Ice to see you!
Sycamore Trust UK are delighted to announce that we have become the new charity partner of our local ice hockey team, the Everyone Active London Raiders. The Raiders are based at Romford’s Sapphire Ice Rink, barely a five-minute walk from our Autism Hub in the Liberty Centre and we’re looking forward to getting along to a game to cheer on the team.
They were known as the Romford Raiders when they were founder members of the English Premier Ice Hockey League but have competed in the NIHL since 2012. The team moved to Leyton, in 2013, when it adopted the new name London Raiders, but returned to Romford in 2018. As part of our partnership with the club, we will be able to take some of our families to the occasional game, and our name will also appear on the players blue & gold match shirts, and on the eye-catching black warm up shirt which they wear before the games. In addition, the Raiders will dedicate one game to raising awareness of Sycamore and will play the whole game in the special edition shirt!
The Raiders compete in the Planet Ice National League, an eleven-team division with teams as far away as Bristol in the west, Leeds in the north and Solway in Scotland! Their season begins with a friendly against the Peterborough Phantoms on 9th September and another warm-up game in the Everyone Active Shield against Slough Bees on Sunday 17th September. The action begins in earnest the following weekend as the Raiders begin their League campaign with a trip to Milton Keynes for the first game of the regular season. The first home fixture is on Sunday 24th September as the Raiders welcome the Solway Sharks to the Sapphire for the very first time.
Click here for the full fixture list; http://raidersicehockey.com/raiders-fixtures-for-2023-2024-are-now-available
Sycamore’s Steve Dixon went to the rink last week to have a look around. Following that meeting at the Sapphire, a club spokesman said "It was great to finally meet Steve and welcome him to the home of the team, outlining how we hope once again as a club and a fan base to raise awareness of the charity and in the process some additional funds for them. "With some of our players family members, fans family members and some fans themselves being diagnosed with Autism it is a worthy charity and one that is close to the Raiders organisation. "We look forward to welcoming Steve, the staff and all those connected to the Sycamore Trust to a game very soon."
We are delighted to be part of the Raiders family for the new season, and we hope that we can help to promote our local ice hockey team as well as introducing some of our families to the thrills of live sport. We look forward to getting along to some of the games and supporting the team!