Nine overseas teams will line up alongside 34 local sides competing in the 25th anniversary Banks International Hockey Festival which gets underway tomorrow.And for the first time, a team from South Africa, Induku Colts, will be taking part in the annual event. They join Germany’s Die Keuelen FHC, Bracknell Fuzzy Ducks from England, Islanders and Big Apple FHC from the United States, Ned Star from Canada, Excelsior from Jamaica, and the two armed forces teams from Trinidad and Tobago – the Defence Force and the Police Force.Competition will be held as usual in the men’s, women’s, mixed, and veterans’ divisions, with trophies, medals and other prizes up for grabs. Matches will be played at the Astroturf, LIME, and Weymouth.David Rouse, chairman of the organising committee, told SATURDAY SPORTS they were going back to the original concept.“What we are trying to do is bring back the tournament as what it used to be in the early years – a festival, as opposed to a tournament,” he said.“In the recent past, matches were finishing too late and we were not having enough time to party and there were complaints from some of the teams.”The social events include a talent night at the Ship Inn on Tuesday, a cruise on board the MV Harbour Master on Wednesday, and a scenic bus ride, culminating with a beach party at Brandons on Thursday, the lone day when there is no hockey.Rouse said it cost between $110 000 and $120 000 to stage the tournament – with limited sponsorship – and it was those social events which helped the Barbados Hockey Federation gain revenue from the festival.“We don’t gain as much as anticipated and that is one of the reasons why the facility (Astroturf) is in the state that it is in because we don’t have funds.“We need a new Astroturf, but that is something we can’t do on our own. We need to get into some fund-raising efforts,” he added. Team registration will be held from 5:30 p.m. today at Banks Breweries.During tomorrow’s opening ceremony, which starts at 5 p.m., some of the stalwarts who contributed to the development of the tournament will be honoured, while others will receive their awards during the closing ceremony and final whistle party on August 21.
