The ladies competition in this year’s Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival promises to be very exciting as defending champions Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) will be going all out to retain their title against tough opposition when the tournament bullies off tomorrow at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The GCC side has been in top form and their chances have been further boosted following the success of their Under-21 team at the just concluded Magnolias Indoor tournament in Trinidad and Tobago.
However, the road will be tough especially with the introduction to this year’s Festival of Canada’s GOA of Toronto, one of Canada’s top touring sides as well as several seasoned campaigners from Trinidad and Tobago.
GOA is a well-known touring indoor side.
They have extended the boundaries of their travels to include Guyana for the first time this year having won several tournaments throughout the Pan American Region.
The team will be spearheaded by sisters Tara and Joanna Fernandes, and will be a strong challenger for the top prize.
Ventures of the Twin Island Republic who made appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2006, have bronze medals to show as their greatest achievement.
This year they have added some younger faces to the line-up but seem in top form by their recent victory in the open ladies competition at the recently concluded Magnolias indoor tournament.
Another Trinidadian team Raiders took the festival by storm in 2006 by taking the gold in their first visit to Festival and will be looking for a repeat.
Local side Hikers featuring several national players will also be a strong contender.
In the men’s division last year’s champions Hikers have lost some spark during this season but could rebound at this level of competition.
Also in contention for Guyana are current National indoor champions GCC and Old Fort.
Stag Malvern of Trinidad returns for the fifth time in as many years but have only reached the runner up spot previously.
Notre Dame makes their debut this year although several players from the club visited back in 2006 in the Dames Park mixed side that lost a hard-fought final to Toronto. National Captain and Caribbean superstar Kwandwayne Browne will lead the side which features several national players for Trinidad and is a sure contender for the title. Paradise club of Tobago also visits for the first time this year and come in as an unknown entity.
Tobago has been making great strides in recent times where hockey is concerned with a few players breaking into the national selection and Paradise is likely to harbour a few surprises for their opposition.
The Carib Veteran competition is also expected to be exciting with defending champions Fatima of Trinidad returning with confidence after excellent showing over the past two years.
Old Old Fort from Brooklyn USA will join Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force but will be up against Guyana’s two formidable teams Carib Degenerates and GCC Diehards who will be making their entry for the time.
The winning teams in the men’s and ladies categories will cart off $1000 (US) each and the Diamond Mineral Water champion trophies while the Veteran will compete for the Carib Beer Trophy and $500 (US).
Matches in the tournament sponsored by Diamond Mineral Water and Ansa McAl Ltd. will be played twice daily at the Sports Hall leading up to the respective finals on Sunday.
