Archive for April 12th, 2011
Cayman gears up for Jamaica clash
(CRFU): Looking ahead to the 16 April NACRA Caribbean Championship Round 1 home game against. Jamaica, Cayman Rugby Football Union’s National Coach, Brad Cowdroy, said that since they were facing a relatively unknown team, it would be hard to plan for on the rugby pitch. The coach said he was expecting the Jamaican team to play their typical quick game, relying on their raw talent and speed to score tries, but that the Cayman team would try to reduce our errors to as close to nil as possible. The Cayman vs. Jamaica match will take place at the Cayman Rugby Football Club 16 April, 4pm kick off. (Photo National Coach Brad Cowdroy)
Q. Is your squad now finalised? A. The squad isn’t 100% finalised yet but I’ve got a pretty good idea who our starting XV will be: Ben McDonald, JS de Jager, Peter de Vere, Dan Bond, Doug Anderson, Craig Morgan, Josh Clarke, Ben Blair, Simon Crompton, Sam Sage, Keswick Wright, Joel Clarke, Michael Wilson, Dow Travers and Robbie Cribb.
As the squad is comprised of both players living on Island as well those away at University in the USA and UK, it has been impossible to apply the same selection parameters to both groups. In fact we will only be able to have one training session where all squad members are present. This presents numerous challenges for selection as we now have more capable and available squad members than ever before, but at the end of the day, it is a good problem to have. For those living on Island, the players were selected based on form in the local AA Cup as well as trainingattendance and performance. For those living off Island, we needed to ensure they were playing regular rugby at a good standard and generally keeping fit.
Q. What are you expecting from the Jamaican team? A. Jamaican is almost always a relatively unknown quantity on the rugby pitch which makes them hard to plan against. I would expect them to play their typical quick game, pouncing on any errors or scraps that we offer. They usually play a less structured game than we do and rely on their raw talent and speed to score tries. We will of course try to reduce our errors to as close to nil as possible.
Q. With that in mind have you been focussing on anything specific? A. Mainly on getting our set piece right at scrum and line-out time as we regard this as a strength of ours. We have also worked hard on our defensive patterns that will hopefully nullify any attack that Jamaica throws at us. Whilst we have focused on our set piece and forward play, we also have a number of our own fast backs and we will look to get the ball to them when the space opens up and play with flair and pace ourselves.
Q. Lastly, with all the young talent named on the squad are there any particular players to watch? A. We have a number of players coming back from University overseas to join the squad. All of them have gone through the local junior program and it is fantastic that we now have so many home grown players in our senior men’s squad. I am very much looking forward to watching them play with those few years of experience away now under their belt.
Live audio feed of game on www.caymanrugbytv.com from 4pm with full highlights package, including videos later in the weekend.
Tourism out of control, says National Geographic ed
(Travel mole.com): Tourism is out of control, according to Costas Christ, editor-at-large of National Geographic Magazine. Making the keynote speech at The 12th Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference in Bermuda last week, he said lack of control and awareness of sustainability has led to the destruction of many pristine sites. He cited examples such as Haad Rin, the venue for the infamous Full Moon party in Thailand. Christ believes the industry will only get it right if it heeds three basic principles: – Reduce, reuse, recycle, Protect culture, heritage and nature and ensure that tourism brings many social benefits for locals. “Whilst much progress has been made there is much more than can be done here in the Caribbean and in the rest of the world,” he said.
“No stone should be left unturned in our pursuit of a more sustainable environment and through that a more sustainable tourism product.”
Banks relieved as customers to pay for risks
(Daily Telegraph): Shares in leading British banks rose on Monday after an official report rejected radical change in the industry and said customers should help pay the price of preventing another financial crisis. The Independent Commission on Banking said banks should be made to hold larger capital reserves to ensure they could survive any future crises without requiring state help. That will push up the banks’ costs, which will be passed on to customers in the form of higher interest rates, the commission said. The result will be higher mortgage rates and, potentially, lower house prices, it said. The report said large banks like the Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays should "ring fence" their high street operations and their riskier investment arms.
