Kaieteur Sport chats with GHB President

Feb 27, 2011 Sports

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Recently in an attempt to get an understanding as what are some of the projected plans the Guyana Hockey Board has for 2011, Kaieteur Sport posed a few questions to President of the entity Philip Fernandes and here are his answers to those queries.
Kaieteur Sport- When is the season scheduled to bully-off?
PF- The unpredictability of the weather has played a major role in delaying the start of the 2011 season for the GHB.  The GHB plans to begin its official season with a one-day outdoor tournament as is customary before launching into the Farfan & Mendes men’s first division league and the John Fernandes Insurance Services Ltd men’s second division league.  The leagues are the premier outdoor tournaments for the year for the two divisions.
Since the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall requires additional work to complete the floor before it is safe to resume hockey matches, the GHB has had to make several adjustments to its year’s schedule and is a bit concerned as indoor hockey plays a major part of our season.  Without an artificial pitch, outdoor hockey is severely limited as the weather disrupts a large part of the year and what is left is usually dominated by cricket as hockey is mostly played on cricket grounds.
This is the reason that the GHB has placed greater emphasis on the indoor game which has now become a significant part of the season with four tournaments per year.
Apart from the GHB’s season plans, the Hikers Hockey Club is hosting a junior tournament for children under the age of 21 at the national gymnasium.  This is likely to now be the first tournament of 2011.
KS- What are some of the other plans the GHB has in store for this year?
PF- Apart from the usual running of the year’s local competitions, the GHB has several other projects that it would like to conduct this year.  An application has been made to Olympic Solidarity, through the GOA for a coaching clinic sometime in mid year.
This has been done in the past with great success and the GOA has already indicated a favourable response.  These clinics usually involve the services of a qualified coach who stays for a week to train our local coaches in the methods of basic hockey coaching.  This is especially useful at this time when we are reintroducing hockey in schools and need several competent coaches.
The GHB plans to conduct a full year’s calendar for schools which will involve at least two schools tournaments to coincide with the major holiday periods.  Hockey had been absent from schools until 2008 when it was reintroduced on a small scale.  The GHB hopes to build on this effort in 2011 and has had their affiliate clubs identify schools and commit to reintroducing the game at those schools.  It was hoped that the Ministry of Sport would be able to facilitate this effort by providing a paid coach to work among all schools as is done for some other disciplines, but discussions with the Minister have been unsuccessful.
The GHB hopes this year to also conduct a weekend umpires’ workshop since this area of the game continues to be neglected.  Since all young people are interested in playing, they often see umpiring as an unappealing sideline exercise.
The GHB, however, hopes to use the recent success of local FIH umpire, Devin Hooper, to conduct this workshop and also to expose potential umpires to the possibilities for those who dedicate themselves.
Hooper is able, at the Pan American Hockey Federation’s expense, to travel to many more tournaments than our local teams and is fast becoming a recognised name in regional hockey circles.
The GHB has also discussed the possible revisiting of the Hockey Olympiad which was successfully held several years ago.  In this weekend activity, teams submit players to compete in various skill exercises in the form of a race.
The various exercises test dribbling skills, accuracy, physical fitness, speed etc.  This was very successful in the past as it is very enjoyable for both players and spectators and we hope that this will enhance the year’s programme since it is something which many of the young players have never seen.
KS- Is there any plans to tour this year?
PF- There are couple of opportunities for us to participate in international competitions this year, but both are at very expensive destinations in terms of flight cost.  The first is the Caribbean Cup which is being held in July from 2nd – 10th.
This tournament is for both men and women and, in addition to the English-speaking Caribbean teams of Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana, for the first time it will include the Spanish speaking Caribbean of the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico etc.
The second opportunity is the Pan Am Challenge being held from July 30th to August 7th in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.  This tournament is also for men and women and will feature all, but the top tier of Pan American teams.  This tournament serves as a qualifier for the Americas Cup which is the region’s world cup qualifier and the leading teams of the continent, Argentina and Chile have already been exempted.
This makes the tournament more attractive for the smaller hockey-playing nations like Guyana who can compete against similar levels of competition, before moving up to take on the world class teams.
The GHB does not have the funds to send teams to either of these competitions, but is hopeful that additional funds from a grant made possible through the GOA, can be made available to send the women’s national team to Rio.
KS- You stated that you’re hoping to participate in the Pan Am Challenge Cup and if so what is planned for the team (s) preparations on astro turf and who are some of the opposition earmarked?
PF- If funding becomes available for the women’s national team to compete in the Pan Am Challenge, then the GHB will also need to make every effort to hold weekend camps in either Trinidad or Barbados.
These were done in 2010 and were found to be very successful.  Guyana improved tremendously between their performances prior to the camps in 2010 and their performance in the CAC Games for which they were preparing.
Apart from the camps, it is hoped that the usual courtesy will be extended to permit the team to train in the early mornings at the Providence Stadium which is the grass field that most closely matches the playing conditions of an artificial surface.
KS- What about the tentative arrangement agreed upon with the National Stadium authorities?
PF- The management of the Providence National Stadium has been very cooperative with the GHB in facilitating the national team’s preparation in the early mornings for the period leading up to the CAC Games.  This is a valuable facility and is critical to the game in the absence of an artificial surface.
We have been able to hold a one-day tournament at Providence which was very successful in the past and hopefully we’ll be granted permission to do the same this year.
KS- How important is this weekend’s junior tournament organised by Hikers for the sport?
PF- The importance of junior hockey can never be overstated.  Our recent return to the schools is the most important thing happening in the game today.  The junior tournament being hosted by the Hikers this coming weekend is a welcome initiative.
These activities encourage young people to play the game by providing the interest and excitement needed to keep them involved.
The GHB hopes to have a couple of tournaments for junior players this year also.  These will include both school teams and junior club sides as there are some students who go to schools without current hockey programmes.
KS- Has any progress been made with regards to the discussions to obtain a plot of land to lay an astro turf?
PF- I attended a recent meeting with the Minister of Sport held on February 3rd, the land at the Providence National Stadium was discussed once again.  The GHB needs to now provide the Minister with a letter requesting its need for the land and for confirmation in writing.  This written response will form part of its proposal to the International Federation for possible funding toward the development of an artificial pitch for hockey.  In order for an artificial pitch in Guyana to be possible, we will definitely need the assistance of the International Federation along with support from the government and the private sector.
KS- Could you say if talks with the relevant authority have resumed?
PF- During our meeting on February 3rd, we discussed three major aspects of developing hockey:
(1) Written permission for the use of the area designated for hockey
(2) Possibility for a Ministry paid hockey coach
(3) Completion of the Sports Hall floor renovations
The first two issues were discussed above.
The issue of the Sports Hall floor remains one of great concern for the GHB as the Minister stated that the completion of the floor at the Sports Hall was not included in the budget.
The GHB has written as usual for permission during the year for the use of the facility to host its usual indoor tournaments including the year-end Diamond Mineral Water International Festival, but there is the fear that non-completion of the floor could jeopardize these plans.

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