It was a frightening however thrilling expertise to captain the Scottish Squad within the first ever IFWHA World Match in 1975. The earlier choice course of, very a lot outdated, was modified primarily as a result of monumental efforts of Marie Weir, the Scottish Girls’s coach. The squad comprised seven senior gamers, and the remaining eight gamers with a mean of 4 caps every, had little or no expertise of worldwide hockey. A lot needed to be addressed.
The complete squad labored tirelessly to come back collectively as one, and with household, associates and plenty of members of the Scottish hockey neighborhood raised hundreds of kilos to finance coaching journeys to Europe, in an effort to higher put together the squad to face the continental type of play and umpiring.
Though the squad was introduced on the finish of March, we had a relaxation on the finish of the season, earlier than embarking on a coaching weekend in Holland in April, and an identical enterprise to Germany in June. We had been getting ready to play seven worldwide matches in ten days.
Louie Kerr (Umpire), Marie Weir (Coach), Gillian McIntyre, Helen McFadzean, Jinty Stewart, Kay Francis, Barbara Bell, Elaine Graham, Jennifer Cochrane (Supervisor), Helen Weir (Assistant Supervisor)
Isobel Flint, Anne Wilson, Anne MacLeod, Elan Borrowman, Rae Nicholson (Captain), Margaret Brown, Kathleen Haldane, Marietta Craigie, Susan MacVicar
The emphasis on health, stamina, enchancment in particular person technical potential, match play, competing in opposition to totally different kinds of play all needed to be improved. We needed to mix as one, each on and off the pitch. In direction of July and August, we performed in opposition to males, who had been a lot stronger and quicker, and in addition performed a distinct type of hockey. In August, we had a couple of days collectively in Craigflower, a boys’ prep faculty in Fife, the place we labored on consolidating all elements of our preparation.
We had executed our greatest in readiness to carry out on the most important stage of our lives – to play in entrance of house help in Edinburgh.
All self-funded, while holding down full time jobs!
Squad members: Barbara Bell, Elan Borrowman, Margaret Brown, Marietta Craigie, Isobel Flint, Kay Francis, Elaine Graham, Kathleen Haldane, Gillian McIntyre, Anne MacLeod, Susan MacVicar, Rae Nicholson (captain), Jinty Stewart, Anne Wilson. Supervisor – Jennifer Cochrane
There isn’t any higher sporting honour than representing Scotland. How proud I used to be as captain and flag bearer, to guide out our Scottish Girls’s Hockey Workforce on the Opening Ceremony of the IFWHA event at Meadowbank Stadium in August 1975. This was the primary ever girls’s World Hockey Match to be performed in Scotland, and we had the privilege of enjoying within the opening match in opposition to Canada.
All of our exhausting work and coaching stood us in good stead as we realised our potential and recorded a wonderful win, 5-0. Over the following ten days we had highs and lows, as, regrettably, we didn’t qualify to play within the part competing for high honours. After successful our preliminary part, we misplaced to Argentina by one penalty purpose in a cross over match. A tough tablet to swallow. We had been seeded tenth, and our last putting was ninth. When it actually mattered, as a staff, we weren’t sturdy sufficient.
Nevertheless, the expertise of being a part of such a effectively organised occasion was superb and friendships had been made that final to today.
We totally loved the social facet of the occasion, and I hope the younger gamers of in the present day have the chance to expertise what the 1975 squad did.
Rae Nicholson, Scottish Captain
