The England Hockey Board would like to say a huge congratulations to South Gloucestershire Hockey Club who have made it into the record books for playing the longest continuous hockey match in history.
The Bristol based club played a 31-hour marathon match and raised more than £5,200 for the Cots for Tots Appeal at the city’s St Michael’s Hospital.
The game actually took place back in May of this year, but it took Guinness World Records some time to assess all the evidence that the club gathered together in support of their world record attempt. Guinness World Record Holder's - South Gloucestershire Hockey Club
The evidence gathering and patience eventually paid off and SGHC are now official Guiness World Record holders for playing the longest continuous hockey match in history, beating the previous record set in August 2010 by Omagh Hockey Club in Ireland, by 45 minutes.
The match took place at Bradley Stoke Community School, and involved two squads of 16 players. They were supported by an army of volunteer stewards, umpires, independent witnesses, timekeepers and lots of family and friends.
The event was organised by the hockey club’s third-team goalkeeper Darren Bane, whose son Matthew was born more than three months early, and spent his first six months at NICU.
Speaking after the event Matthew said, “Waiting for Guinness to officially confirm our world record claim was almost as painful as taking part in the match itself. It has been a very anxious few months of waiting, but now they have officially recognised our achievement, we are all delighted. The main reason for the endurance event was to raise as much money as we could for a very worthy cause, which will help save lives. But the fact that we have made a little piece of history for ourselves is the icing on the cake, and a memorable reward for the huge amount of effort put in, not just by the players but the many supporters.
The club would like to say thank you to everyone that supported them on the day, without their collective effort and support they would not have been able to achieve the new world record.
More details, and photos, can be found on the club’s own website.
England Hockey Board Media release
