The Bank’s International Hockey Festival is a six day mixture of sporting and social activities starting Sunday, 19th August to Saturday, 25th August, 2012. The festival has been held every year in late August since 1986. The festival is unique for its wonderful sporting and social camaraderie, but still highly competitive.
The Bank’s International Hockey Festival has built an impressive reputation drawing teams from around the world, including Barbados and Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago. Other countries are Canada, England, Switzerland, South America, the United States and Abu Dhabi. The event is competitive but played in the spirit of good hockey and sportsmanship.
Divided into men’s, women’s, veterans and mixed-team divisions, the festival is described as the biggest single annual field hockey tournament in this part of the globe. Games are played on grounds across Barbados, including the The Astroturf at the Sir Garfield Sobers Sports Complex, in Wildey.
The Bank’s International Hockey Festival typically begins a week earlier, giving local clubs the opportunity to host friendly games and visiting teams the chance to acclimatise to the heat. Of course, this also means becoming one with the traditional Banks beer and some Rum punch! ;p Most teams arrive on the island for the Friday night socials and the festival kicks off with an opening ceremony followed by group games, the following day. Matches are played throughout the week on a mixture of astroturf and grass pitches.
Mixed with the carnival atmosphere this Barbados festival is the place to be in August!
