The 7th Diamond Mineral Water International Hockey Festival has been shifted from the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) to the National Gymnasium after permission was granted on Wednesday to the Guyana Hockey Board by the Director of Sport Secretariat and the Guyana Volleyball Federation.
This disclosure was made by GHB President Philip Fernandes yesterday after the two bodies held fruitful negotiations. A detailed statement will be coming from the GHB later today.
According to Fernandes, while minor works were done on the uneven surface at the CASH and it is more playable than before, its surface is not up to the standard at the National Gymnasium.
The GVF, in partnership with the World Volleyball Federation (FIVB), opened the newly-refurbished volleyball court at the Mandela Avenue facility at a commissioning ceremony on November 24.
Fernandes said that this surface will be ideal for the level of the competition that bullies off on December 8 and runs until December 11.
Meanwhile, Fernandes said that the planning of the event has been otherwise smooth in the lead up to the tournament.
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.
He had said at the launch of the tournament last month that European teams were not participating this year because of the quality of the CASH, something that had also deterred other countries from coming.
“…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 had explained at the launch.
