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Betsan Thomas joins GB Hockey training programme

The Wales international will train at Bisham Abbey after earning a place in the centralised programme alongside Scotland’s Ellie MacKenzie.

George Benn ·

Bisham Abbey in March 2015, an archive view of the training venue. Julian Dowse, CC BY-SA 2.0. Not a photograph of Betsan Thomas or a current training session.

Bisham Abbey, March 2015. Archive photograph: Julian Dowse / Geograph, CC BY-SA 2.0; cropped.

Original photographCC BY-SA 2.0

Wales international Betsan Thomas has earned a place in GB Hockey’s centralised programme, giving her access to its daily training environment at Bisham Abbey. Hoci Cymru announced the selection on 12 October, alongside Scotland forward Ellie MacKenzie.

Thomas’s route to the GB programme

3 figures

Wales debut
2023
Wales caps at announcement
28
EuroHockey Championships II
2025 player of the tournament

Source: Hoci Cymru

A step on from Wales success

Thomas made her Wales debut in 2023 and has 28 caps, according to Hoci Cymru. The forward and midfielder was player of the tournament at the 2025 EuroHockey Championships II, where Wales won silver and secured promotion to the top division for the first time in 24 years. She also captained Wales at the 2025 Junior World Cup and now plays for Wimbledon after moving from the University of Birmingham.

Training opportunity, not a team-sheet announcement

The programme gives Thomas the chance to train alongside the wider GB squad. This announcement confirms her programme place, rather than selection for a particular international match. GB performance director Bobby Crutchley welcomed the two players and said the programme would support the players’ continued development.

Background and supporting figures

Where this sits

2 checked facts

  1. How does it compare?

    • Thomas’s 2025 EuroHockey Championships II silver helped Wales return to the top division for the first time in 24 years.

      hockeywales.org.uk

    • Joining the daily GB training programme is a different step from the specific international match selection that this announcement does not confirm.

      hockeywales.org.uk

Every line above was checked against the source named beside it before this piece was published.

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