BELVEDERE—St. Maarten dominated the six-a-side hockey tournament they hosted on the Cruyff Court in Belvedere this weekend.
St. Maarten fielded two teams. Aruba had two and Curacao entered the competition with one team. St. Maarten A faced Aruba in the final and won 4-2. In the match for third place St. Maarten 1 beat Curacao 4-3.
The Championship team consisted of Paul Dijkhoffz, Everton Nelson, Sam Bashir, Gordon Snow, Mischa Dekker, Dionne Braat, Hente Ravesteijn, Edgar Gronovius, Caroline Hees, Gwendolyn de Kock and Mohamed Ayan.
Mischa Dekker was named top scorer of the tournament having netted 12 goals.
“This tournament was designed to be a fun event,” said Willem Dekker, one of the organizers. “I wanted the visitors to have fun and make friends. That absolutely happened. After the games the different teams mixed with each other and everyone went out together.”
The two-day tournament was the second outdoor hockey tournament the St. Maarten Hockey Club has hosted. The first was held in Belvedere five years ago. Curacao won with St. Maarten placing second.
Games were scored on a points system with the winner of a match receiving seven points. A draw was worth five and a loss netted the team three.
Action started Saturday Morning as St. Maarten 1 faced Curacao in the opener. The match ended in a 1-1 draw. St. Maarten A took the field next and won their first match 2-0.
The St. Maarten A would continue the competition without loss.
Just before lunch Curacao drew 4-4 against Aruba A.
Aruba returned to the pitch after lunch and was trounced by St. Maarten A 7-1. St. Maarten A went on to best Curacao 3-1 and then St. Maarten 1 4-0.
The tournament was sponsored by Heineken, Nagico, Heavenly Water, Holland House and SOAB the government internal auditor.
Next year Curacao will host the competition and Aruba is set to host in 2017.
Next year the St. Maarten Hockey Club, celebrating 20 years as a club, hopes to field a team at the Banks Beer Tournament that will be held in Barbados.
The club was founded in 1996 with only seven members. The club now consists of seasoned veterans and come and go players that are interns on job study programmes from the Netherlands.
The local Hockey Club meets twice a week to practice and play. Tuesday evenings they play indoors at the Melford Hazel Sport and Recreation Center and on Saturday morning they are outdoors at the pitch in Belvedere.
