On August 29, New York City Sports Commissioner Kenneth J. Podziba will welcome the 10th Annual Big Apple Hockey Festival - Mayor's Cup to the Aviator Sports & Recreation Complex in Brooklyn. This four-day field hockey tournament will feature 22 teams from around the world including teams from Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Spain, Canada and the USA. The tournament will begin play with a round-robin format on Friday, August 29 at noon and will culminate on Monday, September 1 with the women's final and men's final at 3:00 PM and 4:00 PM, respectively. The awards ceremony will immediately follow the championship matches.

"The Big Apple Hockey Festival - Mayor's Cup will celebrate its 10th anniversary with four days of non-stop field hockey at Brooklyn's Aviator Sports & Recreation Complex," said Commissioner Podziba. "Every year, this fantastic event brings teams from all over the world to New York City, as athletes from various backgrounds celebrate their shared passion for the sport of field hockey. With the recent conclusion of the Olympic Games in Beijing, this is a great opportunity for New Yorkers to come out and watch this fast-paced Olympic sport in person."

The tournament, organized by Big Apple Hockey, Inc. (BAHF) in partnership with the New York City Sports Commission, is sanctioned by the United States Field Hockey Association - the national governing body for the sport of field hockey. The teams will compete in separate men's and women's divisions. The favorites for the tournament are two first time participants: Toronto Lions FHC from Ontario, Canada in the men's division and Junior FC from Spain on the women's side. Malvern FHC from Trinidad & Tobago (men) and Big Apple HC USA (women) are also expected to vie for the top prize.

"It gives me great pride as we get ready to welcome all teams, especially our foreign visitors to the Big Apple," said Nigel Traverso, Tournament Director. "On behalf of BAHF, Inc., this year we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of this event, and would like to thank Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Podziba for their continued support of the sport of field hockey and our organization."

The winners and runners-up in each division will receive individual trophies and a total cash purse of $10,000. Games will begin at noon on Friday, August 29 and start at 8:00am Saturday through Monday. Admission to the tournament is free to the general public.

For more information about the festival, please visit 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. In recent years, the Sports Commission has played a 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.