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2017 was an amazing year for Hockey in Guyana
Hosting Pan American Cups and qualification for CAC games the highlight
By Calvin Chapman
Fantastic is the best way to describe the success of Guyana’s Hockey and the undertakings of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) under the stewardship of current President Philip Fernandes in 2017. The two biggest highlights of the year for hockey was the hosting of the Pan American Cups and Guyana’s qualification for the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games.
Team USA after their victory in the women’s Final.
Last year the GHB was successful in its bid to host the Pan American Indoor Hockey Cups which served as the qualifying games for the Indoor Hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. The local governing body of hockey was successful in its application to bring such a prestigious event to the “land of many waters” for the first time because of the immense foundation work it had laid on the local scene by keeping the game alive through various development works and hosting tournaments.
The most important of such events on the local hockey calendar was the successful Diamond Mineral Water International Hockey Festival which was in its 13th year in 2017; a tournament that featured clubs from regional powerhouses such as Canada, USA, and Trinidad & Tobago participating in high-quality hockey.
The GHB along with all the stakeholders did well to host the successful event that ran from October 16th – 21st at the Cliff Anderson Sport Hall (CASH) which was furnished with a world standard, plastic-tile surface, and all the visiting teams complimented the product. The tournament featured seven teams, inclusive of Guyana, USA, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, T&T and Barbados.
USA won the Female arm of the event, while the T&T men played unbeaten to lift their division championship to join the USA women as the Pan American representatives at the Indoor Hockey World Cup in Berlin, Germany next month (February 2018). Meanwhile Guyana’s Men and Women finished 4th and 6th respectively, while having for the first time a total of three players in the tournaments’ All-star XIs, two in the men’s team, Captain Robert France and goalkeeper Medroy Scotland, while Marzana Fiedtkou was the lone female representative.
The Championships were well attended and smoothly organized without any hiccups. All matches commenced on time and they weren’t any instances of tardiness. In fact, although the hockey board had some technical help from the Pan American Hockey Federation (PAHF), the GHB has pride itself as one of the most efficient sport entities in Guyana, not only in 2017 but across the years when it comes to the running and organizing of events.
Action between Guyana and T&T during the Pan Am Indoor Hockey Cups at CASH last October; Jamarj Assanah (centre) being flanked by 2 T&T players.
The GHB’s hard and consistent work with grassroots development, national programmes and a lively competition schedule, paid off in 2017 as the women’s national team finished as winners, just ahead of hosts Jamaica, at the qualifying event for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 2018, while the men’s team qualified in second place behind Jamaica. Guyana men’s Aroydy Branford was named player of the tournament, while their goalkeeper Medroy Scotland was adjudged best in front of goal.
Guyana had a good opportunity to cop both the Male and Female titles but due to issues with the lights at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus hockey facility, the men’s final match could not be played its full time, and as such, using the Pool Standings, the final positions were awarded. That left Guyana with the Silver, having nine points, as compared to Jamaica’s 12. However, both Jamaica and Guyana’s men’s and women’s teams qualified for the 2018 CAC Games in Barranquilla, Colombia this July-August.
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