SEASON on season Canterbury Hockey Club’s ladies continue to set new standards.

The Polo Farm success story began in April, 2003, when they lifted the Women’s HA Cup for the first time by humbling Slough 4-0 on home territory.

The following Easter saw their first overseas venture and a brilliant silver medal behind Dutch hosts Laren in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Halfway through the next campaign Canterbury lost highly-rated coach Danny Kerry, destined for England, but they still went on to lift the Super Cup.

That success at Guildford, last May, earned them a shot at the sport’s biggest club prize, the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup, which gets under way in Berlin on Friday.

The event brings together the top clubs from eight countries and Canterbury have been paired with Bonagrass Grove (Scotland), Ritm Grodno (Belarus) and Ata Sports, last year’s runners-up, from Azerbaijan.

The other group is made up of host club Berliner, Dutch giants HCs Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch), CD Terrassa Hockey (Spain), and Pegasus (Ireland).

Den Bosch will be overwhelming favourites, having won the trophy for the past six years, but Canterbury skipper Mel Clewlow sees no reason why the Kent club should not be challenging.

She said: "It’s going to be a big step up from the Cup Winners’ Cup, because we’re supposed to be playing the best team from each league, but I think we’ll be going to play for a medal and we’ve done well with the draw."

For the full interview see this week's Kentish Gazette.