Two events have taken place recently that highlight a couple of things about hockey in the PAHF region. On the one hand, there are some teams are head and shoulders above all other PAHF nations when it comes to elite performance, with three teams – Argentina men, Argentina women and USA women – regularly pushing for top honours on the global stage. On the other hand, hockey is spreading across the continent as more teams follow a professional route when it comes to both the playing side of the game and the organisational and administrative side of things.
Leading the way in global hockey is the powerhouse of Argentina. The men are currently Olympic champions and ranked number two in the world, while the women are ranked at number three and are tipped for a medal at this year’s Vitality Hockey Women’s World Cup in London.
Canada are the next highest ranked PAHF men’s team, at number 11 in the FIH Hero World Rankings, while USA women are sitting tight at seventh in the world. Both teams regularly qualify for both the Olympic Games and the World Cup but have yet to reach the podium at either of these blue riband events in modern times.
Below these nations are a number of middle-ranking teams. Chile women (WR:15), Canada women (WR:21), Uruguay women (WR:24), USA men (WR:26), Brazil men (WR:27), Mexico women (WR:29) and Trinidad and Tobago (WR:31) men all sit in the bracket of teams that are knocking at the door of the top table of hockey but are not yet in a place where they can challenge for major honours.
The remainder of the world rankings table is liberally scattered with PAHF nations who are emerging with development plans to raise hockey’s profile and participation levels and who have embarked on a programme of coach and administrative education which will make hockey a sustainable sport in the future.
Laura Macchiotti is PAHF Events and Development Coordinator. She is generally pleased with the direction of travel the PAHF nations are taking when it comes to a professional approach to the sport.
“We are seeing small countries hiring coaches to raise the level of hockey by passing on their knowledge to both players and up-and-coming coaches. These nations are putting strategic plans in place to help the sport grow. More countries are getting Olympic Solidarity funds to help make this happen.”
For Macchiotti, multi-sport events such as the South American Games and the CAC Games are perfect opportunities for the developing nations, who don’t have much funding available, to get experience of both playing in and organising hockey events. She explains that the costs of hosting such events are the responsibility of the Local Organising Committee and the National Olympic Committee, so hockey can benefit without the cost of hosting.
That said, it is still the more developed hockey nations who dominate these events at present. At the South American Games (ODESUR), Argentina dominated the men’s and women’s competition, with the men conceding only two goals in the entire competition and the women conceding no goals and racking up an impressive 34 goals in four games.
Chile men took second spot, while Chile women finished third after they missed out on a place in the final on a goal difference of one to another rising star of South America – Uruguay.
But signs for the future of hockey are promising. ODESUR, which is a multi-sport event, has 14 nations affiliated, so to attract eight men’s hockey squads and seven women’s squads is a sign that the sport is growing. At the previous edition, in 2016, six men’s teams and five women’s teams participated, while back in 2006, the number of entries stood at five men’s teams and four women’s teams.
Argentina’s dominance is undisputed. The men’s and women’s teams have participated in seven of the eight editions and have won every time they have played. On the year they did not take part, 2016, Chile won the men’s event and Uruguay the women’s.
Of course, as Argentina superstar Delphina Merino explained in an earlier interview, “Argentina has a long history of playing hockey. It is the number one sport for the women. Young girls want to grow up to be Leonas. They run around with hockey sticks in their hands from an early age. It is not yet at that stage with many other countries.”
Both PAHF and the International Hockey Federation (FIH) are working hard to change that. The newly created Hockey Open Series aims to provide more teams with the opportunity to play more international hockey – a huge stepping stone towards growth and development.
The Hockey Open Series replaces the Hockey World League and its idealistic aim is to give developing nations, and those nations not included in the Hockey Pro League, the opportunity to test themselves against some of the world’s best teams. The rounds are based within continents to help national associations cope with travelling costs. Winners and runners-up of round one then play in one of three Hockey Series Finals, with the chance of qualifying for the next major tournament, either the Olympic Games or the World Cup.
The first ever Hockey Series Open took place in Salamanca, Mexico, with five men’s and five women’s teams playing for the two top spots. The women’s teams taking part were Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama and Guatemala. The male competitors were USA, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica.
With the world rankings ranging from 26th to unranked in the men’s competition and 21 to 68 in the women’s event, there were always going to be some disparities. Guatemala women suffered a 30-0 thumping at the hands of Mexico, while USA panned Panama 22-0. That said, there were also some cracking games, with Mexico men versus USA men a particularly entertaining 5-5 draw.
The new CEO of the International Hockey Federation, Thierry Weil, spoke about his hope that the Hockey Series Open would prove a catalyst for getting more and more nations to enter teams into international competitions, regardless of the disparity in rankings between some teams.
“In the first Hockey Series Open in Mexico, we saw some nations that have never competed at this international level. Of course there were some big score-lines but that doesn’t matter, what is important is that these teams are learning and gaining experience.
“Other nations will look on at the teams playing in Mexico and decide that next time around they want to do the same. This is nothing but good for the growth of the game as it means that nations will invest more in officials and coaches and facilities and so the game will become more professional.”
It is a sentiment with which Macchiotti whole-heartedly agrees. “To get growth in the sport we need to see improvement in the administration carried out by national associations. Government regulations must be complied with, papers must be in order, more people are needed to do all the tasks associated with running a professional organisation. The national associations need to work harder to find partners, sponsors, other non-profit organisations and foundations.”
This may seem like a long and demanding list, but for PAHF it is a two-way process. One example of this two-way process can be found in Central America where PAHF support and resources are channeled directly into tournaments. These events are an integral part of the development process. As Macchiotti says, “it is a concerted effort to give competition and education opportunities to a region.”
There are, of course, many challenges to development across the PAHF region. Some countries simply have no hockey facilities or any chance of getting any. In many countries soccer is so revered that no other sport has access to sports turfs. In other countries unstable regimes, extreme weather or high levels of poverty are all barriers to sports development.
But there are also shining examples of national associations defying the odds and bringing hockey to their people. Guatemala women, for example, may have finished bottom of the table at the recent Hockey Series Open but a glance at their vibrant social media pages indicate that this is a nation that is in love with the sport. Even Las Leonas had to start somewhere…
