2007 Hockey Youth Marathon Celebrated in Ghana

Ghana Hockey climaxed the celebration of the annual FIH Global Youth Marathon on Saturday May 12 with activities at 6 locations in the Accra and Tema Metropolis.

The celebrations pushed-off in the fishing community of Tema New Town where a group of young boys and girls brought along their friends to indulge in their new found passion on one of the community’s open areas.

The youth of Community 3 in Tema undertook their Saturday morning hockey on the usual available space around the block of flats. The young lads had great fun in-spite of the obstacles from concrete works dotted around the ground.

In the western corridor of Accra, specifically, the Dansoman township where soccer is the preferred sport, a group of young boys and girls led by 2 youth trainers Messrs Amarte and Ahadjie virtually brought their community to a standstill with some sublime hockey skills on a small patch of land they share with some garages and vehicles. The presence of the television crew from GTV caught the eyes of many mothers who let their children out to join the fun.

The forest of trees in the Presbyterian Boys Secondary school in Legon provided a perfect picnic situation for families and additionally, offered the youth a place to play the game of hockey with a combination of recommended equipment and improvised sticks made from naturally curved wood harvested from the forest and soft balls made from socks filled with rags.

Perhaps the most fascinating event of the day was the celebration on the beach which caught the eyes of many and whetted the appetite of young boys and girls who were out with their parents to relax on the beautiful sand. Indeed, some of the young boys gave up their soccer ball to try their hands at the sport they only watch being played on the television. With the recent launching of beach sports in Ghana, the game easily attracted both young and old who watched closely and later joined in the fun.

The event was featured very much by the GHA’s media partners before and during the celebration. The GHA evaluated the entire celebration to be very successful and wish to express the appreciation of the Executive Board and the hockey family to the youth trainers and volunteers who devoted their time to organize the celebration, the youth who participated, the parents who supported the programme and most of all the media partners who publicised it.