But the commission stopped short of recommending that the banks separate their retail and investment operations completely.
That was a relief to the City, and banking shares rose on a day when the FTSE 100 was flat. Barclays was the biggest gainer, closing 2.8 per cent up, while Lloyds TSB and RBS also rose although HSBC fell.
Strong winds greet racing sailors
(CISC): The 5th Annual J22 International Invitational Regatta was held from 17 to 20 March on the North Sound, Grand Cayman. Hosted by the Cayman Islands Sailing Club the event attracted teams from the US, Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and the UK, all of whom came to take on the top 3 Cayman J22 teams. Windy conditions throughout the regatta with strong winds reaching almost 25 knots at times, made the racing challenging and exciting to watch. Day 1 was dominated by the Farrington brothers both representing Cayman. Simon Farrington on Sunshine won the first race but Mike Farrington on Just Leaving won the next two races to take a 2 point lead into Day 2.
Bahamas sailing legend Jimmie Lowe was close behind in third spot. The rest of the fleet struggled to control their spinnakers in the strong conditions with Marc Fischer from Rochester, USA breaking a spinnaker pole in an unplanned broach.
Day 2 saw more consistent performances from Marc Fischer and Craig Symonette from the Bahamas but the top three boats continued to dominate the podium positions. It was a similar story on Day 3 although Jimmie Lowe was by now reading the conditions well and challenging Mike Farrington in close fought races. Just Leaving relished the competition and sailed ever harder to take the regatta overall with a fine record of 8 wins out of 9.
The Just Leaving crew has been the dominant force in the J22 class in Cayman over the past 2 years and are undertaking an overseas campaign this year. They recently competed in the North American Midwinter regatta in Tampa and will be going to the J22 World Championship competition later this year. The Cayman youth team skippered by Chris Delaney and helmed by Thomas Hanson aboard DMS sailed well throughout the regatta with consistent results in demanding conditions.
The regatta organising committee would like to thank Heineken and Jacques Scott who helped to sponsor the social events and Compass Marine and Harbour House Marina who sponsored the trophies. Plans are already underway for Race Cayman 2012 with visiting teams eager to return. Craig Symonette from the Bahamas said, “This is our third year coming to Cayman and we will definitely return next year. It is such a well organised and fun regatta that we could bring as many teams as you can accommodate”.
Next year will also feature a youth event, the Western Caribbean Optimist Championship which will be sailed alongside the J22 regatta and over 30 young competitors from overseas are expected to attend the Championship.
Final Results
Rank Helm Name Nat R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 Total Nett
1st Mike Farrington CAY -2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 8
2nd Simon Farrington CAY 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 -3 3 19 16
3rd Jimmie Lowe BAH 3 -6 3 3 4 3 3 2 2 29 23
4th Craig Symonette BAH -6 3 5 4 3 4 5 4 6 40 34
5th Marc Fischer USA 7 5 7 5 5 5 4 10 4 52 42
6th Thomas Hanson CAY 4 4 6 -8 6 6 6 6 5 51 43
7th Bruce Johnson CAN 5 7 4 -9 8 8 7 5 8 61 52
8th Jo Richards BER 10 10 8 6 7 7 8 8 7 71 61
9th Steve Adams GBR 8 8 -9 7 9 9 9 7 9 75 66
A hatrick for Nicol David
(CNS): It took a brutal hour for World #1 Nicol David of Malaysia to claim the Cayman Islands Squash Open throne once more, defeating World #2 Jenny Duncalf of England in 4 games in hot and humid conditions on the glass court. For most of the game, both players were patient and created an intricate squash scene for the audience to enjoy. With Duncalf looking a little despondent at times, the Malaysian opened up an 8-1 lead in the second, and although Duncalf made a late revival, it was too late as David finished it off 10-6. However, in the fourth David’s patience and accuracy dictated the majority of the game where she finished Duncalf 11-4 to seal the deal and win yet another Cayman Open. (Photo by Squashsite.co.uk)
The final score-line was 11-7, 11-6, 12-14, 11-4.
