Torbay Easter Hockey Festival marks 74th Year with tradition and competition

One of England’s oldest and most cherished hockey gatherings returns this Easter as the Torbay Festival celebrates its 74th year.

Running from Friday, April 3 to Monday, April 6, the event remains the longest continuously staged Easter hockey festival in the country, outlasting most of its historic counterparts.

Hosted on the astro pitches at Clennon Valley in Paignton and Torquay Girls’ Grammar School, the current entry is 10, the same as 2025. Nine of the participating team date back to pre-Covid days, with eight teams each having attended over 60 festivals.

The Festival HQ will again be the Palace Hotel on Paignton Seafront. The Festival kicks off at 9.30am at Clennon Valley Leisure Centre, with the traditional flag ceremony.

This is followed by the official bully off between the Festival President, Councillor Nicole Amil, and Chairman James Carter.

On Saturday evening, the Festival hosts a Reception for Club Captains and Secretaries, and all players who have attended the Festival for 25 years.

The teams fiercely complete for the Bill Stickells Cup for highest scoring squad over the weekend, with the Midwives (41) winning in 2025 by a large margin over the Buffaloes (34), the 2024 winners.

However, in the spirit of Festival Hockey, there is the Tony Forward Shield awarded for Fair Play to ensure the event is enjoyed by all. The 2025 winners were the Bluebottles from Bristol and the Oddfellows.

Last year, the Festival mourned the passing of two long-attending players, and as to be maybe expected with most of the teams having such a long record of being in Torbay for the hockey, we have again to report two further sad losses.

Chief Esandar Colin Edwards, who had attended more than 60 Festivals, passed away in October, and Stuart Baggs died very suddenly in July at the age of 46. Stuart was the son of Joe Baggs, one of the founders of the Oddfellows Hockey Club, who died in 2008.