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London the Top Team in Corporate Hockey Weekend 22 July 2005 The corporate hockey tournament involving staff from the offices of accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the UK and Europe now looks like becoming an annual event following a highly successful weekend in the Isle of Man. Intention had been to invite teams to travel to the Island to play matches against local sides but so many offices wanted to get involved that there were enough players to turn it into a full-blown PwC tournament. Plans are now being drawn up to hold the tournament every year, with the Isle of Man playing hosts again in maybe three or four years time. One of the organisers, Jon Whiting, senior manager in the Isle of Man office, said: ‘Over 100 players travelled here and were full of praise for the facilities, not to mention the perfect summer weather which we enjoyed and the fact that the tournament ran without a hitch. Welcome packs were provided by the Department of Tourism which added to the sense of occasion and we ensured our visitors saw the beauty of the Island in between playing matches and socialising. ‘Two players even managed to sample the excellent Accident and Emergency services at Noble’s Hospital. One of the Leeds players received a nasty blow in the face, while a visitor from Amsterdam left the Island in a cast after snapping his Achilles tendon.’ The Amsterdam team almost left with something more tangible as well – the PwC Trophy – but just lost out to London 2-1 in the final. The London squad will be defending their title when the scene moves to Amsterdam next year. After beginning the weekend with some gentle friendly matches at the National Sports Centre, the tournament proper began on the Saturday with London, the Channel Islands, Leeds A and Manchester playing at the NSC and the Isle of Man, Belfast, Amsterdam and Leeds B based at Peel. London and Amsterdam topped the groups and met in the final at Peel on the Sunday. Further classification matches were held to determine the overall standings which ended: 1 London, 2 Amsterdam, 3 Channel Islands, 4 Belfast/Birmingham, 5 Manchester, 6 Isle of Man, 7 Leeds A, 8 Leeds B. One of the visiting players, Elyse Dandeker from PwC Guernsey, said: ‘It was a fabulously well organised event combining fun and entertainment with quality hockey.’ Tourism Minister David Cretney said he was glad the visitors had enjoyed their weekend and felt sure local companies, and sporting organisations, would see the potential in corporate weekends of this nature. More stories >>>
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