Double charity fundraising effort will remember Newport hockey stalwart
The life of a popular Newport sportsman will be remembered this weekend as two fundraising events are held in his honour.
Newport Hockey Club and the family of Mike Fletcher have organised a tournament for junior, mixed players at Lilleshall Sports Centre this Sunday.
Starting at 9.30am, it will remember the Newport Hockey Club stalwart, who died earlier this year from pancreatic cancer.
Five sides will take part in a round-robin tournament. Mike’s widow Linda and eldest son Douglas will present a trophy and medals to the winners.
Linda said: “Mike was a fairly quiet member of the hockey club but one of the original founders.
"He played hockey until last year when he became ill and he loved the sport.
"He wrote reports on games, including for the Newport Advertiser, and he had a very good memory of the game. He could describe everything that had happened, how the goals had been scored and could put it all into words.
"So this will be a nice tribute to him and we hope it will be an annual event which will start the season off with our youngsters taking the lead!”
There will be a charity bucket at the Lilleshall tournament for anyone who wants to support the charity.
While the hockey takes place, Mike’s younger son Richard, 36, is running the Rutland Marathon to raise awareness and raise funds for research into pancreatic cancer.
Richard, 36, is a former Burton Borough School pupil and also attended New College in Wellington and Linda hopes his former school friends might consider sponsoring him.
She added: "Richard has only done one half marathon before, last autumn with his proud dad looking on. So this is a run into the unknown for him."
To donate to the cause, visit https://www.justgiving.com/remember/978032/Michael-Fletcher
