THE year 2014 was a busy and successful one for hockey with the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) executing several activities both locally and internationally for men, women and junior boys.

According to GHB president Philip Fernandes, the local calendar was packed with five competitions for women and six for men. National teams of both genders travelled abroad during the year for international competition, achieving a good measure of success.
A junior national selection also made a successful overseas tour in preparation for the 2016 PAHF Under-21 championships.
The GHB rounded out this year’s programme with a PAHF-sponsored coaching course and an umpire’s course to further enhance the local resources available to the sport.
The Hikers men emerged as the top club in the men’s division winning five of the six local competitions including the Diamond Mineral Water International indoor hockey festival. Four of these competitions were for the indoor version of the game in which the Hikers have firmly established themselves as the top side both locally and regionally.
The GCC ladies’ team remain the local queens having repeated their 2013 clean sweep of women’s competition in 2014 by winning all five competitions on the GHB calendar for the year.
The competitions held on the local calendar were the Bounty One-Day competition, the Brydens Super Classic, the Noble House Goals Galore Indoor handicap, the Banks Night Hockey Tournament, the GT&T National Indoor and the Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival.
The only blemish on the otherwise successful year of hockey was the inability to stage the John Fernandes Insurance Services Ltd men’s second division league. The non-completion of the Farfan & Mendes men’s first division league because of the unavailability of grounds and heavy demands of the international calendar made it impossible to conclude these two events in the calendar year.
In April of this year Guyana sent a men’s Indoor team to represent the country at the PAHF Indoor Championships held in Montevideo, Uruguay. The team performed above the expectations of the region and took the bronze medal in a penalty shootout over Argentina. En route to the bronze, Guyana beat Uruguay, Argentina twice but lost to finalists Canada and the USA.
This was Guyana’s third time competing in this event and its best ever showing.
Guyana female national hockey team, competing in the Central American and Caribbean Games, staged in November in Vera Cruz, Mexico, finished sixth of eight teams.
This was still a creditable performance given that the Guyana team were the only ones to compete without having an artificial pitch.
Among Guyana’s memorable performances was a draw with Caribbean powerhouses and defending champions Trinidad.
The GHB managed to secure two internationally-funded courses through the Pan American Hockey Federation which were held in conjunction with the Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival.
Mr Gus Soteriades of the USA, who is a three-time indoor hockey World Cup umpire facilitated the Umpires course while PAHF coach Anthony Marcano, of Trinidad conducted a coaching course. Both courses were successful and attracted 17 and 15 participants respectively.
The final activity on the 2014 calendar was an overseas tour of a junior Boys development team. This team was put together in mid-year with a view of early preparation for the 2016 PAHF Junior Hockey Championships being held in Toronto, Canada.
The GHB has secured a team support grant via the Guyana Olympic Association which has enabled them to set an ambitious programme for the next two years for its junior men’s team.
The juniors, under the management of Robert Fernandes, travelled to Trinidad earlier this month and competed in four matches, winning three and losing one.
This was a huge success for Guyana and the exposure would have benefited our young players immensely.
Fernandes said the GHB has concluded a successful year of hockey this year and looks forward to an equally-filled 2015 as it continues to build on its international success and reap the benefits of the development work done in 2014.

(By Michael DaSilva)