Local hockey graced the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on Monday night for the first time in almost two years.
GHB President Philip Fernandes
A partnership between the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB) and ExxonMobil saw the birth of the ExxonMobil Indoor Hockey Championships, catering to first and second division teams.
Thus far, GHB President Philip Fernandes is quite pleased with what he has seen. Sharing his two cents’ worth on the event, Fernandes expressed that it has been a great restart.
“The hockey players have been looking forward to this for a very long time. We’ve had no hocky taking place for the last year and a half/almost two years, so this is a welcome return, players are eager to be back,” Fernandes shared with this publication.
“You can see that some of them have been doing their work at home, have been keeping in tune, have been keeping themselves fit. We’ve seen some exciting games so far for the night, and I think that as the week progresses, the standard will only rise. And we expect to see a wonderful tournament, to end the year on a high note,” he shared.
While one would expect the level of fitness and competition to lag, given the break, Fernandes has been impressed with the progress the players have made, especially those in the second division.
“So far, for the evening, we’ve seen a lot of the junior teams in the second division. I’ve seen young people that have improved, they’ve grown up, it’s amazing how much two years can do. They’ve grown up, and they’re able to play better hocky now,” he enthused.
“We expect, as the night progresses and we see senior division women and men, then we’ll really see some better quality in terms of overall hockey,” he explained.
Looking at the New Year, the Hockey Board President is hoping to get an early start on the season, to get the most out of it.
“Definitely! We don’t want to kill much of the beginning of the year waiting for anything to happen, we hope to start things early. There’s quite a bit going on on the calendar internationally, and we’d like to have our full local calendar,” he said.
Fernandes also had this to say: “I think this (ExxonMobil Championships) would give us that start that would not necessarily mean we would take the whole of January or February to get going. We can get going from the beginning of the year with this, and head into our season.”
On the opening night, Pepsi Hikers, Guyana’s 40s, Bounty GCC and Saints were among the winners in the first division. In the second division, Saints Sensations and Hikers Cadets were also winners.
