Guyana senior men’s outdoor hockey team departed the country on Wednesday to compete in the Pan-American Hockey Challenge in Chiclayo, Peru.
The team will require two days of travelling to arrive at their final destination, with stops in Trinidad, Curacao and Bogota, Colombia before arriving in Lima, Peru. Upon their arrival in Peru, due to financial constraints, the team will take a 14-hour bus ride to Chiclayo.
Under the tutelage of head coach Robert Fernandes, the 18-man squad includes Orland Semple, Stuart Gonsalves, Andrew Xavier, Mark Sargeant, Kareem McKenzie, Daniel Hooper, Medroy Scotland (GK), Shane Samuels, Robert France, Devin Munroe (C), Randy Hope, Rayon Branford, Jamarj Assanah, Aroydy Branford, Andrew Stewart, Hilton Chester, Ato Greene and Marvin Dannett.
Guyana will open their campaign tomorrow against Puerto Rico at 12pm (Guyana time). They will then oppose Panama on Monday, October 5th at 10am (Guyana time) before facing off with the top-seeded Brazilians on Tuesday, October 6th from 1pm (Guyana time).
The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-final round on Friday, October 9th, with the grand finale slated for Sunday, October 11th.
This international outdoor event is the first for the Guyanese men in eight years, with their last competitive outdoor showing occurring in the 2007 Caribbean Cup and ALBA Games where they acquired Bronze and Silver medals respectively.
Due to Guyana’s inactivity since then, it no longer holds a world or Pan-American ranking and will have to compete alongside the teams not ranked in the top six within the region in the Pan-American Challenge to qualify for the 2017 Pan-American Cup in the United States of America.
In a statement, the Guyana Hockey Board said that the team had to commit to the “monumental financial undertaking” of raising the $8 million tour budget, just to earn the chance of regaining an international ranking. The team will continue its fundraising drive when it returns to pay off its debts, the statement said.
“Although the team includes a few experienced players such as Robert France, long time captain Devin Munroe and England based Marvin Dannett, due to the eight year gap, most of the squad have never played an international outdoor match before,” the Board added.
It said that young players Assanah, Aroydy Branford, Sargeant, McKenzie, Stewart and goalkeeper Scotland are expected to lead the charge of the next generation of exceptionally talented players making their international outdoor debuts.
The Board thanked several entities inclusive of the National Sports Commission, DeSinco Trading, GUYOIL, Woodpecker Products, Guyana Manioc Development, Continental Group of Companies, John Fernandes Ltd., Farm Supplies, General Equipment, Digicel, NAMILCO, EC Vieira Investments, R. Bassoo and Sons Construction Company, Kares Engineering Inc., Toucan Industries, RED Entertainment, Bounty Farm Ltd and DD Mining as well as all the private individuals who made a contribution in some way or the other, for making the tour possible.
