Hikers One-day Hockey Festival...Jai Signs and Designs crowned champs

Hikers One-day Hockey Festival…Jai Signs and Designs crowned champs

Apr 23, 2013 Sports

Jai Signs and Designs survived a penalty shootout against Antonio’s Grille to capture the inaugural Hikers Hockey Club one-day Festival on Sunday, at the St Stanislaus ground, Carifesta Avenue.

Members of the victorious Jai Signs and Designs team pose with the trophy, medals and cash award shortly after the completion of the presentation ceremony on Sunday.

With a fair-sized and vocal crowd in attendance, Jai Signs and Designs had to pull out all the stops to clinch a 2-0 win on penalties against Antonio’s Grille after they played to a 1-1 draw, at the end of regulation time.
It was a keenly contested affair as the two sides made up of a mixture of junior, former and current national players entertained the fans with a wonderful display of skill that made choosing a winner a difficult task.
In the penalty shootout, Antonio’s Grille missed all their opportunities, while Jai Signs and Designs converted two of theirs to capture the title.
Player/Coach Ivor Thompson and captain Karensa Fernandes speaking shortly after the conclusion of the game said they were always confident that would win the title due to the strong blend of players they had at their disposal.
Jai Signs and Designs were made up of players from Old Fort, Hikers and GCC, all top clubs in Georgetown.
“At the start of the day when we looked at the make-up of our team we felt we were in with a chance because we had some very good players. We enjoyed the format and it was good to come out on top,” Thompson said.
Fernandes was equally pleased with the team’s performance. “It was fun. We enjoyed the day and it feels really good to win. It was very tiring because we had five games, but generally we had a good time.”
For the win, Jai Signs and Designs carted off $50,000, a large trophy and medals, while Antonio’s Grille had to settle for the runner-up prize of $30,000 and medals.
President of the Hikers Hockey Club, Devin Munroe, described the competition as a great success, adding that the plan is to make it an annual event.
“Although we thought people would come out and play for fun that was not the case…it was very competitive and all the teams were equal in terms of strength so it was not a walkover by any means for any of the teams,” Munroe reflected. “What we’re going to do now is look at ways and means of making this better as we want to make it an annual event.”
The event, which took the form of a seven-a-side mixed Festival, featured male and female players playing on the same team.
The nine teams were sponsored by individual entities which included Antonio’s Grille, Demerara Distillers Limited through its Diamond Mineral Water and Pepsi brands, Colours Boutique, EMTEC, German’s Restaurant, Global Technology, Jai Signs and Designs and Woodpecker Products.
The event was held to raise funds for the development of hockey at the Hikers Club, as well as provide preparation for the national ladies team in training for the Pan American Cup in Argentina later this year.