FRANKSTON Hockey Club has celebrated 50 years of fun and friendship within the City of Frankston.
The club was founded in 1973 by a group of passionate local players that consisted of hockey greats Robert “Chicken” Howell and triple Olympian Des Piper.
Together, the club took a trip down memory lane on Saturday 1 April for an anniversary celebration and shared stories and laughs as Teams of the Decades were announced.
Joining in on the celebration were founding members Neil Rist, Russell “Hollywood” Whitney and triple Olympian Des Piper who were accompanied by a strong showing of Life Members and family members of other founding members who were not able to make the evening.
“We were grateful to have Des make the journey from NSW and join us on the evening who was named captain of men’s Team of the Half Century,” current president Chris Wall said.
“The night was not only a milestone celebration and announcement of the teams, but it also served as a great opportunity for teammates and volunteers to re-connect as well as introduce the current generation of members to the Stingrays who came before them.”
The club has experienced many highlights of the last 50 years including being one of only four Melbourne clubs to grow memberships past pre-pandemic numbers, Mr Wall said.
“2022 saw the club clear 240 active memberships with 2023 looking to be even stronger,” he said.
Other recent highlights include the women’s first grade premiership in 2019 and men’s first grade premiership in 2022.
In the last 12 months, there has also been the fantastic efforts of Victorian Masters Representatives Travis and Chris Firth and Victorian Junior Under-15s representative Kobi Hull.
Mr Wall said the club was looking forward to celebrating more feats and milestones as the Stingrays forges ahead in the next 50 years.