For the first time in the history of the Pan American Games, Guyana will host the Pan American Hockey Federation’s Indoor Pan American Cup Qualifying tournament 2017.
Guyana was on Tuesday confirmed as the host nation for the highly competitive tournament for both the male and female divisions prior to the International Hockey Federation’s Indoor World Cup 2018.
The land of many waters was selected based on the recommendations made by the Bid Evaluation Committee with the Board of Directors approving Guyana.
The Games will be played in Georgetown with the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue being the likely venue for the games. While the definitive date for the tournament has not been set, the period of the tournament will be between October 14 and 22.
However, the exact dates will be confirmed when the exact number of teams are finalized.
President of the host country’s Hockey Board, Philip Fernandes, said that “it’s an exciting moment for us and we intend to showcase Guyana in the best possible way by making the tournament one of the biggest successes in recent times.”
Meanwhile, Pan American Hockey Federation President, Alberto “Coco” Budeisky is of the belief that by virtue of having a new country hosting a Pan American Hockey Federation tournament, it will bring motivation for more countries to apply for future events.
In recent times, Guyana successfully staged tournaments that have involved a number of international teams from countries such as United States of America, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda among others.
The National Gymnasium has also been the beneficiary of praises for the way the facility is being used to garner the development of indoor hockey in the country.
