THE Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) female hockey outfit, the GBTI Ladies, will compete in the Big Apple International Indoor Hockey Championship, which is scheduled for March 12 – 13, in Toronto, Canada.

The ladies, who have been the local national champions for several years, have also enjoyed great success against regional teams as multiple winners of the Diamond Mineral Water Indoor Festival here in Guyana.

The team comprises several national players and includes players from the Under-16 team that twice visited Trinidad and Tobago prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, playing unbeaten in the Paragon Indoor Championship.

Although a few of the club’s strong players were unavailable due to other personal commitments, coach Philip Fernandes is confident that the team will be able to make a good showing.

Fernandes indicated that the USA has a very strong female hockey programme as the country has close to 1.5 million players, most of whom are female. The competition usually features teams from both the USA and Canada with occasional entrants from Europe and this year Guyana will be bringing a Caribbean flair to the Ladies’ division.

The GBTI GCC Ladies will compete in Pool Two and face the Sharks in their opening match tomorrow at 09:40hrs. They return to the floor later on the same day to take on NE Premier and then Team Red, who are expected to be a USA national selection.

The result of these matches will determine the schedule for the following day.

Matches will all be played at the University of Toronto’s Athletic Centre.

The full GCC squad reads: Abosaide Cadogan, Alysa Xavier, Gabriella Xavier (captain), Sarah Klautky, Makeda Harding, Madison Fernandes, Mickelly Rahaman, Kirsten Gomes, Kerensa Fernandes, Samantha Fernandes, Carina Moller and Aliyah Gordon The coach is Philip Fernandes