Cayman teens to compete in 1st youth Olympics

| 08/08/2010

(CNS): A team of Cayman’s young aquatic athletes will be heading to Singapore on Tuesday for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG), which takes place Saturday 14 August until 26 August. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will see 5,000 athletes and officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) running, throwing , jumping and riding into the history books. Watched by an estimated 1,200 media representatives, more than 370,000 spectators and assisted by 20,000 local and international volunteers,  the athletes — aged between 14 and 18 years — will compete in 26 sports and take part in Culture and Education Programme. The Cayman Islands Olympic team will participate in sailing and swimming.

The team will be led by a young Chef de Mission Heather Roffey, a previous Cayman National Athlete and Olympian. Coach Dominic Ross will manage two athletes in swimming – Lara Butler (women’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100 m butterfly) and Seije Groome (men’s 200m breaststroke and men’s 200m Individual Medley). Coach Michael Weber will manage one athlete in Sailing – Elizabeth Wauchope (Girls Byte). NOC President Donald Mclean will attend the Games to support the Cayman Team.
 
The Cayman Olympic Committee said aside from its athletes, the pins are also expected  to be very popular and bound to be a focus of collectors.
 
“There are two pins that have been designed by a local young artist, Kaitlyn Elphinstone, who was also a Cayman National Athlete. One pin depicts a school of fish, and the other is set in the pattern of a turtle shell with baby turtles adorning the shell,” the committee said.
 
The main focus of these Games is not so much “winning” but the cultural and educational aspects of the Games which all athletes will be expected to participate in. Many activities are planned and more information is available on the Games website at www.singapore2010.sg.
 
Athlete results will earn points for their continental region, and relays will be set to allow athletes from different countries to participate for their continent. The overall winner of the Games will be a continent and not a country.
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  1. anonymous says:

    My friends from Saint John, NB, Canada are in Singapore now and their daughter is representing Canada in Basketball at the games!  If you have friends from Cayman, (or any country for that matter), you can watch the Opening and Closing Ceremonies plus all the games as well "free" and "live" on the internet at this website.

    The opening ceremonies start in 7 hours!

    http://www.youtholympicgames.org/

     Hope that helps!

  2. Leap of Faith says:

    This is a wonderful opportunity for these youngsters!  I wish them all the best.

    Please Mr. Premier offer your support from here in Cayman, there is NO need for you to trapse over there on our tab.

  3. Beachboi says:

    Wonderful news for our young athletes, but why was it necessary to pay for NOC President Donald McLean’s flight and accommodations?  He is going to "support" the athletes, but this seems an awful lot to pay for him to travel so far for "support"!

    • Anonymous says:

      The Chef de Mission is quite young, what is wrong with a more experienced member of the NOCgoing along to support and perhaps also advise? And this is not public money, the funds are entirely from the NOC.. why do you have to be such a hater, Beachboi?