Devon County Federation’s hockey team has etched its name into the history books after winning the NFYFC National Hockey Final and becoming the first Devon side ever to have its name engraved on the coveted trophy.
For team member and Devon’s junior Vice Chair Sophie Pratt, that achievement was what made the victory truly special.
“It felt really good to win,” said Sophie. “A lot of us left at 4am in the morning because they had a wedding the day before. Some of us had also sung in a choir the day before, so we had to stay over. It was definitely rewarding, but the main part for us was when we were presented with the trophy and realised that, as far as it goes back, Devon has never been on there. That made us realise – we have our name on there at last!”
The triumph was the culmination of a busy journey through the YFC sporting calendar. Devon's county hockey competition attracted six teams, reflecting the county's strong tradition of sporting participation. After winning the county round, the team progressed to the South West Area competition before qualifying for the national finals.
Sophie believes Devon's success is helped by the high levels of engagement in sport across the county.
“We do tend to have a high uptake of sports in Devon across the board,” she said. “We would expect to have a minimum of six teams at the county round and a lot of groups will have rounds beforehand. There is just the sheer fact of the number of members we have and a lot of people want to get involved.”
While competition is important, Sophie says the social side of YFC sport plays an equally significant role.
“It is a competition and the winning team qualifies to represent Devon at South West Area, but it's also a day out and quite a social occasion. People want to go and see their friends from across the county. It's just as much a social event as it is a sporting tournament.”
Perhaps surprisingly for a national-winning side, the team did not hold any formal training sessions ahead of the final.
“We didn't practise,” Sophie admitted. “We made a plan in the morning and gave people rough positions. We knew there were several other good teams that would be good enough to qualify for the national finals.”
The squad of 10 brought together players with varying levels of experience. Four members either currently play hockey or have played in the past, while the remainder have only participated in hockey through YFC. Sophie herself is primarily a rugby player, although she has also played hockey previously.
Sophie says the result demonstrates the unique opportunities provided through Young Farmers, particularly for members who may not otherwise take part in competitive sport.
“There are lots of members who play sport outside of YFC, but there are also people who might not be passionate enough about it to take it up as a standalone hobby. When the opportunity comes up through YFC, they're happy to have a go.”
She believes that variety is one of the organisation's greatest strengths.
“Everyone knows how busy farming can be. Sometimes you plan to go and then a cow starts calving and everything changes. Sport doesn't have to be the most important thing that YFC offers, but it's one of the things that makes it so incredible because the programme is so varied. There are members who hate sport and can't think of anything worse, but they'll love public speaking. There is always something that appeals to everyone.”
During Sports Day, teams also competed in Dodgeball with Yorkshire winning the trophy and Rounders where Carmarthenshire took first place.
Having achieved national success, Sophie hopes the experience will encourage more members from Devon to get involved in future competitions.
“A lot of the team may not play hockey outside of YFC, but winning has given them a real sense of achievement. They've shown they can compete on a national stage and I think they'll be keen to get involved in future YFC sports, whatever that sport ends up being.”
For now, however, Devon's hockey players can celebrate a moment that will live long in the county's history – seeing Devon's name on the national trophy for the very first time.
