Guyanese hockey fans will be exposed to a high level of competition as some of the top players in the Caribbean and North America will be competing in this year’s Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey Festival which gets underway on Thursday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.Several of the players who were featured in Trinidad and Tobago’s men and women championship teams at the just concluded Caribbean Hockey Cup tournament, will be in action in what is expected to be a Trinidad and Tobago invasion for the Festival now in its fourth year.Three women’s teams from the twin-island republic including defending Diamond Mineral Water women champions Raiders, newcomers Harvard Maritime Checkers and regular visitors Malvern will all be here for the Festival. But the Trinidadians will not have things their way as Guyana’s Georgetown Cricket Club and Everest Hikers will be looking to ensure that the top prize of $1000 (US) and the championship trophy remain at home. Both local teams will feature players who were on Guyana’s team to the Caribbean Hockey Cup and the exposure against the best in the region should help their cause.New champions will be crowned in the men’s division since Toronto Raiders of Canada will not be here to defend their title. But last year’s runners-up Dames Park of the twin-island republic will be here once again and they will be joined by Malvern with the three local clubs being Georgetown Cricket Club, Everest Hikers and Old Fort. Old Fort will be further strengthened by overseas-based Canadian international and former club representative Jonathan Roberts, along with Canadian international indoor goalkeeper Premshankar who both played for Toronto Raiders last year.
Roberts, a two-time winner of this tournament in as many tries has also won the coveted MVP award and will be eager to take the floor lined-up alongside his former club-mates. Guyana Hockey Board President Philip Fernandes disclosed that Empire Hockey Club of Barbados who was due to compete for the first time this year pulled out of the Festival. The men’s Veterans tournament sponsored by Carib Beer will see defending champions Trinidadians Fatima, Malvern, Old Old Fort of United States and Carib Degenerates of Guyana battling for a top prize of $500 US.
Old Old Fort will feature several former Guyanese national players who once represented Old Fort team among them Jeremy Roberts, Brian Felix, Brian Hope and Courtney Thorne with support from some local Old Old Fort players including Gavin Hope, Dexter Wyles, Robert Hussein, Wayne St. Jules and Ivor Thompson. Trinidadian umpires Garth Baptiste and Cherill Franco will lead the corps of umpires. The tournament will bully off on Thursday at 3:30 pm with one session. There will be two sessions on the following days with play expected to start at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, with a lunch break and then resume at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday play will start at 9:00 a.m. and on Sunday at 10:00 a.m.
Admission is free on Thursday and Friday, $200 on Saturday and $300 on Sunday. The tournament’s main sponsors are Demerara Distillers Ltd., bottlers of Diamond Mineral Water and Ansa McAl Ltd. distributors of Carib Beer.
