Home  //   News  //   Chieftains become winners - again!

Chieftains become winners - again!

26/09/2011

Following hot on the heels of the signing of Michael Ranby from the Streatham Redskins, there is even more reasons to cheer for the Chieftains at the moment.  They have been awarded the very prestigious "Sports Team of the Year" by Active Chelmsford and in conjunction with Chelmsford Borough Council.  This award recognises teams or clubs who've worked hard and been successful not only in their sport but contributed to the community and encouraged participation in sport for people within the Borough.

Team owner Derek Bartlett said of the award, "When I took over the club a few years ago we said we wanted to be successful on and off the ice and we've shown with this award that we've done both.  Last year was a fantastic season for us on the ice and we were gutted to miss out on the title by just 2 points, however our hard work has paid off by being crowned Essex's Team of the Year.  We've continued the work we do in our community with our corporate partners Grants SEAT and our chosen charity Autism Anglia and we've raised the profile of ice hockey in Chelmsford and Essex to new levels".

Derek went on to say "Off the back of that we're seeing rapid growth in youngsters joining the junior set up and wanting to take up ice hockey.  We recognise that this can only be good for the people of Chelmsford and the surrounding area to get more of them into the sport.  To those that nominated us and gave us this award I'd like to thank you immensely and although we aren't in it for the recognition, it's nice to be appreciated for the work we're doing and we hope that we can continue to provide top class entertainment and sport for Chelmsford Borough residents for years to come".

On top of being named winners, former coach and current Director of Coaching Dean Birrell came out Highly Commended and was nearly crowned "Coach of the Year" in the same awards competition.  Deano was delighted, "I'm honoured that I was given this award recognising what we achieved last season.  I know it's a bit of a cliche, but I couldn't have done it without so many good people around me and the players on the ice being some of the best I've ever worked with.  We all worked hard together and pulled in the same direction and it made the club, as a whole, successful and it's nice to be recognised for my contribution to the cause".

The awards ceremony is on 4th October at the Civic Centre in Chelmsford.