Sports
Opening rally kicks-off 10th CUC PFL season
(CUC-PFL): The customary Opening Rally kicks-off the 2014/2015 CUC Primary Football League (PFL) season this Saturday, September 27 beginning at 9:00am at the traditional home of local football, the T.E. McField Sports Field (Annex Field) in George Town. The 2014/2015 season marks 10 years of sponsorship of the PFL by CUC, a milestone the company is very proud of. Defending Rally champions Cayman Prep aim to continue their winning ways this season. The Rally was one of three trophies the school collected from the 2013/2014 season as they also claimed the Under 11 and Under 9 Champions Cups in January 2014.
The Opening Rally has always been highly entertaining and very competitive with 14 schools competing this year including defending Rally champions Cayman Prep, runners-up Prospect Primary, third-placed NorthEast Schools and fourth-placed St. Ignatius Prep. Other schools competing include Bodden Town Primary, George Town Primary, Savannah Primary, Sir John A. Cumber Primary, Red Bay Primary, Cayman Brac, Cayman International School, South Sound Schools, Truth For Youth and Triple C.
The Opening Rally is an exciting, fast-paced one-day tournament with games being a short 10 minutes per half with no offsides. Games must end with a winner. If games are tied at the end of the 20 minutes, penalties will decide the victor.
The first round of play is the group stage with schools being divided into two groups of three schools and two groups of four. Schools play each other once in their respective group with the two top teams from each group advancing to the second round – the knockout stage. From the quarter finals, the semi-finalists are decided with the resulting two winners advancing to the final and the two losers playing for third and fourth place.
The two groups of three schools include Zone A with Cayman International School, Prospect Primary and Savannah Primary and Zone D with Cayman Prep, Red Bay Primary and South Sound Schools. The two groups of four schools include Zone B with Bodden Town Primary, George Town Primary, StIgnatius Prep and Truth For Youth and Zone C with Cayman Brac, NorthEast Schools, Sir John A Cumber Primary and Triple C.
The PFL Committee encourages fans of “the powerful game” and youth sports in general to make their way to the T.E. McField Sports Field (Annex Field) this Saturday to cheer on the youngsters.
Special thanks to contributing sponsors Progressive Distributors, the CUC Primary Football League’s exclusive supplier of Gatorade.
FIFA orders officials to give back luxury watches
(CNS): The world football body is embroiled in another scandal involving ethics issues following revelations that managers from the administrative arm of the game had received US$26,000 watches as gifts during the world cup in Brazil. FIFA has ordered that all 65 Parmigiani watches are handed in to the ethics committee investigators by 24 October and no further action will be taken against those who had accepted the ‘gifts’ in contravention of the football body’s rules. CNS asked CONCACAF if the regional president and VP of FIFA, Jeff Webb, had received and taken one of the watches but the question was unanswered and we were directed to the FIFA statement.
Given his position Webb almost certainly received one of the luxury watches which were delivered in gift bags to a group comprising the 28 officials on the FIFA Executive Committee, a representative from each of the 32 Member Associations competing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and a representative from each of the 10 Member Associations in Conmebol.
Some officials immediately reported the delivery of the watches, which the Brazilian Football Confederation had said came from a sponsor and were bought for USD 8,750 each although they were alter valued at much more. FIFA said that in mid-June, “several football officials” reported that they had received what appeared to be valuable watches. It is not clear if Webb was one of those who alerted other officials about the gift bags.
An investigation into the issue was triggered and undertaken by the FIFA Ethics Committee in which the independent appraisal determined that the watch had a market value of US$26,604.
FIFA’s ethics code ban’s officials from accepting expensive gifts because of the obvious perception of bribery. The only gifts they can accept are of "symbolic or trivial value” and when they are offered anything that is more than of trivial value such as a $26,000 watch they are obligated to immediately report the potential breach to the Investigatory Chamber of FIFA’s ethics committee.
The watches which were distributed by the Brazilian football body on behalf of the sponsor were most definitely not trivial or symbolic and not all of those who received the gifts alerted the association.
