WEYMOUTH Hockey Club are gearing up for their annual Easter Hockey Festival at Redlands, starting tomorrrow.

The club will be hosting around 35 teams at the event over the weekend, who will be competing in the men’s ladies’ and mixed competitions outdoors on Friday and Saturday, with an indoor competition on the Sunday.

As well as the hockey, there are also live bands booked to play at Redlands on the opening night and at the Pavilion on Saturday evening.

Club chairman and festival organiser Andy Stiles told Echosport: “It’s a very important event for the club and it is good for us to put on a good event for the visiting teams. It keeps the club running each year and is a great weekend for everyone involved.

“Everyone at the club looks forward to it. This year the men’s first XI won the league so that was the highlight in terms of being on the field, but the highlight from the off-field perspective is always the festival.

“Most of the teams this year are returning teams that are coming back and are from all over the south into the Midlands.”

And although the club are hosting hundreds of hockey players over the weekend, Stiles insists Weymouth are always on the lookout for new members to join them.

He added: “The club is obviously always keen to look for new players, so if anyone wants to come down and introduce themselves at the festival, that would be great and they would be more than welcome.”