Scotland’s Struan Walker and England’s Biba Mills have been voted males’s and girls’s senior gamers of the 12 months within the prestigious Hockey Writers’ Membership (HWC) annual awards.
East Grinstead’s Mills, 17, turns into the primary participant to win both a HWC junior or youth award, for U16 or U18 gamers, adopted by a senior award back-to-back.
In the meantime Walker, 23, turns into the second Scottish participant to win the senior participant’s award in succession following the HWC’s forty second presentation.
Rising English star Mills entered the file books after being named the HWC ladies’s participant of the 12 months for 2025/26.
Following the vote by HWC members, Mills beat Amy Costello and Maddie Axford.
Sophie Bray, who additionally performed for East Grinstead, was the final participant to win a junior award, in 2007, after which senior ladies’s award, in 2019.
Mills, a former Brighton School pupil who will likely be enjoying within the Netherlands subsequent season, can also be the primary participant to win the HWC senior participant’s award having but to obtain a full worldwide cap.
Mills has already made historical past in her rising profession when, in 2024, she grew to become the youngest-ever goalscorer within the Euro Hockey League at age 15 when enjoying for East Grinstead in European hockey’s membership showpiece.
Within the 2024/25 season, she completed high scorer within the ladies’s Premier Division with 20 objectives and high scorer within the indoor Tremendous 6s.
On the indoor EuroHockey Membership Trophy she additionally completed high of the goalscoring desk earlier than doing the identical with England outside U18 workforce on the European Championships in July 2025.
Within the final three years she has notched greater than 100 indoor and outside Premier Division objectives indoors and outside.
Final 12 months, Lee Morton grew to become the primary Scottish participant since Alan Forsyth in 2018 to win the senior males’s award.
And following the vote by HWC members, compatriot Walker beat James Mazarelo and Nick Bandurak.
“It’s very good to have the popularity of enjoying effectively and I’m very appreciative of the award,” stated Walker, who performs for Dutch membership aspect Oranje-Rood
“However actually it’s a couple of tight knit hockey workforce, in addition to coaching with GB. It’s at all times been about being collectively and to maintain getting higher and turning into a better workforce.
4 new rising skills of the sport have been additionally introduced as winners of the annual Hockey Writers’ Membership youth and junior awards for 2025.
U16 Women: Ciara BeechU16 Boys Alistair BroadwithU18 Women: Beth GardensU18 Boys: Jack Stamp
Scottish journalist Nigel Duncan was additionally offered with the Hockey Writers’ Membership’s Graham Wilson Award for Companies to Media, in reminiscence of the late Each day Categorical journalist.
The Digital and Social Media Award went to Derwent Males’s Instagram account.
The committee voted the account forward of Phil Roper’s Lets Stick Collectively for its amusing and relatable membership content material, in addition to enriching the digital footprint of the UK hockey neighborhood on social media.
The HWC’s photographer of the 12 months award goes to Helen Ritchie, a long-standing member of Studying HC and her wonderful portrayals of the membership.
