HOCKEY will complete their one hundred years of existence in the country at the end of the year with some good and bad memories the sport had to go through in the last century.
Today, the interest for the sport is not at the peak and it continues to drop since there are just a handful of hockey lovers who had kept the heart-beat of the hockey alive.
According to the Fiji Hockey Federation web site it is one of the oldest team sport played in the country which started way back in 1916 with six teams taking part in regular competition.
These teams were Services, Vitis and United who were taking part in the competition.
One of the respected chief, politician and the statesman Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna played in the Services team and he was believed to be the first Fijian recorded in Fiji’s hockey playing list according to the website.
Fiji Hockey head coach Hector Smith, who made his introduction in the game of hockey in 1973, had seen the changes taking place over the years.
He played along with current Fiji Hockey Federation president Dr. Robin Mitchell, John May and the team was coached by Harry Apted who is 90 today.
Smith said along with time there were also number of changes in the game as well.
“The biggest change in the region was the facilities that have been made possible in our country.
“Before we used to play on the grass and now there is turf for us,” he said.
“The number of hockey teams here are not encouraging at the moment compared with overseas countries.
“Our focus remains on the development of young players this year.”
Fiji Hockey Association turns 100 years old this year where a number of people had contributed towards the success of the sport.
Smith said before there were big numbers of teams from around the country but slowly the clubs died because of a number of contributing factors.
“We had some proud hockey records but we need to move on since our competitors are getting stronger and stronger.
“The facilities here in the country helped us to go the highest level of competition.”
Fiji’s most successful tour was in 1960 when the team won 11 of their 12 games overseas.
Smith who will turn 60 in November said he still remembered some of the historical achievements in the past.
“We won our first Oceania competition at the Albert Park in 1984 when we won gold. Later on we went on to play a Test match against eight ranked Canada who had just won a Melanesian tournament and were on their way to the Olympic Games,” he said.
“Though we lost 4-3 to them at Albert Park we did score an equaliser in the last minute but it was ruled dangerous by the empire who was a local. Our winger was the current Reserve Bank governor Barry Whiteside.
“It was a fantastic achievement by the team as we were coached by Morris Hedstrom.
“Two years later we drew a Test match with the United Sates of America and then we went on to win a Test against them later on.”
Smith took up the challenge of coaching the national team in 1999 and had guided Fiji to some of the best finish in the Pacific Games.
“Another major highlight in the 100 years would be 2013 when we won the World Series round one here,” he added.
“We have a lot of talent at home which gave us a gold medal win in the 1979 South Pacific Games in Fiji.
“After 36 years we again went on to win gold since there was only four teams who were willing to take part but we needed at least six teams. We have gone very far in all those years.”
Fiji Hockey plans to celebrate 100 years of existence with an invitational series in December and talks is underway with the China and Indian women’s and men’s hockey teams to play in the competition.
Along with the celebration plans, Smith, who is also a Oceania Hockey Federation’s regional development officer said they had a discussion on looking after the districts and the need for the players to grow the sport further.
“Our objective is to bring short-term expertise to Fiji and district coaches should attend the course and further their knowledge,” he revealed.
“We always had an opportunity to go to Olympics but our qualification part is hard since Australia and New Zealand remained strong. Australia is a world champion and New Zealand is in the top six.
“We are still continuing to thrive and I believe it is not impossible but it is very difficult.
“Australia select their players from 35,000 players available while we pick our team from 40-50 players.”
The members of the past teams met over dinner recently to map out ways in which the sport could prosper.
“We discussed during the dinner night that we want to find 1000 hockey friends who could contribute $1 every week for the six months duration. These people have a real passion for hockey and there could a winner at the end of the month and winner will be given some money,” he said.
“It can help the districts with the travelling and accommodation when they take part in the Inter-Districts Championship. Our elite players were doing very well continuously but we forgot about other things.
“Finance is a big problem for us as other sports are also facing the same problem. We don’t have any luxury at all.
“We were standing on our own and we are still standing on our own. At times we do get assistance but everything goes out in hiring the facilities.”
With all the hardship and the obstacles the sport is facing at the moment Smith and his team remain unmoved and are ready for the challenges ahead to get more achievements to Fiji.
