By Michelangelo Jacobus
The improved quality of play in the recently concluded Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) first division leagues was evident for anybody that was present at the matches and that are ‘au fait’ with the sport. Something, GHB President, Philip Fernandes repeatedly pointed out in previous engagements with Stabroek News Sports. That improvement in quality was largely due to the commendable surface at the Providence National Stadium; while the GHB’s outdoor leagues are usually played at the Georgetown Cricket Club’s (GCC) ground, the stadium’s surface was a step up in terms of consistency and speed.
For all the praise that came in for the various clubs noted improvement in play, it is still a far cry from the required level of play when it comes to challenging other hockey playing nations at the international level. That is a fact. One acknowledged by the current GHB boss.
To put things into context, field hockey, as its name fitting suggests, was originally played on grass fields, however in 1976, the governing body at the international level, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) mandated that international matches have to be played on artificial turf. At this current point of time, in 2023, 47 years later, Guyana who has been actively playing hockey at the international level since 1971, is yet to boast an artificial pitch on which the hockey fraternity can train or play matches.
Speaking to Stabroek News Sports, Fernandes who was thankful for the use of the Providence facility as it allowed the GHB to run off its leagues without any disruptions, pointed out that since the FIH mandated international matches and tournaments to be played on artificial surfaces, Guyana has been left in the dust by her international opponents.
“Sometime ago, around the 1980s (in 1976), the international game moved to artificial surfaces as a mandatory requirement, there were artificial surfaces before then but it became mandatory for international games to be played on artificial surfaces. Guyana was left without an artificial pitch but Trinidad, Barbados, Jamaica and Venezuela got one. Those were the traditional opponents that Guyana played closely against in the region. That allowed those teams to advance their skills to a level where Guyana had to keep playing catch up”.
Despite, the lack of proper facilities which is key in any team in any sport being competitive at any level, Fernandes highlighted; “Guyana continued to compete in international competitions but at a huge disadvantage now, of training on one surface where the behaviour of the ball, the speed of the ball, everything is different and then competing on an artificial surface which makes for an altogether different type of hockey. It’s like practicing cricket on a beach and then going on a first class cricket ground to play matches. We then had to adjust, make up in other areas, we had to work hard on our fitness level, use players who are truly committed in trying to give the effort needed to make up for the shortfall and the lack of practice”.
Despite the extra effort, Guyana’s hockey teams can never really be on a level where they can establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with on the international scene.
To this end, Fernandes noted; “That has managed to garner us some degree of success but it is difficult to sustain because when we go and play against other countries on international surfaces and we measure ourselves, even if we do well, we come back home to our grass fields and they go back home to their artificial turfs and further develop their craft, further improve on the mistakes they made and improve the quality of their game. We are unable to do that, we are only able to do what grass can allow us to do”.
With first division hockey usually played on cricket fields in Guyana, more often than not, some of those fields are prone to flooding which hands the GHB lots of disruptions during the regular season. As a rule, once it rains, no activity is allowed on cricket fields, leaving hockey completely out of the picture. Even if there is sporadic rain, hockey practices would have to be canceled. Something Fernandes revealed is driving away young prospects.
“This now discourages young people coming to the game because of this lack of consistency. When the rainy season is finished, obviously cricket is the priority for those facilities and therefore we have to wait until cricket gets off the ground, and their tournaments are up and running. When there is space then perhaps we can try to schedule a competition”.
Fernandes, a longtime administrator of the sport, quizzed on what it would mean for the GHB to have a home for the sport, had no qualms about stating; “Having an artificial surface, means you have an all weather facility, we can play year round and despite the fact that all clubs, schools and everybody would have to practice on this one facility, it still would mean that we would be 100% better off than we are today”.
Citing Guyana’s closest Caribbean neighbour, Trinidad & Tobago’s plight at the recently finished Pan Am Games in Chile where they finished seventh out of eight, Fernandes compared Guyana’s situation to the Trinidadians, stating; “There is an article in the Trinidad newspaper with the Men’s coach saying that their artificial turf, which they do have, had not been made available sufficiently for them to train on and play games, which is crucial for success. That in fact was a big factor in their substandard performance. We in Guyana are even worse off, we have no opportunity to play on artificial surfaces and in order to do that, we have to fly at least to Trinidad to get exposure on the correct surface. So in order to develop teams to compete against the likes of Argentina, Canada and the USA is almost impossible without having a proper surface on which we can train”.
It has been many years since the GHB has been actively pursuing the various governments of the day to get a space and financial support to construct an artificial pitch for hockey, but despite the years of waiting, the hockey body is still hopeful and patiently awaiting the day that they could call a facility their home.
Fernandes is even willing to share a space with other sports disciplines, simply because a shared space would elevate the quality of the game.
“Of course it costs money to put down an artificial surface, and this is why we have been trying to encourage the government that it is a worthwhile exercise and a worthwhile venture to provide land and to provide the funding for an artificial surface facility. There are facilities that multi-sports can be played on. There are facilities that can host hockey, football, tennis and even cricket can be played on it. These are considerations also that can be made, if the government doesn’t see it fit to provide a surface solely for hockey, there are other ways of sharing that can also still benefit the sport greatly”.
Cue the entry of the present, Irfan Ali led government, while under the coalition government, the same conversations were had with the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport but went unfulfilled, Fernandes is very optimistic of the GHB’s longing becoming a reality, due to the genuine interest of the present Minister of Culture, Youth & Sports, Charles Ramson Jr.
“We have had some very encouraging conversations with Minister Charles Ramson Jr. and he has indicated a genuine interest in trying to find a suitable location for hockey to be played. Unfortunately he has not yet been able to identify a space that can be made available but we have had conversations about several possibilities that didn’t pan out for several reasons not within the Hockey Board’s control but we are hoping that the continued search can reveal some results and we can get some place suitable for us”.
“There are a lot of young people that are interested in the game, there is a lot of excitement around the game but it is not sustainable the way things are and we are hoping we can have change eventually”.
The last two years’ National Budgets have seen improved amounts of funds allocated to the Ministry in charge of sports, and while on face value, if the improvement of facilities countrywide along with new sports facilities being constructed are anything to go on, the efforts at improving the overall support of sports in Guyana have seemed genuine under the charge of Ramson Jr. Time will however tell, if the government will walk the walk instead of talking the talk.