“CBF should not have offered the watches, and those who received gift bags should have promptly checked whether the items inside were appropriate and, upon discovering the watch, either returned it or, like the football officials referred to above, reported the matter to the Investigatory Chamber,” FIFA said in a statement last week. “In an effort to resolve this matter expeditiously, the Investigatory Chamber will not pursue further formal ethics proceedings in this matter against officials who submit the Parmigiani watch they received from CBF to the Secretariat of the Investigatory Chamber by no later than October 24, 2014.”
FIFA said it will donate the watches to an independent non-profit organization or organizations committed to corporate social responsibility projects in Brazil.
However it may not be getting them all back. UEFA’s boss Michel Platini said he considered it rude to return gifts so he would prefer to make a donation to charity for the value as he criticised the handling of the situation by FIFA. Platini said he had no idea how much the watch was worth at the time and as all the officials received one of the designer watches it should have demanded their return when they were given out, if there was a problem, not several months later.
Platini said that FIFA was only demanding their return now because of the media reports about the expensive gifts. “Because there’s an article in the British press, all of a sudden FIFA says that they need to return the watches,” said Platini.Platini also said watches were common gifts in the football world, which was illustrated by further revelations from FIFA last week.
It said that the independent chairs of the FIFA Ethics Committee's Investigatory Chamber Michael Garcia and Domenico Scala had also been asked to investigate a request by Hublot to give out commemorating watches for the 2014 tournament to members of the FIFA Executive Committee. These 56 watches were proposed to be given during the Executive Committee's September 2014 meetings in Zurich but Garcia and Scala found the gift would likely violate the code of ethics and compensation policies.
Breeze Fusion in November for good causes
(Radio Cayman): The 8th Annual Breeze Fusion Walk/Run is coming up on Saturday 1 November starting at 6:30am from Smith’s Cove. Originally conceived as a family oriented event in 2007, this year’s fundraiser features an increase in the distance to a more competitive 5k or 3 miles, as well as a children’s race. Breeze Fusion is organized by Radio Cayman/Breeze FM and the Phoenix Athletic Club, assisted by Coach Jerry Harper and service club volunteers. As is customary, part proceeds will go to the National Council for Voluntary Organizations, a charitable organisation dedicated to the care, education and well-being of children and families in need of support. (Left: 2013 Male Champion Dominique Corbin with Radio Cayman's Kathy Miller)
The second beneficiary this year is John Gray High School’s “Helping Hands Program”, through which JGHS provides—among other things—hot meals, uniforms and school supplies for any grade 7 to 11 child, who needs this assistance.
So far, sponsors Cayman National, ROMA United Sports Club, Maedac Supply Company through their WATA brand and Grand Old House, already confirmed their support.
Event registration is still an affordable $15.00 for adults, $10.00 for students under sixteen and is ongoing at radiocayman.gov.ky and caymanactive.com/breeze. All participants receive an event t-shirt & goodie bag. Trophies go to the overall male & female finishers in the run, along with medals & prizes to the top competitors in each age category for both the run & walk, with random prizes also up for grabs.
Local football boss lands regional FIFA job
(CNS): One of Cayman’s football administrators has been appointed as the Technical Development Officer for the CONCACAF region. Marcos Tinoco, CIFA’s Acting Technical Director and Administrator who also served as the national coach from 2003 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2014 in several official capacities will, in his new job, be working presenting best practices in technical development and managing FIFA’s player, coaching and development initiatives in the region. “I am happy to serve the region and continue to give back to the sport,” Tinoco said.
Tinoco is joined by Former Trinidad and Tobago Technical Director Anton Corneal and FIFA Consultant Rodrigo Kenton on the FIFA Development Office in the CONCACAF region.
“The appointment is designed to help promote and develop the game in the region. I am grateful to the Cayman Islands Football Association for the opportunity work in a place that became my home. I will miss the daily interaction with players, coaches and officials but in my new role I will never be too far away.”
CIFA First Vice President Bruce Blake described Tinoco as a trusted and valuable member of CIFA’s team.
“His contribution to player development and football administration in the Cayman Islands cannot be measured and is greatly appreciated. We look forward to receiving his advice and guidance in his new role,” added Blake.
