Olympic hopefuls and heroes mark the opening of University hockey pitch

PA xx/16 The University of Nottingham and Nottingham City Council have marked the opening of a new 'super' hockey pitch with a trip down memory lane to celebrate the heritage of the University's hockey clubs. The £1.2m pitch, which has been funded by the University and built on land leased to the University by Nottingham City Council, was officially opened by GB Olympic Gold-medallist and Nottingham alumnus, Robert Clift (hockey, Seoul 1988). The first game to mark the opening was a battle of experience vs youth, when current Nottingham students took on University alumni. The University boasts particularly impressive stats when it comes to hockey with both its men's and women's teams competing in the top tier of University sport in the country (BUCS - British Universities and Colleges Sport). Famous hockey alumni In 2015 the men won the BUCS Championship for the first time in 50 years whilst being coached by current GB player David Ames. Famous hockey alumni include Harry Martin, Nick Catlin and George Pinner, who are part of the current GB Hockey Squad and are pushing for selection for the 2016 Rio Olympics. However the list of alumni runs far deeper and includes John Land who was selected for GB at the 1964 Olympics, as well as players such as Simon Hazlitt, Rob Moore and Anne Panter.