Staines Hockey Club's U14 boys and families, 34 in all, spent 9 to 11 October with THC Rot-Weiss in Bergisch Gladbach, Runnymede's twin town in Germany.
Staines Hockey Club’s under-14 boys have made the club’s first youth exchange, spending last weekend in Germany as guests of THC Rot-Weiss, the hockey club in Bergisch Gladbach.
The town is twinned with Runnymede, and the trip was put together with the Runnymede Town Twinning Association. From Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October, 34 people from Staines travelled out: young players, parents, siblings and carers. Another 22 from Bergisch Gladbach took part as hosts.
The club says the weekend was about “joint sports activities, personal encounters and friendship”, and that it will not be a one-off.
A welcome at City Hall
The visit began with a reception at Bergisch Gladbach City Hall, where the Mayor, Marcel Kreutz, welcomed the visitors and their hosts. The club’s photograph of the two groups was taken there, on the hall’s staircase.
“Partnerships live from the people who fill them with life,” the Mayor said. “Sport in particular offers young people the chance to make friends across linguistic and cultural boundaries. This exchange is a fine example of how personal commitment becomes European understanding.”
From the reception the group went on to an ice hockey game at the LANXESS Arena in Cologne.
Training, a friendly and Cologne Cathedral
Saturday was the hockey. The two U14 squads trained together and then played a friendly match. A pizza lunch at the Rot-Weiss club grounds followed, which the club says gave the young players the chance to “deepen their contacts”.
The day finished with a trip into Cologne to visit the cathedral, and a farewell dinner hosted by THC Rot-Weiss.
How it came about
The exchange was the idea of Kate McClean, from Staines, who worked with Dennis Brown and Nadine Draheim of the Runnymede and Bergisch Gladbach Town Twinning Association to make the connection with the German club.
Alex Neal, Helen Smith, Ralf Knöller, Norbert Brochhagen and Angela Behrend, along with other members of both clubs, played key roles in planning it, the club says.
Girls’ teams next
Both clubs have already talked about more joint activities, and the club says female youth teams could be involved in future.
In its account of the weekend, the club says the exchange “shows how associations and volunteers can contribute to sustainably strengthening the partnership between Bergisch Gladbach and Runnymede, and by collaborating with Staines Hockey Club, create new friendships and ventures through sport.”
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Have your say
Angela Behrend 16 October 2026
It was a brilliant weekend, we are all looking forward to more visits on both sides.