Women’s Hockey team bags $3M support from NSC for CAC qualifiers

The National Sports Commission (NSC) recently presented $3 million to the country’s female national Hockey team, heading off to this year’s Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games qualifying tournament in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, made a simple presentation to members of the team recently and wished the players the best of luck on behalf of the NSC and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.

Guyana is hoping to be one of the two teams to advance from the April 14-17 tournament and will flick off their campaign on the event’s opening day against Puerto Rico.

After facing the tournament’s highest-ranked team, Guyana will play Bermuda on April 16 and close their participation on April 17 against Jamaica.

According to the tournament rules, the top two teams after the round-robin play will qualify for the 2022 CAC Games in San Salvador, El Salvador, in May 2023.

Guyana last competed in the CAC games back in 2018 when the team finished in seventh place out of eight.

Seven players remain from the team that contested the last CAC Games, which incidentally was the last time Guyana competed internationally.

Those players are goalkeeper Alysa Xavier, Trisha Woodroffe, Marzana Fiedtkou, Samantha Fernandes, Princessa Wilkie, Captain Gabriella Xavier and the recently recalled defensive stalwart Ulrica Sutherland.

Meanwhile, Coach Phillip Fernandes said he’s excited about the new additions to this strong core of players as making their international outdoor debut would be speedy strikers Sarah Klautky, Abosaide Cadogan, and Claysa Bobb, midfielder Madison Fernandes and defenders Kezia Chinian, Makeda Harding, Mickelly Rahaman and Kirsten Gomes.

Fernandes was particularly pleased also with the return from injury of striker Aliyah Gordon, who is a key playmaker for the team.

Apart from receiving support from the NSC, the team is sponsored by GTT, John Fernandes Group of companies and the Guyana Olympic Association.