With promotion back to the National Indoor Premier Division successfully achieved, Surbiton’s attention now returns to gaining European qualification in the National Outdoor Premier Division.

The Long Ditton-based club last played in Europe in 2003 when they won bronze at Terrassa in Spain.

To qualify for next season they must finish in this year’s top three in England’s 10-team elite league. At the halfway stage, they stand in fifth place on 14 points, with three wins and five draws from nine games, three points behind third-placed East Grinstead.

To warm up for the second half of the outdoor season, Surbiton have fixed up three home mid-season practice games at Sugden Road.

They were due to play Bromley & Beckenham, lying sixth in the one-tier lower Conference East, last night and then meet Weybridge-based Old Georgians, lying second in the Conference West, tomorrow evening (5.30pm).

Their final practice game is against Oxted, lying third in Conference East, next Thursday evening, with their first league game on Sunday, February 1, away to eighth-placed Loughborough Students, with whom they drew 3-3 on the opening day of the season last September.

Promotion back to the elite National Indoor Premier Division after a gap of four years was secured with four wins out of four at The Edge Leisure Centre in Haslemere over the weekend, in the second half of the England Hockey National Indoor Division One 2009 fixtures.

Surbiton enjoyed a 7-2 win over Doncaster, a 6-2 win over Bowdon, an 8-0 hammering of Hull and a thrilling 7-4 win victory over Barford Tigers.

Surbiton scored the most goals of the nine competing clubs, 53 in eight games, while conceding the least, only 13, Holding the second promotion place with three wins and a draw after the previous first weekend of fixtures at the Gemtec Arena in Kingston upon Hull, Surbiton set out their stall on Saturday afternoon with an opening 7-2 win over Doncaster, then leaders with five wins from five games.

Surbiton then took over from the Northerners in top spot overnight by a point with a 6-2 evening win over fourth-placed Bowdon.

A 9am push off on Sunday morning seemed to present the biggest barrier to notoriously slow early morning starters Surbiton against rock-bottom Kingston upon Hull.

But Surbiton were wakeful enough for an 8-0 victory that made promotion all but certain, with third-placed St Albans having to recover from a 25 goals difference deficit in winning both their remaining games, while Surbiton lost their last one, to deprive the Long Ditton-based club.

As it happened Surbiton only had to wait one game to reach their primary objective as Doncaster surprisingly lost 5-4 to Stourport. Then the championship was ensured in the very next game as St Albans only drew 3-3 with Bowdon.

So Surbiton’s final afternoon game against midtable Barford Tigers was always going to be difficult to get focussed for. In fact the Birmingham Asian side, who had won two of their three previous weekend games to ensure Division One survival, raced into a 3-0 lead within seven minutes.

But Surbiton pulled back two goals by the interval and went on to a 7-4 victory to win the league five points ahead of St Albans.

Under new player/coach, current England indoor international Richard Alexander, with new manager Rebecca Job, Surbiton’s ten-man squad, augmented to the maximum 12 for the second weekend, showed the true value of good preparation and the maximum use of rolling substitutes in this fast-paced, 20-minute per half, six-a-side version of the outdoor game.

In fact Surbiton scored the most goals of the nine competing clubs, 53 in eight games, while conceding the least, only 13, four of these in their last game and never more than two in the seven proceeding.