Hikers Hockey Club on Saturday became a newly constituted, independent body when it held its inaugural annual general meeting at the Diocesan Youth Centre in Subryanville. Thirty nine members were part of this historic step in the team’s long and proud history.
The membership heard reports by acting president Devin Munroe, senior coach, Timothy McIntosh and junior coach, Robert Fernandes before electing its first executive committee.
The club has a rich
history
Considered one of the top hockey teams in the country, Hikers Club was originally known as the Animals.
The club was formed in the mid 1980s by former national player Andy Gouveia and some of his friends and the original home of the club was the Guyana Motor Racing and Sports Club.
The Animals struggled in their early years against the more established teams but in the early 1990s Gouveia convinced the membership of the Everest Cricket Club to establish a hockey section and the team moved to the club and duly changed their name to the Everest Hikers.
In 1995, Everest Hikers added a ladies team to its growing membership and that signalled the beginning of the club’s rise to become one of the most outstanding local and Caribbean club teams.
In 2008 the team’s membership made the decision to become an independent body and moved from Everest and amended its name to Hikers Hockey Club. The elections takes the club a step closer to it’s ultimate goal which is to become the first independent hockey club in the country to own and operate its own facility.
The committee’s first order of business will be to secure the facilities needed for the club to implement its many social and developmental programmes.
Hikers are the defending first and second division league champions as well as the four-time winner and defending champions of the Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Tournament. Hikers men’s team is the only Caribbean club side to win the Barbados International Indoor, The Ventures International Indoor of Trinidad, as well as the Diamond International Indoor, making it one of the best men’s sides in the Caribbean.
The newly elected executive committee includes; President – Devin Munroe, Vice President – Rene Edwards, Secretary – Gail Harding, Treasurer – Avonda James, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer – Jonelle Webster, Coaches Coordinator – Timothy McIntosh, Social Events Coordinator – Marisha Rodrigues, Junior and Community Development Coordinator – Robert Fernandes and Junior Representatives – Michael Harding and Anton Duke.
