddie Hinch, of HC Tilburg HC, and Holcombe’s Nick Bandurak have been named UK girls’s and Mercian males’s gamers of the yr for 2022 by the Hockey Writers’ Membership.

The award was made on the Hockey Writers’ Membership (HWC) Annual Awards Presentation Lunch on Wednesday, eighth February 2023, on the Royal Thames Yacht Membership, Knightsbridge. Subsequent yr will mark the fortieth anniversary of the celebrated award.

Hinch, 34, received the HWC girls’s Participant of the 12 months award for the fourth time, having triumphed in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Within the vote by HWC members, she completed simply forward of fellow internationals Wimbledon’s Fiona Crackles and East Grinstead’s Tess Howard.

A fourth success takes her forward of Karen Brown and Kate Richardson-Walsh, each three-time winners of the award.

In the meantime, Bandurak, 30, received the Mercian males’s Participant of the 12 months award for the second yr in a row and joined Iain Lewers as the one gamers to win back-to-back HWC Males’s awards. 

Hinch, who was unable to gather her award on account of her Dutch league commitments, stated: “It’s an immense honour and privilege to obtain this prestigious award as soon as once more. The previous yr was an enormous one for myself and my teammates, and naturally, it was made in particular particular with England successful an historic gold medal on the Commonwealth Video games. A day I’ll always remember. 

“I can consider quite a few standout particular person performances so receiving this award is a big accomplishment for me and I’m grateful for the popularity. It’s simply loopy to suppose that I’ve now develop into HWC’s most adorned athlete, overtaking legends Karen Brown and Kate Richardson-Walsh. 

“Each of those girls have been position fashions for me and have performed a vital position in serving to me attain the place I’m immediately. Their accomplishments have at all times been an inspiration to me and it’s humbling to be talked about in the identical breath as them.”

In the meantime, Bandurak 30, admitted to the shock to win back-to-back awards after a stellar 24 months for membership after which being known as up for England choice final yr. 

He stated: “It’s been a loopy yr. Final yr I stood right here and was requested ‘what’s subsequent?’ and I stated ‘every little thing’. From working full time to getting that chance has been superb. And as I alluded to final yr aged 29 it’s like slightly little bit of a free swing and I can’t wait to see what’s subsequent.

“It’s an enormous shock and honour to obtain the award. It’s been an unbelievable 12 months and I’m satisfied to win once more.”