FIH President Leandro Negre and PAHF President Alberto ‘Coco’ Budeisky made their first ever visit to Guyana on May 19th 2015. While in Guyana, the Presidents occupied themselves with a full schedule in meeting with the executive members of the Guyana Hockey Board, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Sport, the President and General Secretary of the Guyana Olympic Association along with some lighter moments in meeting some of the young and old hockey players.
The primary item being discussed was a plan aimed at securing land for Guyana to lay its first artificial hockey pitch. Hockey in Guyana dates back to the late twenties with its most successful period being in the 1970’s. Since the introduction of artificial pitches for hockey, Guyana has enjoyed occasional international success but finds it difficult to keep abreast of its regional counterparts. The lack of an artificial pitch for international hockey has proved a serious impediment for Guyana to be able to adequately prepare its athletes for international competition. In addition, the long rainy seasons prohibit the use of grass fields in Guyana for hockey as they are all cricket fields where cricket is the priority.
The Guyana Hockey Board expressed great pleasure in hosting their prestigious visitors especially as an FIH President has never visited the country before and it has been over 25 years since a PAHF President has last visited.
