WEYMOUTH Hockey Club celebrated the official opening of their new artificial pitch – together with their 125th birthday.

Current England women's player Jo Hunt, along with husband and Team GB goalkeeper at Rio 2016, George Pinner, cut the ribbon as the Seasiders' pristine new surface was ushered in.

Weymouth also raised around £1,400 to bolster the club coffers following a long fundraising effort to generate £100,000 towards the cost of the pitch – the rest of which was made up of grants.

The weekend started off with the organisers, led by Ellen Sandrey, Megan Eadon, Simon Ellis, Amanda Harvey, Ian Metcalfe, arranging hay bales, the Booze Box bar, the barbecue stand plus many red and black decorations, including a balloon arch, symbolising the club's colours.

READ MORE: Weymouth Hockey Club play first game on new pitch

First up on the pitch with its distinctive red surround were the juniors.

Coaches Emily Austin and Susie Stone organised eight mixed teams with players from under-ten, under-12 and under-14s level for a round robin tournament.

Each team was managed by the under-14 players Millie Buckton, Clerise Fouche, Erin Murray, Sarah Bennett, Hannah Gould, Anoek Van Egdom, Oli Clark and Mikey Parsons and final matches were between two combined teams of under-12 and under-14 players plus two combined teams of under-ten and under-12 players.

Weymouth's walking hockey group, who train every Thursday from 7-8pm, took to the pitch next with a few extra guests who joined in on the day.

Managed by Ian Metcalfe, they demonstrated that hockey can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities.

Then, it was the official opening of the pitch.

Metcalfe, the club president, thanked everyone for their hard work in getting the club to where it is today.

He also welcomed Jan Baker from the National Hockey Foundation, who awarded the club one of its main grants, Mr Howard Legg of Weymouth Town Council, who opened the old pitch 20 years ago, plus Hunt and Pinner to cut the ribbon.

Elsewhere, a special bronze plaque was presented to Alice Craven, chairperson of the club who has been the backbone to the success of this project and has become a professional ‘form filler’.

Then there was the exhibition match which saw two teams take to the pitch, a team comprising Weymouth team captains current and past versus a team made up of Weymouth members, current and past who have played regional level or above.

The final hockey of the day was the traditional charity game, battle of the Ridgeway plotting two teams of current members against each other: those that live Weymouth side versus those that live Dorchester side.

This contest is always a lot of fun and encourages plenty of banter. Success this year went to Dorchester side who won 3 -1. The chosen charity this year was Cancer Research UK .

Despite being very windy, the day was enjoyed by all amid a relaxed atmosphere, friends, family plus members present and past with room to sit and chat, food and drink and of course hockey.

Among special mentions on the day, the club wished to thank Tam Mchale who umpired all the matches, Dave Heap and Brian Gribbon for their work on the barbecue, the Booze Box who provided liquid refreshments all day plus a donation, Bambooza bar for entertainment in the evening plus ten per cent discount for all club members, Emily Austin and Sophie Russell who organised a raffle and raised in excess of £1,000.

Raffle sponsors were also thanked, those being: Marlboro fish & chips, Playyard cocktail bar, Portland pizza company, LUSH cosmetics, Dorchester Tennis Club, Seabeats restaurant, Weymouth Bay rib charters, Wessex Golf Centre, Ultimate Body Club, The Springhead and The Lookout Café.

Finally, the final touches are being applied for the new pitch, including a new container.

New players shelters are due for delivery in the next fortnight and signage to ensured the wearing of correct footwear will be erected.

Weymouth Hockey club welcomes players of all ages and abilities. If you wish to hire the pitch please contact the club via: www.weymouthhockeyclub.co.uk or through their Facebook page.