Hockey sides get in gear for season with Wake Smith

1st October 2015

Newly promoted elite squads at a Sheffield hockey club will wear the name of one of the city's most respected law firms for games across Yorkshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and the North East this coming season.

Sheffield-based solicitors Wake Smith has become the official shirt sponsor of the men's and ladies' elite squads at the Sheffield University Bankers Hockey Club (SUBHC) as they push for consecutive promotions in the North Hockey Association Men's Premier League and North League respectively. This is the second time Wake Smith, which offers legal expertise in all areas of corporate and personal law including commercial property, residential conveyancing to family law and medical negligence, has sponsored the club's shirts and reinforces the company's commitment to amateur sport in the region. Mark Serby, director at Wake Smith, said: "As a long established Sheffield company we are proud of the sporting heritage the city has. It has produced some of the best, and most successful, sports people in the UK and is a hive of activity for both amateur and grass roots sports which often need crucial support. "Through the shirt sponsorship, Wake Smith gains the visual awareness of our brand on a regional level and builds a feel-good factor thanks to its association with local, highly successful teams. We wish both squads the best of luck this coming season." SUBHC is one of the oldest and largest clubs in the North of England and came out of a merger of the University of Sheffield Men/Women's hockey clubs' Saturday teams and the well-established Sheffield Bankers Hockey Club in 1999. It now has more than 225 members and currently supports seven men's XI and three ladies' squads, a development pool and two veterans sides playing at a wide range of ability levels. Club chairman Bob Hindle said: "Both sides will be pushing for consecutive promotions this season with the men's XI looking to move into the national league and the ladies looking for their sixth promotion in a row. "We pride ourselves on being the friendliest and most successful club in England. Fundraising activity, events and sponsorship is key to operating a club like this and we are grateful to Wake Smith for helping the squads. The most expensive part of running the club is kit, training costs and coaching so every sponsor we attract is crucial." The Wake Smith name will also appear on banners in the dug outs at Goodwin Road. SUBHC is also one of England Hockey's four National Performance Centres (NPCs), providing funding for improved training facilities and selection and support of potential England team players.