2009 was a busy year for the sport – Fernandes

Jan 21, 2010 Sports

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-Envisages another hectic one this year

President of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Phillip Fernandes told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that 2009 was a very busy year for the sport, citing the staging of 8 tournaments as his basis for saying so.
“We in the GHB are happy to have successfully completed 8 tournaments for the year and during that period it also marked the first time there was a tournament at the Providence Stadium and this was a huge success.
The field at Providence is without doubt one of the best in the Caribbean and made for a very high quality of hockey as a result.
The Diamond Mineral Water Tournament was another success and great praise must go to the Organizing Committee composed of – Philip Fernandes, Rawl Davson, Ivor Thompson, Devin Hooper and Gregory Sills of the GHB along with Brian Asregado, Alisia Katideen, Dwayne Scott, Troy Peters, Lawrence Farley and Chris Woodroffe.
The outcome of the tournament showed that Guyana is still performing at a competitive level regionally in the indoor game despite our lack of available indoor facilities for training,” Fernandes disclosed.
The President also gave an outline as to what the GHB intends to do this year.
Development:
According to the GHB President, clubs have undertaken to re-introduce hockey to schools and programmes have begun at North Ruimveldt Multilateral School, St. Joseph’s High School, Marian Academy, Mae’s School and St. Stanislaus College.
Fernandes added that a Coaching Committee was established to give a forum for information and ideas on coaching to be shared among clubs.
The Committee also helped to prepare coaches for opportunities such as international coaching clinics and workshops.
Tournaments held:
Mr. Toppers Indoor Championships at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH)
Men’s first division winners – GCC
Men’s Second division winners – Carib Degenerates
Ladies winners – Flora GCC Tigers
Digicel/Bounty One-Day Tournament at the Providence Stadium
Men’s winners – GCC
Ladies winners – joint between the Flora GCC Tigers and Hikers
Noble House Goals Galore Handicap Tournament at the CASH
Men’s 1st division winners – GCC ‘A’
Men’s 2nd Division winners – Hikers ‘B’
Banks/Infab Night Hockey Tournament
Men’s first division winners – Hikers
Men’s Second division winners – GCC
Farfan & Mendes Men’s First Division League
Men’s winners – Hikers
JFIS Ltd Second Division League
Men’s second division winners – Hikers
GT&T National Indoor Championships
Men’s first division winners – GCC
Men’s Second division winners – Western Dragons
Ladies winners – Flora GCC Tigers
Under-19 winners – Hikers
Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival
Men’s Final – Hikers (Guyana) beat Old Fort (Guyana)
Ladies Final – Malvern (Trinidad) beat Flora GCC (Guyana)
2010
Development plans:
To continue training in schools with the hope that a few more schools will be added to the current lot so that the sport can enjoy a larger base this year.
Schools such as Queens College, Bishops High School and School of the Nations are among the few being considered.
An inter-school tournament will be scheduled for the first half of the year.
The GHB has also earmarked Western Dragons, the only team currently in West Demerara for coaching assistance.
Members of the GHB Coaching Committee have volunteered to run sessions at Uitvlugt Community Centre on the weekends.
The GHB will host an Olympic Solidarity coaching clinic locally to further develop the local knowledge and broaden its base of coaches who can then serve in the school development program.
Competition:
According to Fernandes, the GHB anticipate its usual full calendar of local tournaments and hope to expand on the one-day tournament which was played at the Providence stadium with a multi-day tournament.
The GHB hopes to participate in both the Central American & Caribbean Games being held in Puerto Rico (July) and the Pan American Indoor Cup in August (Venezuela).
Facilities:
Fernandes said that the long-term goal is always to secure an area that can house an artificial surface for hockey. They are hoping once again for some assistance with this from the Ministry of Sport which can give them the prerequisite to then appeal to the International governing body (FIH) for assistance with funding to purchase and install such a pitch. This is vital for the continuity of the sport, he added.
They also intend to revive the National Park as a hockey match venue and to secure the use of an additional field as well since they’ve lost the use of both the Everest and the Police ground, at Eve Leary.
Meanwhile, the GHB is scheduled to hold its Annual General Meeting today, at the GCC Pavilion.
The current executive is:
Philip Fernandes – President
Rawl Davson – vice-President
Ivor Thompson – vice President
Elton G. Sills – Hon. Secretary
Devin Hooper – Treasurer
Tricia Fiedtkou – Assistant Secretary/Treasurer
Avonda James – Committee Member
Hubert Forrester – Committee Member

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