There are just a few weeks before the 18th Pan American Games gets underway. The bright, colourful celebration of sport sees athletes from 41 nations participate across 39 sports and disciplines, with, for many of the winners, the additional prize of qualification to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
This year’s event will take place in the Peru capital, Lima, and eight men’s and eight women’s teams will be participating. In the men’s event the teams taking part are reigning champions Argentina (World Ranking:4), Canada (WR:10), USA (WR:24), Chile (WR:28), Mexico (WR:32), Trinidad and Tobago (WR:37), Peru (WR:55) and Cuba (WR:69).The women’s event sees defending champions USA (WR:13) face Argentina (WR:3), Chile (WR:15), Canada (WR:18), Uruguay (WR:25), Mexico (WR:30), Peru (WR:38) and Cuba (WR:63).
In readiness for the event, but also with an eye to the future of hockey in Peru, two brand new water-based pitches have been laid. Gianni Delucchi, President of the Peru Hockey Federation is one delighted man as he reflects upon what the Olympic-standard pitches means for hockey development in Peru.
“I don’t know whether to say it is a dream come true or a task accomplished, but now we are looking forward to making much more progress,” says Delucchi. “We are going to rekindle and develop the passion for hockey that we have always had in South America and look to shorten the gaps between us [Peru] and the other, higher-ranked countries in the Pan American zone.”
The two new pitches are part of the Andrés Avelino Cáceres sports complex, where a number of different sports will be played during the Pan American Games. For the Peru Hockey Federation, the installation of the pitches is the result of a long process and a lot of hard work, and Delucchi and his team will be the proudest people at the stadium when the opening match starts proceedings at this blue riband event.
But for Delucchi, the Pan American Games is just the starting point. This project is about the long-term development of hockey in Peru, at both grass roots and elite level.
“The greatest challenge was to choose a location within Lima to build the venue,” says Delucchi. “This is the first one built from the ground up and has to serve as a vehicle for more people to engage in field hockey. The district of Villa Maria de Triunfo has a large young population, and we share the complex with other sports, so we can offer diverse opportunities to practice sports.
“The main legacy we want to create is to have a new home for field hockey not only for Peru, but for the Pan Am region. We will take up the challenge to grow the sport locally and to host events, taking advantage of the quality of these new facilities and its location. Lima has a mild weather all year long, and teams could come for training camps during their off seasons. We have plans to develop hockey for new players, but also to prepare the next generations of national team players.”
For now though, it is all about the spectacle of the Pan American Games. Delucchi is understandably nervous because hosting such a major event is a huge undertaking but, he says, when people arrive at the new stadium, they will be immediately blown away by the sheer quality of the facility.
While Delucchi has been working with the International Hockey Federation, the local organising committee and Lima 2019 to ensure the venue is ready, the national men’s and women’s team have been training hard to give the best account of themselves in front of the home crowd.
Fabrizio Corno is a seasoned member of the men’s national team. He says the team has been training five or six times a week at the new venue for the past few months. The ability to familiarise themselves with the new pitch is a big advantage to the team.
“We need to take advantage of the fact that we have two brand new pitches. It is important to get as many hours on the pitch as we possible. We are already seeing the team grow in performance and confidence. And it is not just about the techniques, we are also training hard physically because high levels of fitness are as much part of the modern hockey game as technical and tactical skills.”
Corno is realistic about his side’s chances against some world-class opposition. Peru’s opening game is against the much-improved USA and they also have top-10 team Canada in their pool.
“We know that we are going to face stronger and more experienced teams than us but we are not scared of the fact that the other teams have a higher ranking, or that they have more experience,” says Corno. "We will enter every single game full of energy, and full of will to demonstrate our style of hockey. We will show everyone that the Peruvian team is getting better with every experience. It is the first time that we are going to play in a competition of this importance, but the nerves are not getting to us.
“We are aiming to play the best hockey we can and to demonstrate to the other nations that Peru is a team that can surprise the hockey world in the future. We want to keep growing, to keep getting better, and I think that this competition will allow us to learn an incredible amount of things from the other teams. We are aiming to get out of this experience, the most positive feelings that we can.”
Equally determined to put on a great hockey show is Peru women’s team player Marianella Alvarez.
“We have spent a lot of time analysing the opponents we will face at the Pan Am Games. We’ve also increased our amount of training in recent days to fine-tune the final details of our game. We are not neglecting the mental and emotional preparation either. I would say the team is ready to face this tough tournament. Of course, there is still a gap between us and the other, higher-ranked teams, which will take years to reduce but we are making a huge breakthrough with this event.”
In preparation for the challenge ahead, the Peru women’s team has just returned from a two-week training camp in Buenos Aires where they faced a range of different teams with different playing styles.
For Alvarez, hosting the Pan American Games and the advent of the new facilities represents a watershed moment for hockey in Peru. “It marks a milestone for us. A before and after. Hockey in Peru will be different after the Pan American games.
“It is also the first time that family, friends, Peruvians in general, have been able to see us represent our national team in our city. This tournament will leave a legacy that is very important for our sport.”
This is a point that Corno also highlights: “We have had some hockey events in the past, but not of this magnitude, and not in the capital. Being part of the Pan American Games will showcase hockey to the whole country. The impact that this event is going to have is massive, it will allow us to show Peru what hockey is about.
“People in Peru will get the opportunity to learn about a different sport, and I think that this is going to be very important because it would allow us to attract more children to the sport. If we can increase the number of people that play the game, then the standard inevitably gets higher. This event is key for us to change hockey in Peru; it is the opportunity to take it to a whole new level.
And, leaving no doubt as to how important she sees this event in her sport’s history, Alvarez adds: “We will leave everything on the court. What we still lack, we will compensate with guts and passion. Doing our best is our responsibility, leaving with our head held high knowing that we gave it all, nothing to repent. We will run and play hockey on the court until we can no more, looking for the best possible result.”
