The 7th Diamond Mineral Water International Hockey Festival returns to Guyana from December 8-11 but there are still concerns over the unevenness of the floor at the country’s premier indoor sporting facility, Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH).
Eight overseas teams – six from Trinidad & Tobago, one from Barbados and another from Canada – have already confirmed their participation for this year’s tournament and they will start arriving by the evening of December 7. There will be no teams from Europe this year, according to president of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) Philip Fernandes at the launching on Wednesday at the GCC pavilion.
This is due in part to the quality of the facility, something that has deterred some countries from coming, according to the president. However, he noted that the tournament is well-publicised further afield and it was relayed to him that some overseas clubs have indicated an interest in participating in the tournament.
“…no teams from Europe this year. I think the quality of the facility is the only minor hindrance we have. We have had players that have come here to play but now play in Europe and they have, of course, talked about the tournament and they have e-mailed me and communicated with me that they are some teams up there that are interested in coming but we would have to fix the floor because they of course have firsthand experience coming down [here].
“The Sports Hall floor is good for most indoor sports but hockey has a small ball that rolls along the surface and any unevenness will ensure a bouncing ball which is counter-productive to the game. So, it means that we require an absolutely smooth surface to play the game at the highest level,” Fernandes explained.
However, he hopes this problem can be remedied as early as possible so that it will not be an issue when the competition comes around next year. Last year work was done at the facility, according to Fernandes, on part of the surface.
But another problem surfaced when the renovated portion was completed since there was an unevenness between that section and the older portion. In August this year Fernandes said he was summoned to a meeting at the Sport Ministry where plans were addressed to rectify the problems hockey has with the surface.
“Last year they actually did some work on the floor and this year I was called to a meeting in August and they had promised to try to rectify the difficulties for hockey because last year they had repaired the floor and what happened there was a difference in the level of the old part and the new part.
The work that was supposed to have been done could not have been done for a number of reasons and obviously I don’t want to blame anyone. Nevertheless, what was done was a makeshift thing but I would imagine that since they could not complete the job as intended this year I am hoping that next year the proper work will be done to make sure that the floor is in better condition,” reckoned Fernandes.
He acknowledged though that the floor is “in good enough condition to have the tournament.”
“It is in the kind of condition it was in the past it is just not optimum for top level hockey players to want to come and play on and when I say top level I mean on the global top level.”
Fernandes acknowledged that the state of the surface and the fact that GHB would want to have some of the best players participating in the tournament would make it counterproductive to the association’s aim.
Ceiling
He said it is a problem area for the association because “it creates a ceiling for how far we can actually expand the tournament.”
He stated though that it is seen as “a temporary problem.” He indicated that a range of solutions are being explored and Stabroek Sport understands that sourcing an imported floor from overseas manufacturers has already begun. He said that the prices coming from the Chinese manufacturers have been better than those in the USA.
“One possible solution is if the floor can actually be repaired using the similar material which is wood or another solution is the possibility of importing a floor that snaps together. I understand that volleyball has imported such a floor and they plan to lay it down in the National Gymnasium. Maybe something like that can be gotten for the Sports Hall,” Fernandes said.
Meanwhile, work is currently underway at the CASH with a focus on renovating the roof. During a visit to the facility on Wednesday, Stabroek Sport saw plastic on the floor and a few zinc sheets had been removed but there were no workmen in sight. The floor looked in excellent condition, except for the uneven spots.