The Men’s final broke the predictions for the night when World #1 Ramy Ashour of Egypt lost in 49 minutes to World #19 Alister Walker of England. Both players exemplified their abilities by producing a range of beautiful shots and desperation to pull through during the course of the tightly contested match. As usual, Ashour’s impressive shotmaking ability seemed overwhelming at times to the Englishmen (originally from Botswana). However, Walker managed to fire back with fast and furious retrieving and accurate shots to the back of the court, diminishing Ashour’s hopes of winning.
All well contested and heated battles must come to an end and after grueling long rallies, Ashour created an error at the front of the court, allowing Walker to walk away with the Cayman Open crown.
The third edition of the Cayman Islands Squash Open entailed a mix of fortunes for the participants, who came from 20 nations spreading over 6 continents worldwide. It took place during the 3 to 9 April, attracting its largest audience ever and showcasing the highest squash talents the world has to offer, with 17 of the top 20 women in the world participating.
This tournament recently became a Gold Event for WISPA (Women’s International Squash Players Association), finally, transpiring into one of the highest caliber events to take place on the planet for women’s squash.
Camana Bay, this year’s site sponsor, was the host of this prominent squash tournament for the second year running. Tournament Promoter, Dan Kneipp, said Camana Bay holds a stunning scene, and truly highlights Caribbean culture just by its hospitable atmosphere and modernized architecture. The general objective of the Tournament was to develop sports tourism, cater to the growth of interest of Squash in the Cayman Islands and, most importantly, to improve Junior Squash so that many more young aspiring children of all ages can be successful in all they do through squash.
Kneipp says that Cayman’s Cameron Stafford (19) is one of the major success stories through the Junior Programme and that with a larger growth in the Junior Programme, many more success stories can forge into reality.
Although Stafford witnessed his swan song match against Jamaica’s Chris Binnie in the Men’s Quarterfinals in this year’s Cayman Open, the National Flag carrier (Cayman Airways) donated 12 flights to and from New York to help aid him in his Professional Squash Career. Stafford was full of smiles and happily accepted the gift and thanked Cayman Airways upon receiving the check.
Buccaneers end Iguana dreams
(CRFC):The Krys Global Buccaneers defeated the John Doak Architecture Iguanas on 2 April at the Cayman Rugby Club to earn their first trophy of the 2011 season and yet again, end the Iguanas hopes of winning their first even double. The Iguanas, who won the 2011 Alex Alexander Memorial League Trophy were marginal favourites going into the game but with 3 starting players missing from the line up and a string of injuries early in the game the Buccaneers were able to dominate proceedings for the majority of the match.(Photo Caroline Deegan)
Albeit for the teams being on equal pegging after twenty minutes 10-10 the Buccaneers strolled in the points thereafter as the Iguanas fought to stay in contention.
Albeit for the teams being on equal pegging after twenty minutes 10-10 the Buccaneers strolled in the points thereafter as the Iguanas fought to stay in contention.
With Morgan Hayward kicking for goal and centre partnership of John Murphy and Chris Palmer pressuring the Iguana back line throughout, the win was in little doubt for the Buccaneers. The only question was by what margin would the Buccaneers win by?
John Doak Architecture Iguanas 20-48 Krys Global Buccaneers
With 3 out of 4 teams taking home silverware in 2011 the Cayman Rugby XV’s season ended on a happy note for the league organisers and fans and the Cayman Union now switches gears into International mode as the Caribbean Championships come to Cayman on 16 April.