800M sea swim expected to attract families
(CNS): The annual Fosters Food Fair IGA 800m Sea Swim between public beach and governor’s beach is set for Saturday afternoon and is expected to attract a large number of families. Registration opens at 3-3:45pm and the swim which runs parallel to Seven Mile Beach begins at 4pm. Hosted by the Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association’s (CIASA’s) it is now in its 30th year and attracts a wide variety of swimmers of all ages both, competitive and non–competitive. Alongside the swim will be a half mile beach walk. Registration for walkers also takes place at Public Beach starting at 3pm.
All swimmers are provided with swim caps, which must be worn for safety reasons and there are event T-Shirts, trophies for the top three male and female finishers in each age group and Subway sandwiches and refreshments provided at the end of the race.
Bodden Town win shield at season opener
(CNS): Bodden Town’s Rico Brown carried his club to victory on Sunday at the local football league opener with two goals in the 56th and 66th minutes. Signalling the start of the Cayman Islands Premier League season the CharityShield match between the reigning league champions Bodden Towns FC and Elite the FA Cup holders was a disappointment for the team from the capital who had managed to get the ball in the net against their rivals in the first half but the goal was ruled offside. Following the charity opener the league begins in earnest Saturday When Bodden Town take on Cayman Brac at the Annex.
Bodden Town and Elite meet for season opener
(CNS): The new football season kicks off with the annualCharity Shield on Sunday with Grand Cayman rivals Bodden Town FC and Elite SC meeting for this important opener. The annual match puts the reigning Premier League Champions against the current FA Cup trophy holders. Based on last season’s statistics the match should be a high scorer. Between them Bodden Town and Elite put 102 of the 309 total goals in the Premier League last season in the back of the net. Led by striker Theron Wood, (left) with 28 Bodden Town had the highest goal scoring output with 61 goals.Meanwhile, Elite talisman Dwayne Wright scored 18 goals to lead his club, in accumulating 51 goals.
The clubs met three times in the 2013-2014 Premier League, Bodden Town scored a 3-1 victory in the opener and the teams played to a 1-1 draw on the second occasion. In the final match up Elite were comfortable 3-0 winners. In the semifinal of the FA Cup Elite got the better of Bodden Town 3-0 again and went on to claim the FA Cup trophy over Roma.
However that's all in the past and Sunday marks the start of a new season with both coaches having everything to play for and seeing this as an important fixture to win.
“This match is very important to set the trend for the season,” said Elbert Mclean of Bodden Town, who led the team to the Premier League title last season. “Bodden Town has trained seven weeks in the offseason, so expect to see a much fitter, faster, hungrier team that will be moving the ball faster.”
This is a rematch of the 2009 FA Cup Final when a young Bodden Town team came from behind to upset the then reigning Premier League Champs. Since the 2009 season Bodden Town has collected league titles at youth and senior levels. Coach Mclean said the recipe for success is simple.“Hard work, a good attitude and a good club structure guarantees success,” said the veteran coach.
Along with a solid youth programme. Bodden Town has promoted three teenagers from the junior set up to the senior team this season.
In West Bay, Elite Sports Club is coming off an uncharacteristic fifth place finish in the Premier League last season. But when Gregory Ebanks’ men ended last season with the FA Cup title they earned the right to compete for the Charity Shield.
“This is a one shot opportunity to win the first Cup of the season,” Ebanks said. “This sets the tone for the beginning of the season to start on a good note by competing well and winning the Charity Shield.”
Elite will be bolstered by the return home of midfielder Jermaine Wilson who recently completed his studies in England. Winning the Charity Shield would set Elite’s goals in motion for the new season, with the main of objective of competing in the 2015 Caribbean Club Championship.
“The ultimate goal is to win the league championship, it is very motivational to see that the monitory rewards have increased…Our primary goal is to get in the top three and aspire to play international competitions like the Caribbean Football Union this season,” Ebanks added.
Part proceeds from the Charity Shield will be donated to the Cayman Islands Red Cross.
