BGS Alumna to represent GB

BGS Alumna to represent GB

1 March 2022

Bedford Girls’ School alumna, Kate Axford, has been selected for the Great Britain Hockey Training Squad for 2022.

Kate, who left Bedford Girls’ School in 2017, was scouted during her performances at Wimbledon Hockey Club and was asked to attend a set of GB trials. After successfully negotiating these, she then spent a fortnight training with the GB training squad culminating in the offer of a full-time contract.

Kate represented England U21’s in the European Championships in Valencia in 2017, winning a bronze medal before taking a break from the GB Elite Development Programme to enjoy her University hockey and focus on her studies. After captaining the University of Exeter in her final year, Kate went on to join Wimbledon Hockey Club in September playing in the Vitality Women’s Premier league. She is now looking forward to the possibility of Pro League matches in India and then the USA before facing China, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium at home from April through to the end of June.

For those players selected, it will be a busy summer with a World Cup followed by a home Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, wrapping up with European qualifiers at the end of August. The next Summer Olympic Games will take place in Paris, France 2024, marking the third time they have been a host city.

Martin Mason-McLeod, Head of Hockey at Bedford Girls’ School, added: “We are very proud that Kate has been selected for the GB hockey programme. Kate is a fantastic role model on and off the pitch and it is amazing all her hard work has paid off. Kate now has the opportunity to represent England and GB in the Pro-League, the Women’s Hockey World Cup, at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics in Paris.”

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