16th DMW Festival doubtful

Aug 06, 2020 Sports

The 16th annual edition of Guyana’s Premier hockey tournament; the Diamond Mineral Water (DMW) International Festival, seems an uphill battle to run off in 2020 due to the negative

Action in last year’s DMW Hockey festival.

Philip Fernandes; head of the GHB.

impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.However, the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB), which coordinates the tournament that have seen teams from USA, Canada, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) competing over the years, in a statement to the media last week has noted that they will remain optimistic in having the event contested.
The DMW festival usually hits off in late November and concludes in early December each year, which will give the organisers four months to gauge the level of control of the deadly virus in the 592.
A positive sign to note is that the spread of covid-19 in the capital and surrounding regions has been managed well with the National Covid-19 Task Force set to enter phase five next week that will result in the reopening of gyms, malls theaters and cultural facilities.
The challenges that remain include the fact that Guyana’s main indoor facility, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) that is located on Homestretch Avenue, has been converted into a quarantine facility to treat persons that are infected with the Covid-19 disease so the availability of the complex will be an issue.
The National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue that has been used to host hockey tourneys in the past remains an option.
It is a fact that the GHB is a well-oiled machine when it comes to planning and running off tournaments and the head of the GHB, Philip Fernandes, noted that his sport body is prepared on very short notice to put plans in action to host the DMW festival.
Last year’s 15th edition of the DMW festival saw clubs from the twin-island republic of T&T sweeping all three (male, female and veteran) divisions after a fruitless 2018 campaign.
Queen’s Park Cricket Club (QPCC) beat defending champs Pepsi Hikers in the men’s division, while George United usurped GBTI GCC on the distaff side and QPCC bested Bounty GCC Vintage in the veteran’s division. (Calvin Chapman)

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