Kickoff is 7 pm on Sunday at the T.E Mcfield Sports Complex. For more information log on to www.caymanfootball.com
Medal winner carries CI flag to close YOG
(CNS): Following the announcement of her unexpected bronze medal win after her sterling effort in the team round of the equestrian events at the Youth Olympic Games in China, Polly Serpell carried the flag for Cayman at the closing ceremony. Serpell was the youngest competitor and riding a borrowed horse she was instrumental in getting the North American team a medal. Despite her 4 faults in Round 1, with zero faults in the second round she was the only North American Team rider who had their scores for both rounds count. As the first Caymanian to win a medal at YOG, she was invited to carry the Cayman flag at the Closing Ceremony. Sharon Hinds, President of the Cayman Islands Equestrian Federation (CIEF), described the medal win as unbelievable. (Photo FEI/Richard Juilliart)
“I told Polly to enjoy the experience and have fun and make new lifetime friends,” she said. “Her coming home with a medal is the icing on the cake. It has made all her hard work, effort and family sacrifice worth it. This is an outstanding achievement, which could not have been possible without the assistance of the Cayman Islands Olympic Committee, the Cayman Islands Government, FEI Solidarity, her parents, her coaches and Giorgio Zan.”
Players wanted for Academy’s first female U15 team
CNS): One of Cayman’s leading youth football clubs will be holding try-outs this coming Saturday for local girls between the ages of 12 and 14. Academy Sports Club is aiming to launch its first U15 girls’ team in this year's CIFA league. "We are having try-outs this Saturday September 6th at the Academy field on Outpost Road and hope to see a lot of young female footballers there", said the club’s coach, Virgil Seymour. He explained that the club has discussed introducing a girls’ team for a while and felt this season was the right year to do it.
"Since we have announced that we will be having try-outs there has a been a great response so we are really looking forward to achieving similar success with the girls team as we have demonstrated with our bouts teams over the years", he added.
The Academy U15 girls’ team try-outs will start at 9:00am and last until on Saturday September 6th. Girls must be born in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002.
HSA helps Cayman’s boxers remain fighting fit
(HSA): The Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (HSA) recently sponsored Cayman Islands Boxing Association (CIBA) athletes’ annual medical exams, ensuring that Cayman’s boxers are in tip top condition to perform. CIBA boxers compete at scheduled events locally and overseas and it is mandated by the International Boxing Association that each athlete completes an annual physical exam to include blood work, EKG and nutritional consultation. Chief Executive Officer, Ms Lizzette Yearwood, said the HSA recognised the importance of ensuring all of the athletes were able to easily undertake their annual medicals.
“It is essential that athletes of this calibre who are performing at such a high level do so knowing they are at their optimum health,” Ms Yearwood said. “We are happy to assist by providing medical services for the boxers’ annual exams and we commend the athletes who work so hard at their sport.”
CIBA President, Ann-Marie Byrd, expressed her gratitude to the HSA’s donation.
“We are delighted that this sponsorship was provided by the HSA and CIBA graciously appreciates the staff for their assistance and compassion for the athletes. This sponsorship is an immense help for the association, as we are a not-for-profit organisation and operate solely on a small grant from the Ministry of Sports,” Ms Byrd said. “As the governing body of boxing in the Cayman Islands, CIBA works hard to develop and promote boxing throughout the country and internationally on behalf of the athletes,” Ms Byrd said. “CIBA continually strives to develop the sport through effective governance and strong leadership ensuring that all members can personally develop through the sport.”
CIBA was designed to provide the Cayman Islands with an outlet through boxing, fitness and leadership skills for local young athletes. “It is our goal to help the youth that need extra guidance and leadership to become productive members of society,” Ms Bryd said.
Boxing is a sport thatis receiving an increasingly high profile in the Cayman Islands, with Cayman’s boxers making great strides. Tafari Ebanks, one of two Elite boxers to represent the Cayman Islands, recently returned from the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland where he was one point away from a bronze medal. He is scheduled to compete in November for the CAC Games in Tijuana, Mexico. Cayman has one other boxer who competes at the Elite level and five who also represent Cayman internationally. Looking ahead, Cayman looks to sending two additional boxers for the Commonwealth Games in 2015.