Weatherhead celebrates making 20

From its baby steps, to a fully established giant in Ugandan hockey, Weatherhead Club's twenty year journey is a tale of resilience, vision and hope.

Established in 1997 by an exclusive group of old students from Kings College Budo, the club is perpetually growing in repute and the returns on the pitch are visible!

It is not hyperbole as the club members prepare to "immortalize" this more-than-a-club institution with a dinner set for 18^th November at Silver Springs Hotel.

Former Uganda Hockey Association (UHA) chairman Dunstan Nsubuga was one of the pioneer members at the club which was named after Henry Walter Weatherhead, the first head teacher of Kings College Budo.

A group of girls later from Gayaza High School with the likes of Leila Mayanja would join the new club which was determined to challenge the then old Wananchi Club.

"Just a mere dream shared by enthusiastic students at school, they sparked belief and formed a team to challenge Wananchi. There was the urge to form clubs than join already established ones" said Jackie Namyalo, former club chairman.

There has been insurmountable progress amidst the challenging sports environs in the country especially financial sponsorship and to Weatherhead, they are surviving on individual initiatives as there is largely no reliable source of funding.

However with the ever growing challenges, they continue to stand their ground, producing players for the future as the sense of continuity holds firm.

Speaking achievements, the club scores highly on longevity and perhaps it is here where it should mainly be judged. Notwithstanding, the club has managed to have both male and female teams with the latter remaining the most successful side in the women's category.

Maintaining a continuous flow of talent is characteristic of Weatherhead with a young Weatherhead B ladies side in place; these youngsters are clearly among the mainstays. Gazelles, the senior ladies side continues to harbour some of the best female players; for purposes of illustration Siddy Alum scored 31 league goals last season to emerge top scorer.

The ladies have picked a total of six league trophies, four more than defending champions Wananchi though the men's side has not had genuine representation, managing just one league title in 2011 but then they are in the running for this year's highly competitive trophy. 

"Crowning this milestone of twenty years with another league title would really be satisfying and confidently, this is something I'm seeing coming through" said Vincent Kasasa the Weatherhead coach.

Continental glory remains the holy grail for the club and their last outing in the Africa Club Championships was disastrous, finishing eighth out of nine and last in the men and women categories respectively.

Now, making a home of their own, which is high on the priority list going forward, would make them the first club to have a hockey pitch but it's more a question of how can they manage than when will they fulfil this extremely ambitious target.

For now though, someone should mark their calendars for the dinner!