International tournaments top priority — JHF boss
JAMAICA is expected to participate in several overseas international hockey tournaments this year, and those are the top priorities, said Fabian Stewart, president of the Jamaica Hockey Federation (JHF).
As a result, he said, national teams should begin their preparation for upcoming international tournaments. “This year will be a very busy one for the federation with so many international tournaments on the agenda.
“Our main aim and vision of the federation, however, is to get Jamaica qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games scheduled to be held in Paris, France, as our concentration is expected to be heavily focused on the youth players who are expected to take on the task,” the JHF president explained.
“It is absolutely important that we get the young players between 21 years, 18 years, and under 16 years old to begin their preparation very early to achieve that goal. These are the age groups that the federation is looking forward to and focusing on for Jamaica to qualify for the Olympics in Paris,” added Stewart.
Stewart, who was returned unopposed as president of the federation at last November’s annual general meeting, will govern for a two-year term.
He said the first year as president of his last stint was a challenging one, but through specific focus, they were able to improve as they went on.
He lauded the team around him, including his executive members, as well as other members who facilitated the board to achieve some of its objectives.
“After successfully hosting the CAC Games Hockey Qualifier last November, Jamaica’s men’s and women’s hockey teams qualified for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games to be held in Barranquilla, Colombia this year, and that was very good. I congratulated both coaches, Nicholas Brown and Christine Bartley, for a job well done,” said Stewart.
The CAC Games will be held from July 20 to August 3, 2018, and there will be a lot of work to be done in preparing both teams, which will require resources to keep the players active.
“One of the ways we will be keeping the players very active and fit is to have them playing a lot of practice matches, not only against local clubs, but internationally, as this is the only way the players can be match-ready for top-class competitions,” he added.
According to Stewart. “We are looking at two international hockey tournaments for women in Barbados, and the other in Cuba in February and March, as the Cubans have recently laid down two new turfs and could be used as an opener with a four- or six-nation championships.
“Participation in both tournaments will heavily depend on the resources, and could cost somewhere in the region of around $3 million to $5 million. It also depends on the airfares and accommodation packages and where you have to stay during the tournaments, as it can be expensive,” noted the hockey president.
Jamaica, he said, could be participating also in several other international tournaments this year with the Youth Olympic Pre-Qualifier Tournament for male and female to be held in Guadeloupe and Mexico in March of this year.