Reproduced with kind permission from PlanetFieldHockey
The Junior Canadian Women’s Squad traveled to Cuba just before Christmas to play some tough games and continue
their preparation for the Junior World Cup, which will take place in Argentina in May. Canada’s Under 21 side played Cuba six times.
Stephanie Jameson plays midfield for the Canadian team. She has been part of the
Junior Women’s squad since the first training camp in 1998. Jameson also played in the team that competed successfully, earning a
third place finish, in the Junior World Cup Qualifier in Barbados last year.
From her home in Vancouver BC, she wrote to PlanetFieldHockey
about the tour, its importance in the team’s World Cup preparation and the people and culture of Cuba:
Our tour to Cuba served two main purposes: to give the coaches an opportunity to select the team that will go to the Junior World Cup
in Argentina in May and to give the team the opportunity to experience living conditions similar to what will be experienced in Argentina -
and test our coping abilities! We played the Cubans (a combination of their senior and junior teams - ages 18 to 23) each day that we
were there - a total of 6 games.
All of the games were very competitive and although we did not actually win any of the games, we carried much of the play most of the
games. (It has let us know that a major area we need to work on is our finish around the net!!). But it was a good test for us as the Cubans
are very fast, and this proved more and more evident as each day we were a little more tired. (It was very obvious to us on the final day as
we were for the most part exhausted and quite sore - Alisa won the prize as being the only player out of 22 to not seek medical attention once
during the tour!).
We practiced each day in the morning before the game and then practiced again after lunch. For the most part it was very hot and humid
(around 30 C) although we were "spoiled" on a couple of the days with temperatures around 22 C with cloudy skies and rain which made for
much more bearable playing conditions. Unfortunately however, the two afternoons that we got to leave the field early and go into Havana, it rained!
We had a guide/translator with us the whole week which was great, and she provided us with lots of history and served as an excellent tour guide
when we went into Havana. We took a bus tour and a walking tour of the historical part of Havana City, visited an open-air market where we could
bargain with the locals (luckily they spoke limited English because none of us really spoke any Spanish!) and she showed us where to buy the famous
Cuban cigars! The day before we flew out, we returned to Old Havana City for a little more shopping and sightseeing, and this time we visited a Cuban
Mall which was of course packed because it was 4 days before Christmas (something we kept forgetting because of the hot weather)!
A Different Culture
This trip was a major culture shock for most of us, as life really is different down in Cuba. The people have quite a different way of life and
they get by with very little. There is a lot of wonderful Spanish architecture but unfortunately many of the buildings are very run down as a result
of the lack of building materials available. One thing we noticed right away is that the majority of cars on the road are American cars from the 1940's
and 1950's - before the USA embargo. Our guide told us that Cuban mechanics have the reputation of being some of the best in the world as they are able
to keep these cars running after 50 or 60 years!
The people were generally very friendly and there were always people at the field helping us out, watering it and collecting balls for us. Every day
at lunchtime, anywhere from 20 to 50 schoolboys would climb up and sit on the stone wall that enclosed the field, to watch what was going on. Unfortunately
we had trouble communicating with them because of the language barrier but we seemed to be the most exciting thing going on for them, which was very
weird for us since field hockey does not usually generate much interest at home in Canada! Some of our team brought things to give out to the local people
(candy, paper, pencils, soap, etc.) so these boys came back in greater numbers each day, hoping for a little lunchtime treat! (Some of them got lucky and
even received old field hockey sticks and equipment!)
On the whole, it was definitely a good experience to test our coping techniques (surviving on bottled water, in the heat and without our favourite foods)
and the team that gets selected (in mid March) to go to the Junior World Cup in Argentina should be a little more prepared for what they will face on and
off the field in May!
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