The club has a very strong history and a committed policy towards developing our youth players. We
currently run dedicated coaching sessions for Primary and Secondary age pupils, which are all led by
qualified coaches. Our main youth sessions are currently:
Youth (P1 – S4) Tuesday, 6 – 7:30pm Aberdeen Sports Village, Linksfield Road, AB24 5RU
Youth (P1 – S4) Thursday, 6 – 7:30pm Rubislaw Astroturft, Bayview Road South, Ab15 4YY
Holiday Camps
The club have been running holiday camps since 2015, which are open to both members and non-
members. Our regular summer camp usually takes place in August every year, and is very popular with
participants. We have also run shorter camps during October and Easter (and even Christmas) holidays,
but do not take place every year due to volunteer and coach availability.
For more information on our camps programme please email camps@gcwhc.co.uk
Competitive Hockey
For those looking to play games, there are a variety of options including:
- Mixed U10 “Fun 4s” and U12s “Super 6s” North District Festival teams
- S1-3 & S4-6 Boys friendly matches
- Indoor Hockey festivals and competitions at various age groups
- U16 & U18 Girls National League competitions
If we have good numbers for teams (and the volunteer workforce to support) we will always look for
new opportunities for game play – whether local or national!
Senior Hockey
GCW will always encourage players to play senior hockey once they have reached the appropriate stage
of development and can cope physically playing in an adult environment. It is recommended that
players do not play in District Leagues until age 14, but exceptions can be made if players are thought to
be physically able to cope playing with adults.
Youth players are not eligible to play National League or Premiership Hockey until 14 years old.
Representative Hockey
GCW also have a strong track record in supporting players to represent North District, and will always
encourage players to trial for the various U14, U16 and U18 squads. A number of our coaches have
experience of coaching at District level, and this enables us to mentor players to make the most of their
opportunities at representative level. The club are very proud to have had a number of youth players
gain international honours at U16, U18 and U21 levels over the years.
We also have players regularly feeding into Scottish Hockey’s BRAVE programme, which is the feeder
training programme for youth international teams.
Child Protection
Granite City Wanderers take their duty of care for youth players very seriously. All coaches are PVG
checked by Disclosure Scotland and have completed Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport training in
line with current guidance from Scottish Hockey. Our child protection policy can be found here.
Should you have any wellbeing or protection concerns, the contact details for GCW’s Child Welfare &
Protection Officer (CWPO) can be found below.
CWPO: Lorna Clyne
Email: cpo@gcwhc.co.uk