Very Quiet 2020 for hockey

Jan 07, 2021 Sports

Action in the 2019 DMW Hockey festival.

Team Guyana pose with the Golden Arrowhead after winning the Masters of our destiny over-40 hockey festival on Republic Day.

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) national women programme is due to resume shortly with training as the ladies, managed by head coach Philip Fernandes, prepare for a busy 2021 season that includes the Central America & Caribbean (CAC) games that will be hosted in Bermuda in July and the Indoor Pan American Championship that will hit off in the United States in June.
Despite busy days ahead, hockey had a very quiet 2020 season due to the pandemic but the Golden the Golden Arrowhead was well represented in the sport before world-wide lockdowns were issued.
The flag was flown high in North America on the 50th Republic Anniversary of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana after Guyana’s Masters over-40 hockey team maintained a perfect record to win the ‘Masters of our destiny’ indoor field hockey festival which was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Playing at the University of Toronto, Guyana outlasted the United States of America (USA), Canada Red, Canada White and the England Lions in three exciting days of hockey which began on February 21 and concluded on Republic Day, the 23rd.
After playing unbeaten throughout the tournament, the Guyanese had no trouble getting past Canada Red in the final, while USA got past England Lions in the third place playoff. The ‘Masters of our destiny’ over-40 tournament was held in Toronto for the first time last year.
The tournament’s rules stipulated that all the players must be over-40 with the exception of one.
Head of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB), Philip Fernandes, in an invited comment, had shared that although he was unable to participate, he was happy that the side represented Guyana well and it is even more special that they the tournament on a momentous occasion such as the 50th Republic Anniversary.
Postponed
The local and international hockey season was eventually cancelled but the GHB remained optimistic as they monitored the deadly covid-19 infection rate closely. The most notable locally cancelled competitions included the outdoor development leagues, the GTT National Championships and the usually largely subscribed Diamond Mineral Water (DMW) International Hockey Festival.
Courtesy call
Later in the year, the executives of the GHB met with incumbent Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr. to discuss a range of topics regarding the development of the game in Guyana.
The meeting formed part of a strategic effort by the Minister to have dialogue with the associations to foster growth and development of the respective disciplines.
Head of the GHB, Philip Fernandes, was accompanied by Vice-president Robert Fernandes and Secretary Tricia Fiedtkou and they discussed possible areas of collaboration with the Sport Minister.
A presentation was done by the Hockey Board members, outlining their intention of utilising the plot of land at Durban Park, Georgetown, which they acquired under the previous government.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the government and the Hockey Board, and the executives are hoping they can now have a lease, which will allow them to use the space on a long-term basis to develop the sport.

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