On May 24, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba will welcome the Big Apple Memorial Six-A-Side Tournament to New York City. This two-day field hockey tournament, held at Aviator Sports & Recreation Complex in Brooklyn, will feature 60 field hockey teams in four divisions--Men's, Women's, Under-16 Girls and Under-19 Girls.

"In the five years since its inception, the Big Apple Memorial Six-A-Side tournament has grown into the largest field hockey event in New York City," said Commissioner Podziba. "The growth of this tournament as well as the growth of the sport of field hockey in New York City can be attributed to the tireless efforts of Nigel Traverso and Big Apple Hockey. Now that the Aviator Sports & Recreation Complex is the new home for this event, the tournament can continue to expand until it becomes one of the largest field hockey tournaments in the world."

The tournament is also starting to attract international attention as teams from Switzerland and Jamaica will be participating for the first time. Additionally, all of the champions from 2007--Team Dita (women), The Edge FHC (U-16 Girls) and CNY (U-19 Girls)--will return to defend their respective titles.

Field hockey has roots dating back to the Ancient Olympic Games and has clearly established itself as one of the world's most popular sports. Field hockey has several regular and prestigious international tournaments for both men and women such as the quadrennial World Cups, the annual Champions Trophies, and World Cups for juniors.

"It brings me great pleasure to witness this event blossom from 20 teams to 60 teams in just five short years," said tournament director Nigel Traverso. "Thanks to the Aviator Sports & Recreation Complex, we are able to increase the number of teams in this year's event, and accommodate over 500 athletes from both domestic as well as international teams. We are hoping that we will be able to call the Aviator Sports & Recreation Complex the permanent home of BAHF, Inc. and host of future Big Apple Field Hockey events."

Aviator Sports & Entertainment Complex is located on Flatbush Avenue just south of Belt Parkway, Exit 11S in Brooklyn. Games will begin on May 24 and continue on May 25 with the adult championships concluding the tournament. Awards presentations will follow each championship game.

The two-day tournament will include eleven teams from New York State of which seven are from New York City. Pennsylvania will be well represented with a total of fifteen teams, followed closely by New Jersey with fourteen teams. There will also be teams from Florida, Connecticut and Delaware.

For further information, please visit the BAHF website at www.bigapplehockey.com.

BAHF, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization, formed to promote and increase public awareness of the sport of field hockey in the New York and Tri-state areas through visibility and participation. It is the mission of BAHF, Inc. to foster the spirit of competition, exposure, development and participation in the sport of field hockey.

The New York City Sports Commission is the mayoral agency charged with attracting, facilitating and promoting professional, amateur and scholastic sports events in New York City. The Sports Commission has played an integral role in creating or developing many new sporting events, including the NFL Kickoff Live from Times Square, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series™ Champions Week, the BMC Software NYC Cycling Championship, the AVP Brooklyn Open, the NAUTICA NYC Triathlon, the NYC Half-Marathon, the Union Square Street Sessions presented by Jeep®, the Wild Onion Urban Adventure Race, and the Men's Health Urbanathlon.