All games are available to watch free on www.caymanrugbytv.com
Next games: April 16, 2011 at the Cayman Rugby Club
Caribbean Rugby Championships Round 1
Cayman vs. Jamaica @4pm
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CASC U15 team wins double cup
(CASC): Cayman Athletic Sports Club Under Fifteen Team created history on Sunday April 10th, at the T.E. McField Annex Field, when they defeated Academy 2-1 to win the CIFA -U 15 FA Cup. Scoring for Cayman Athletic was Ernie Jacques while the second goal was given as an own goal against Academy after it bounced off the foot of Kevin Foster. This is the third season that the Ernie “Gillie” Seymour coached Team, are the Double Cup champions having also won the U 15 League Cup as well on Monday April 4th. This season’s team was co-captioned by Roshaine Anderson and Kevin “Chicken” Foster.
The team overcame injuries, exhaustion, “some having played just the day before in the U 13 League” to prove that, “if you want something bad enough you have to work hard for it.”
Cayman Athletic Sports Club is a non-profit organization geared towards helping, especially the children of the Cayman Islands to better promote positive sportsmanship and healthy living through football. This club consists of an U-13, U-15, U-17 and a First Division men’s team. There are over 90 youth and young men in the club ranging in age from 8-30. Under the leadership of Coach Gillie and a strong Executive Team, made up of dedicated parents, the young club which was founded in 2006 has achieved some of the following accolades.
2008 –
Wales – Welsh Shield Cup Under 10 Winners
Under 13 Challenge Cup Runners Up.
2009 –
Under-13 League Champions
Under-15 League Champions
Under-17 third place winners,
Uunder-13 FA CUP 2009 CHAMPIONS
Under-15 FA CUP 2009 CHAMPIONS
Under-17 FA CUP RUNNER-UPS
The Under-13 team was also the 2009 winners of the first Super Cup Competition organized by CIFA Youth Committee.
2010 –
U 13 League Champions
U-13 FA Cup Runner-Ups
U 15 LeagueChampions
U-15 FA Cup Champions
U 17 FA Cup Runner-Ups
U 15 Coach of the Year – Gillie Seymour
2011-
U 13 FA Cup Runners-Up
U 13 3rd Place League
U 17 2nd Place League Winners
The club would like to thank the parents, fans and sponsors namely, Central Cooling, Law Firm Stuarts – Walkers – Hersant , Financial Integrated Services, Moneygram, Health Care Pharmacy , Miss Martin and GTPS and everyone who has quietly supported the club throughout the past seasons.
World Cup Winner headed to Cayman
(CRFC): The Cayman Rugby Football Union has confirmed that Philip J. Vickery MBE will be the guest speaker at the Union’s annual Players Dinner to be held at the Arts and Recreation Centre at Camana Bay on 17 June 2011. Vickery, nicknamed “the Raging Bull”, was a member of England’s Rugby World Cup winning squad in 2003, playing in all seven matches in the tournament. He is also a former England captain. Vickery ended his club rugby career at London Wasps in 2010 having joined the London side in 2006 after eleven years with Gloucester Rugby Club.
He played in three Rugby World Cups, including as England captain in the 2007 Tournament where England lost in the final to South Africa in France. Vickery amassed 73 caps for England over a 12 year period and also gained 5 British and Irish Lions caps on tours to Australia in 2001 and South Africa in 2009.
In recent years the Cayman Rugby Union has hosted such Rugby greats as Gavin Hastings, Martin Bayfield, Brian Moore and with Vickery’s impressive career he will no doubt continue that growing tradition!
Tables of 10 at the dinner can be reserved by emailing crfu@candw.ky and individual tickets can be purchased over the Cayman Rugby Club bar at a cost of CI$100.00 per head or CI$125.00 for non union members. The dinner features a 3 course seated dinner with complimentary beer and wine served throughout the event.
Business lease rates erratic
(CNS): A recently published study by local chartered surveyors and property consultants, Charterland, shows that it pays for businesses to shop around in the Cayman Islands when looking for commercial property to lease, with wide disparities revealed between the cost of leases of various commercial propertiesin and around the George Town and Seven Mile Beach corridor. The Cayman Property Review 2010 study looked at all commercial lease transactions that took place in 2010 and found that the quality of a building’s infrastructure did not seem to matter when it came to the price of the lease.
