Reunion evokes fond memories for former Guyana female athletes

By RON FANFAIR
The sheer joy on the faces of some who hadn’t seen teammates for decades was unfathomable. Others were thrilled to join the reunion that brought former Guyana Women’s Field Hockey players together in Toronto over the holiday weekend at the start of August.
The organizing committee comprised Hazel Khan (Sheriff), Brenda Sheriff, Claudette Joseph, Donna Thomson (Burgan), Beverly Kissoon, Veronica Thomas (Wentt), June Dias (Stokes), Myrtle Thompson-George, Monica DeSouza (Henriques), Regina Cheong (Lissone), Roxanne Hinds (Hill) and Marilyn Thijs-Farnum.
Alumnae residing in Canada, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Mexico, the United States and England participated in the fun-filled event, including a Meet & Greet, dinner, a hockey game and a farewell barbecue.
Sisters Lynn de Cambra-McLeod, Sally Burrowes and Nancy Dietrich travelled from three countries to be part of the festivities. They reunited in Spain last year.
“I recognize some of the names and faces, but I am having difficulty putting them together,” said de Cambra-McLeod who played centre and inside forward for Georgetown Football Club (GFC) and Guyana which she represented from 1970 to 1974 before moving to Barbados 50 years ago at age 21. “It was very exciting and emotional for me.”
She also represented Barbados in hockey, squash and golf.
Burrowes played for British Guiana in 1958, 1960 and 1961 before migrating to England in 1962 where she is based.
“To represent the colony back in those days was very fulfilling,” said the octogenarian who umpired in England and coached in Australia. “You were held in high esteem once you were chosen to play for British Guiana.”
What is Burrowes favorite hockey moment?
“Scoring my first goal in Guyana while playing inside left against Trinidad & Tobago,” said the avid golfer who is celebrating 60 years of marriage this year to Arthur Burrowes. “It was quite a moment doing that on home soil in front of the local crowd.”
Mexico-based Dietrich turned out for GFC and wore the Guyana colours in the regional series in Jamaica in 1970.
“That was a great experience even though we lost,” she said. “My favourite memory was riding the same bus with the Trinidad team who sang ‘Trinidad, We Want A Goal’. The Trinis were united as a team and a force to be reckoned with.”
Their mother, Molly de Cambra who was married to former New Building Society Director/Secretary Jules de Cambra, also played the sport.
While in the Greater Toronto Area, the sisters visited their mother’s gravesite in Brampton.
A contingent of 11 former players – eight of them came in vehicles – from the United States were at the event.
They were prolific goal scorer Ava Haynes who captained Guyana in 1988, Agnes Duke and Beverly Hinckson who played for GFC, Merle Thompson (John), Deborah Boyce-Grant, Lynette Daniels, Jillian Hyman, Debrah Marques-Robinson, Janet Allen (Smartt), Jackie Lloyd, the younger sister of former West Indies cricket captain Clive Lloyd, and former Guyana Women’s Hockey Association Secretary Claire Patterson-Monah.
“This was an amazing experience,” said the former GFC member who toured Trinidad & Tobago with the club in 1978. “We rekindled friendships and enjoyed the camaraderie. On the field, the competitive spirit was very much alive. I am so happy I made the trip from New York.”
Just starting high school at age 12, Regina Cheong (Lissone) represented a Guyana Sports Club team against a touring United States field hockey contingent in 1969.
Her introduction to top-level competition at a tender age was not surprising as she comes from a hockey family and has been playing the sport since age five.
Clive Lissone, who is deceased, and brother Patrick ‘Bully’ Lissone played the game and were Rovers Hockey Club coaches.
“Patrick was the one that pushed me even though Clive was the accomplished coach,” the centre forward and youngest of six siblings recalled. “I had just begun high school at St. Joseph when I got the call and was so excited to be playing among women that I looked up to.”
Her teammates included half-back Jennifer Singh (Francisco).
“Because Regina was immersed in the sport for a few years, she fitted in well,” said Singh. “She was tough and fierce and the team embraced her.”
Cheong played for and coached Ookipks in Canada and was an Ontario head coach for 15 years and an assistant coach with the national team.
Thecla Perreira, who at age 91 was the oldest former player at the four-day reunion, represented Guyana as a player/manager for a decade until 1974.
The cousin of Caribbean sports personality Joseph ‘Reds’ Perreira also played with and coached Bookers and Shamrocks before migrating to Canada where she turned out for Nomads.
He engaged her in a brief video call during the dinner event.
“Though not very athletic, Thecla marked well and was a very hardworking and consistent defender,” said Perreira who resides in St. Lucia.
A Rovers member for a decade until 1975 and a Guyana team member three years earlier, Maureen Dow (DeFreitas) travelled from Calgary, Alberta where she has resided for the last 49 years.
“I could not miss this wonderful occasion,” she said.
George Powdar, who coached national women’s teams from 1978 to 1982, and ex-national player/coach Dennis Fung coached the sides while Hazel Khan (Sheriff) and Sharon Jardine were the match referees.
A member of the Guyana Under-19 soccer team and Central High School which won the Wight Cup third division cricket competition in 1969, Powdar and his wife – Carol Powdar (Sampson) – met while they were with Guyana Sports Club.
“When I joined the club (in 1970), she was already there,” said the multi-sport athlete who represented Guyana in hockey at the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City.
His wife, who is also part of a hockey family with her sister Donna and their late brother Haydock Sampson playing the sport, donned the Guyana uniform in the Caribbean championship in 1974 and 1976.
“I have not seen some of these women since I left Guyana 40 years ago,” Sampson said. “Being here this weekend brings back a lot of memories.”
Marilyn Thijs-Farnum and Donna Thomson (Burgan) led the local committee that organized the event.
“The team that came together to pull this off was fantastic,” said Thijs-Farnum who played for Guyana from 1972 to 1976. “We also had a lot of support from families and friends who made financial contributions and they should be applauded. When it came to the game, we had a lot of fun. Some of us thought we could still run like we did back in the day, but that was not the case. Overall, we had a great time.”
During the dinner, deceased players and coaches were recognized. The group included Mercylyn Bourne, Janis Longe, Ingrid Hazlewood (Burgan) and Lynette Wilson and coaches Clive Lissone, Harry Shepherd and Derek Whitehead.
‘Reds’ Perreira said that many of the alumnae played during the ‘golden age’ of women’s hockey in the 1950s, 60s and early 70s.
“In that period, there were several outstanding players like Anne Castanheiro (Dummett) and her sister-in-law Margaret Castanheiro who resides in Jamaica, Rita Braithwaite from Berbice who played wing, the Mittelholzers, Edna Northey in goal and Victoria Caetano (she is the wife of late table tennis player Eddie Caetano who defeated Barbadian Robert Earle to win the men’s singles title and teamed up with George Braithwaite to capture the doubles crown at the 1972 Caribbean championship in Port-of-Spain).
“In the early days, British Guiana (now Guyana), Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica competed in a triangular series. British Guiana fared well. Their main competition came from Trinidad & Tobago. The standard of the sport was very high and there were big crowds attending matches.”
The next reunion will take place in Guyana in July 2026.