THE future of the International Hockey Festival is in the balance after Kent and Sussex Regional league umpires deemed the facilities at Folkestone’s Cheriton Road ground unplayable.
The festival celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, but the event has gone downhill according to organisers, and no longer attracts top quality hockey sides.
The event, which is usually held at Easter and is the oldest festival in the country, is staged at the Cheriton Road sports ground.
It used to attract teams from all around the world and in 1988 the Great Britain squad arrived to take part in the competition.
There were a number of top international teams that used to descend on Folkestone to compete in the three-day event, but in recent years the number of high quality hockey teams has dwindled, because the facilities are not up to standard.
The festival is organised by Folkestone Optimist Hockey Club, who have been using the artificial pitch since it was laid in 1987.
The club claims the pitch has deteriorated so badly that league have deemed it unplayable and the Men’s 1st XI have been forced to play their games at the Towers School in Ashford.
Chairman Steve Shaw said he is concerned the club’s other nine teams will be unable to fulfil their fixtures, because other teams now refuse to play on the pitch.
He said: “Folkestone Optomists have been using the artificial pitch every Saturday since it was built in 1987. We pay £100 a game to use it, but nothing is put aside by Shepway Council for the maintenance of the pitch.
“The lights are not suitable for league hockey and on top of that, when they are damaged they are not properly repaired.
“For the last 10 years it has been degraded to such a level that we cannot play on it. Grass is growing through one side of the astro turf and the drainage is appalling. When it rains it just all cuts up. We are at a point where it is difficult to use and when the opposition refuse to play against there, it can be quite difficult to fulfil our fixtures.”
Shaw expects the festival to go ahead next year, but said if there is no upgrade in facilities at Cheriton Road, it will be even harder to stage the event.
He said: “Over the years the level of the pitches has just degraded and it has meant the festival has become just a social event now and there is no quality hockey there anymore. We have to take money through the bar because it is the only way we can survive.
“The umpires have said it is unsuitable to play a high grade of league hockey on. There are great objections from our opposition to play on such a shocking pitch.
“We will go ahead with the festival, but year on year it is getting harder to bring good teams down. We are getting university teams and low order teams that are equivalent to our 4th, 5th and 6th XI.
“The hockey festival used to be an international hockey event that attracted big teams from all around the country. The Great Britain squad have played at the ground, but there is no way something like that will happen again on that surface.”
A Shepway District Council spokesperson said: “We recognise that due to the age of the pitch there are some problems and we have been doing our best to improve the situation with remedial work.
"This has included using a machine to clear debris from the surface, which has proved quite successful apart from the area along the eastern edge. We are currently awaiting delivery of a specialised power brush to clear the debris in this lower area. We will then continue the programme of rolling that is proving successful in the central areas to alleviate the level problems.
“Though the replacement of the pitch has been highlighted as a priority, this will be very costly and we have to look at our options alongside other calls on our limited resources.”
POSTED: 12/11/2007 16:00:00
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