Citrus Grove is considered one of the most prestigious buildings competing for premier office users, designed to be one of the most hurricane-resistant buildings in Cayman and is described by Charterland as a Class A building (as classified by the Building Owners and Managers Association based in the United States). Yet its rents were not the most expensive, with a new lease agreed upon in 2010 by DRC (Cayman) Ltd renting from landlord UBW Ltd at CI$35.44 per square foot for a term of three years.
Although this rent is markedly higher than the 2004 rent agreed between another Citrus Grove tenant, the Cayman Islands Government, which paid CI$33.18 per square foot, it is a good deal less than Cable and Wireless’ recent variation to its lease with Anderson Square Development Co. They pay CI$40.19 per square foot for their 4,000 square foot rental and have done so since the lease was originally registered in June 2005. Anderson Square is termed a Class B building, which means it falls into the “fair to good “ category for finishes for the area and systems are adequate.
Another Class B property charging one of the highest rents to its tenant was DMS House, which saw a variation in the licence between landlord Commercial Properties Limited and The Governor of the Cayman Islands with regard to an original lease of December 2004. The original lease equated to CI$42.34 per square foot and the variation which took place in 2010 saw no change to this price.
On the other hand, Class A building Cayman Corporate Centre agreed two leases with the Cayman Islands Government as its tenant last year – a two year lease for CI$30.19 per square foot and another for CI$28.84 per square foot, which perhaps indicates that Government did its homework and shopped around for a good deal in this case.
The report also highlights that it might be worthwhile shopping around among various sites within a property and considering where possible sub-letting from existing tenants.
Class A property Camana Bay’s head-lessee Ernst & Young sub-let 4,800 square feet of office space to sub-lessee Caribbean Publishing Co (Cayman) Ltd in March 2010 for seven years for CI$33.81 per square feet. It also sub-let 2,361 square feet to Willis Management (Cayman) Ltd for a similar term for CI$34.71 per square feet. A transfer of an existing Camana Bay lease from Garmin Ltd to KOCH Nitrogen International SARL last year highlighted that the transferee was paying CI$41.01 per square feet for its five year lease of 824 square feet.
In the study commercial properties that rent to retail outlets are not classified into different categories and Charterland only looked at retail leases in the Seven Mile Beach area. Costs of leases in this area varied wildly.
Blackbeards Trading Company Ltd has the rawest deal among retail lease transactions last year, paying CI$83.67 per square foot on the 800 square feet it rented for a term of five years from landlord KDC Holdings Co Ltd in its Cayman Falls location. Regency Court is another high-priced property for retail, charging from CI$41.08 to CI$54.76 on leases registered in 2010.
Savvy retail outlets at The Marquee and Marquee Plaza area negotiated leases in 2010 from just CI$14.03 to CI$33.23 per square foot. Camana Bay tenants in the retail business also got a fair deal, paying from CI$12.06 to CI$27.43 per square foot for their leases agreed last year.
Stewart Connelly from Charterland Ltd states that the data and commentary in their report is for general information purposes only and that qualified chartered valuation surveyors are best hired to establish market rent of any property. He also states that the terms of the lease need to be studied as they will impact market rent prices as well.
See full report below
Cargo plane diverts to Cayman with cracked window
(CNS): A UPS plane was diverted to the Owen Roberts International Airport in George Town on Sunday, after a crack emerged in the cockpit windshield. Although officials at the airport were unable to confirm the details, according to a statement made by UPS Airlines Public Relations Manager, Mike Mangeot, to Cayman27, the Boeing 757 aircraft was en route from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Miami, Florida, when it encountered problems and was forced to make the unscheduled landing in Grand Cayman at around 7pm.
“The aircraft experienced some issues with one of the cockpit windows, and the crew diverted to the nearest airport out of an abundance of caution. No one was hurt and there was no impending danger,” Mangeot said.
He also said the aircraft was scheduled to have its window repaired today will resume flying by early Tuesday morning.