Responding to a very obvious need within the Club, the Old Bordenian junior section was created in 1994.

Conditions for coaching the modern game were far from ideal in those days: the grass pitch at our former ground at Rodmersham quickly became a soft and bumpy surface during wet winters however, to the credit of coaches and junior players, those sessions were hugely successful and numbers grew by the year.

Old Bordenians now have the benefit, after many years of waiting and expectation, of a brand new, floodlit synthetic grass pitch in the very attractive setting of the grounds of Borden Grammar School in the centre of Sittingbourne. A new two-storey clubhouse is being built beside the pitch which will provide shower and changing facilities and a bar and social area. To have the pitch and the clubhouse on the same site is a luxury to which few clubs can lay claim.

Our youth section has flourished to such an extent that it now rivals that of many other longer established junior clubs. Success can be measured in many ways but perhaps an average of 50 children attending each Sunday session and 6 junior teams (under-8 mixed, under-12 mixed, under-14 boys, under-14 girls, under-16 boys and under-18 boys), of which 4 play in their respective Kent leagues, are testament to a very obvious success story. The under-16 boys reached the final of their league play-offs last season and the under-14 boys achieved the same success the previous season. Our under-18 boys, one of our two new teams this season, have had a magnificent start beating Marden 6 – 3 and Blackheath 7 – 1. Last season we had 6 juniors representing Kent at various age levels and this season we currently have 7 and expect an 8th once the Kent under-14 team is selected. Modest though we undoubtedly are, we suggest that this is not a bad track record of success in a relatively short time!

Annually, we organise 3 youth hockey tournaments: the Swale Primary Schools Tournament, the Swale Under-14 Schools Tournament and the Swale Under-16 Schools Tournament. Old Bordenian HC has donated an attractive winner’s trophy for each tournament. With our new pitch and clubhouse, we shall build to even greater success and continue to expand the opportunities for participation in junior hockey in Swale.