Hockey in Guyana could face a further decline or even death should the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) fail to acquire an artificial pitch in the not too distance future.
Philip Fernandes, president of the local board is worried about the current situation and sees the acquisition of a hockey centre as critical to the game’s development.
Once regarded as the `Mecca’ of hockey in the Caribbean because of its superb grass fields in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, Guyana now lags behind the region and the entire hockey world because of the limited progress in acquiring an artificial field, a requirement by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) and Georgetown Football Club (GFC) hosted many major international matches including Caribbean men and women’s tournaments and many teams in the past looked forward to travelling to these shores to play on the Bourda sward, more famous for the many nail-biting international cricket matches staged there.
But at the start of the 1990s the FIH made it mandatory for all hockey tournaments to be played on artificial fields and since then local hockey has suffered significantly.
The number of clubs has declined drastically and many young players are shifting to other sports while clubs are finding it difficult to recruit new players.
In addition, with the lack of it own venue, the GHB’s Junior Development Pro-gramme has also suffered.
Guyana was recently represented by men and women’s teams at the Pan American Hockey Federation Caribbean Hockey Cup tournament in Trinidad and Tobago after an absence of several years and judging from their performance, Fernandes believes that the local players have the talent to compete with the rest of the Caribbean.
He feels too that the local players are not far behind in their level of technique and skill but said having to train on grass and adjust to “turf” has its setbacks.
“We desperately need a turf, Should we acquire an artificial surface the skill level of the local players will raise and teams from around the world would flock here like they do in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados,” Fernandes disclosed.
Most of the teams in the English-speaking Caribbean have hockey centres and these have assisted the rise in the level of the game in those territories with both Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados rated highly in the Pan American region and farther afield.
Fernandes revealed that hockey has suffered over the years because most of the grounds assigned to hockey are also cricket grounds and this has put pressure on the hockey board when organizing local tournaments.
Fernandes said that in addition, rain does not affect matches on turf and even during the current rainy season hockey would have been played.
Minster of Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, has highlighted the need for local hockey to acquire its own home ground in his message at the just concluded Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Hockey Festival held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
“Now in its fourth year, the festival attracts participants from within Caricom and North America and has the potential to make a big impact on Guyana’s sports tourism sector, however, even with this progress hockey remains without its own home ground,” the minister noted.
Dr. Anthony proposed that in the near future there should be serious consultation with all stakeholders to rectify the situation and pave the way for further development of the game.
In response, Fernandes said he would be working closely with the minister and other key stakeholders to push for the establishment of a local hockey centre.
Over the past four years the local hockey board has organized the Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall and the tournament has attracted teams from the Caribbean and North America.
But the surface of the Sports Hall is uneven and has hindered the GHB from attracting top teams from Europe, North America and Asia.
