Commercial Hockey Club Inc

Address: 106 Finsbury Street

Suburb: Wilston

Phone: (07) 3356 9411

Drop Commercial Hockey Club Inc a Line Here...

Check out Commercial Hockey Club Inc Online Here...

Profile of Commercial Hockey Club Inc in Wilston

The Commercial Hockey Club is located in the inner Northern Brisbane suburb of Wilston. The Club has Mens, Ladies, Boys & Girls teams of all levels in the Brisbane Hockey Association (BHA) and the Brisbane Womens Hockey Association (BWHA) competitions.

In 2004 Commercial celebrated 60 years. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who have helped make Commercial the club it is today.

It all began in 1944. Stan Griffin along with a group of high school mates from the State Commercial High School, on George Street, decided to form a team and play in the Brisbane Junior Hockey fixtures. It has been a fantastic rollercoaster ride up to 2004 where we have become Brisbane hockey’s foremost family club. The fledgling club of the 1940’s consisted of 3 teams, 2 mens and 1 boys team. Our first Ladies team was formed in 1949.

In 1950 we fielded our first ‘A’ Grade men’s team in the A2 Division. Through the 50s the Club grew to 8 mens and 9 boys teams but sadly, due to transfers, marriages and births, the Ladies Club became inactive in 1958. After gaining A1 status in 1953 the Club won its first Men’s A1 premiership in 1959. On two occasions our Division 1 Men's team achieved the 'three-peat'. This occurred in 1961 – 1963 and again in 1976 – 1978. In 1997 Commercial became the only club to win Divisions 1, 2 and 3 a record that still exists today.

During the 1960s and 1970s Commercial became the force in Brisbane Hockey. The Women’s Club was formed again in 1971 and was promoted to A1 in 1976. Whilst we contested many A1, or Division One, grand finals it was in 1999 and 2000 that we finally won back to back Women’s first grade finals. Throughout our 60 years Commercial has won 106 Men’s premierships, including eleven Division 1, and 40 Boy’s. The Women (in their 32 years) have won 41 Senior premierships, including three Division 1, and 25 Junior Girls.

The success of our Club is due greatly to the dedicated members who have volunteered their time freely. On behalf of the 2004 Club Members I thank each and every one of you for making Commercial what it is today.

If I may be so bold as to quote from our Jubilee booklet. It is as relevant today as when it was written.“Hockey has changed much over the past decade. Changes in rules, some good and some hard to reason, the artificial surfaces which are so important to players for skills and exhibition, but have had some side effects on the game. Costs have increased dramatically with artificial surface, and administration at the top level has had to become very professional. The days of honorary officials and workers are becoming increasingly difficult from year to year and finding funds is a major task. The old days of players from all teams getting together to have a drink and chat in the clubhouse has almost gone. The next decade and beyond holds many questions and will give many worries to all administrations and Commercial’s motto “Let Victory Be Ours’ will no doubt be tested. But with 50 (60) years behind us, who knows what the next 50 (60) may bring.”

Yes, it's most certainly been a great ride so far. The friends that have been made, the challenges that we have faced and the games we have won are all due to being apart of Commercial Hockey Club.

Thank you Stan for making it all possible. t President

Congratulations on a job well done, to all past and present members, for establishing the foundations and creating the traditions that have become this great hockey club. Our Club is held in very high esteem throughout the hockey world and you have all played an integral part in achieving this.

Commercial has been built on the backbone of many individuals and familles. I won’t try to name all here but I can assure you that the grounding, which has been passed on by our founders, is the reason why the Club is still strong and progressing. The game has changed drastically over recent years and I believe that Commercial has done a fantastic job being able to still manage our own grounds and club house. We always have a great work force who are ready to work with one goal in mind and that is for the Club.

Our junior development has ensured that our senior teams, at all levels, are predominantly past Commercial juniors. The Club has continued to be the leader in Brisbane with the number of teams fielded, premiership wins and members who have served Brisbane, Queensland and Australia as players, coaches, managers and as administrators, umpires and game officials.

I can say, without a doubt, that we are the envy of many Brisbane clubs and I take pride in the knowing that Commercial will continue to be the leader in Brisbane hockey. Congratulations Commercial.

In recent years BWHA and BHA changed the grading convention so that turf and grass hockey was more easily identified. Brisbane Women's headquaters, as always, still presides at Downey Park and as such the grass divisions are now known ad DP1 - DP6. Division 1 - 4 are played on the turf. Brisbane Men have renamed their grass grades to 'Classic League' CL 1- 2, yes there are only 2 grades on grass now. And, in 2004 are trialling, for the first time, centralisation of all grass games at Shaw Sports (Shaw Park). Brisbane Hockey League or BHL 1 - 5 Division are played on the turf.

Club fuxtures are played anytime between Friday night and Sunday night. This has created a huge work load for our Men's and Women's Players Committees in terms of arranging team personnel, coaches, managers and umpires. Along with pre and post season activites and representative commitments the hockey season breaks only for a couple of months at the end on the year.

Our Men's and Women's Players Committees are always on the lookout for people who are willing to help in any way. There is a wide variety of jobs that need to be done, so please come along and give a hand in what ever way you can.

The future looks very good for Commercial. Currently we have players representing at Brisbane, Queensland and Australian levels. We have 5 Australian Under 21 players, 3 Women and 2 Men. Madonna Blyth will make her debut for the Hockeyroos at the Champions Trophy in November and Suzie Faulkener, originally from Toowoomba came to Commercial some 8 years ago and moved to Perth in 2003, has become a regular member of the Hockeyroos.

Our grounds and clubhouse are now used by a number of other sporting bodies and schools. We have formal agreements with City Touch and Brisbane Girls Grammer, who use the park for their fixtures throughout the year along with numerous school competitions. Panthers Softball Club have use of the field during the summer months.

The licensing laws have change over the years in terms of noise restrictions, and as such, the club house is not rented as frequently as in years gone by. Due to the varying times of hockey fixtures it is very difficult to hold frequent Club fundraising functions. However the Club endeavours to hold 3 or 4 Club nights throughout the season and the old Commercial party spirit still shines through.

The days of the lamington drives and chook raffles are long gone. The chocolate drive has taken their place. The women are given a day at Downey Park to run a cake stall and raffle and this has become a good fundraiser. The latest trend is of acquiring funds is by way of local and state government grant applications. This is a very time consuming job and due to this fact alone we have missed out on many opportunities to receive grant money. Commercial Management are always in need of help in this area, so if you have some spare time and have some expertise in this field please let us know.

Our future is on juniors. Whilst the number of girls wanting to play have stayed the same for many years our boys numbers have declined. It will be interesting to see how many boys become interested in hockey after the Kookaburras historic Gold Medal performance at the Athens Olympics. Please, if you know of a boy who is interesed in sport then tell him about hockey and most importantly about Commercial.

Commercial Hockey Club Inc is open on the following days: Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun (except public holidays)

You might be also interested in:

Hockey Clubs

Sporting Organisations

Sports Clubs