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THE Bahrain Hockey Association aims to revive the sport's popularity in the kingdom by organising the first-ever six-a-side regional contest in the kingdom.
The open field hockey tournament is set to feature teams representing Bahrain, Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and India and will take place at the St Christopher's School grounds in Saar on April 30-May 1.
Assistant general secretary of the association, Jude D'Souza, said: "In the past, field hockey was one of the biggest participation sports in Bahrain. We were the pioneers in the Middle East with about 20 teams.
"Around 10 years ago the sport began to die down in popularity when people moved away. Soon the situation reversed - the rest of the region dominated in the sport and we were no longer in the picture. However, a group of hockey enthusiasts still got together three times a week."
Their enthusiasm became contagious and soon a new team of men and women players was formed. The Bahraini Hawks competed in a contest in Doha last year and reached the semi-finals, beating the hosts and former champions on the way. As a result the Dubai Hockey League invited Bahrain to compete in a tri-nation tournament with Doha. Jude said: "Once again we made it to the finals but lost by half a point."
Bahrain Hockey Association's assistant general secretary Jude D'Souza said: "We were impressed by our capabilities and game-play in the Dubai tri-nation event as the other teams had Olympic-sized turfs to play and practice on. As for our facilities, we had little in comparison but made up for it with passion.
"We decided that we could not allow the decline of hockey to continue. We simply had to do something big to help revive the sport with the open tournament."
The contest has already created a buzz around the island. Jude explained: "Our aim is to promote the game as a Bahraini sport and hope to tie in with the General Organisation of Youth and Sports (GOYS). We already are in talks.
"There may be around 200 hockey players in Bahrain who are not aware of where to go. This tournament will raise awareness and promote the sport as a great family activity.
"We want to inject some feeling of fraternity, create social ties and link cultures through hockey. Also the future of any sport lies in children so hopefully we can promote it in schools as well.
"We are lucky to already have hockey enthusiasts from home and abroad who can teach the game and perhaps later we can create summer camps for youngsters. This is the start of something great!"
For further details, email bahrainhockeyassocn@gmail.com or visit sites.google.com/site/bahrainhockeyassociation or https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=344601568442&ref=ts
