Sports
Local netballers vie for place in Aussie 2015 world cup
CNS):The Cayman women’s national netball team set off for Canada on Friday ahead of the Americas Federation of Netball Associations Regional Qualifying Championship in Calgary, Alberta. The women will be playing against the best netballers in the region to vie for a spot in the 2015 World Netball Championships in Australia. Katherine Gow, said the team had been training hard and looked forward to playing their best in the competition.
The team were given a send-off by the governor at the airport who said, “We are very proud of you and we will be rooting for you.”
Cayman Airways staff lace up for Feed our Future
(CAL): Launching the airline’s 46th anniversary celebrations, Cayman Airways employees and their friends and families recently staged their first annual charitable 5k Fun Run/Walk, lacing up in support of Feed our Future, a local-based charity with the mission to provide children in need with free school meals. Fabian Whorms, President and CEO of Cayman Airways, says the objective was to bring CAL employees together for a morning of fun, team-building and exercise, in support of a good cause. “This is a very special time of year for Cayman Airways as we celebrate our 46th anniversary and reflect on our support for the Cayman community over the past year.
"I am proud of all the staff who came out to support Feed our Future and participate with their colleagues, friends, and families.”
Whorms said that throughout each year, Cayman Airways invests and sponsors many events within the local community. “Our culture of caring extends beyond our offices, and it was great to host the Fun Run/Walk to actively involve all our employees. Together we raised CI$778 for Feed our Future.”
Stacy VanDevelde, Chairwoman of Feed Our Future, said: “Feed Our Future was honored to be the chosen charity to benefit from this unique Cayman Airways event which brought together their management and staff in support of needy children in Cayman and express our sincere appreciation for their generosity. We are always inspired by such community driven initiatives which further support our mission of connecting children in Cayman to nutritious food when at school.”
Cayman Airways proudly contributes to the sustainable growth and development of the local economy and people of the Cayman Islands, and supports over 300 events and organizations annually through community funding and sponsorships.
The fun run/walk started and ended at the airline’s headquarters building at 91 Owen Roberts Drive, looping around industrial park, and was open to all levels of participants.
Cayman U15 girls set for quarter finals
(CNS): The girls U15 squad are bracing themselves for their quarter final game against Honduras this evening after storming to the top of their group with a series of victories at the CONCACAF Youth tournament currently being hosted in the Cayman Islands. On Sunday night the girls place six in the back of the net on a rain soaked pitch against Curacao at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.. Striker Chelsea Green scored two goals in the 20th and 22nd minutes taking her tally to six and picked up her third Player of the Match accolade. But it was Halle Medina who sent almost 1700 fans crazy when she opened the score for the hosts in just the 2nd minute.
Jasmine Powery doubled the lead in the 19th minute before Green put away her two goals to secure Cayman’s spot at the top of Group A. Two own goals in the 29th, 56th minutes finished things for Curacao in the slippery conditions.
Cayman will now face Honduras at 7:30 pm this evening at the Turman Bodden with an eye to the semis.
The girls team has made their road to the next round look easy with an impressive 4 – 1 victory over the Bahamas on Friday, when Green kicked things off for the local team with a goal in the 2nd minute. Scott doubled the lead three minutes later and 11 year old Sabrina Suberan put Cayman 3-0 up by halftime. In the second half Scott got her second just after the restart, scoring Cayman’s ninth goal in two matches Lurann Brown scored a consolation goal for the Bahamians in the final minute of play.
A hat trick from Green had also fuelled a 5-0 victory over Bermuda in the girls opening match while Suberan's 23rd minute and Deondra Kelly's 70th completed the rout for the home team.
Local youngsters head to China for youth Olympics
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Olympic Committee (CIOC) is sending a team of five athletes to participate in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in China this week in four sports. The country will be represented by Pearl Morgan who will be competing in the 200m at the track, Morgan Lloyd in Artistic Gymnastics, Polly Serpell in the Individual Jumping Event and Florence Allan and Pablo Bertan in the One Person Dingy Sailing Event. The first summer version of the YOG was held in Singapore in 2010 where Cayman sent a team of four. Competitors at these unique games which include cultural and education programmes as well as competitive sport, are aged between 14 to 18.
The programmes are based on the Olympic values that promote healthy lifestyles and allow young athletes to become well-rounded individuals with "true sporting spirits." They combine Olympic traditions (such as the torch relay) with diverse cultures to spread the Olympic spirit.
Team Cayman have begun their two day journey and will arrive in Nanjing on 13 August, with their competition beginning on 18 August after the opening ceremony on 16 August.
The committee noted that local track star Jamal Walton who recently suffered a strained hamstring at the World Junior Championships will not be able to compete and despite her great performance in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games Lauren Hew has not been selected by the International Swimming Association (FINA) to compete.
For more information please visit the Official Website for the Games: http://www.nanjing2014.org/en. For pictures and up to date information on the Cayman Islands delegation, please visit website http://www.caymanolympic.org.ky/ or the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/
Minister tours new facilities at WB Sports Centre
(CNS): New changing rooms at the Ed Bush Sports Centre in West Bay have brought the stadium facilities in line with requirements for international football tournaments, governemnt officials say. Turnaround of the project took three months, from April to July of this year, and cost $1.493 million. Sports Minister Osbourne Bodden said the construction team. had "done a fantastic job in pulling this off. Any doubts I had about the time constraints were quickly laid to rest.” He said the project showed an “incredible value for the money put in” and hoped it would help to “solidify the government’s support for the future development of sport on-island, including sports tourism”.
The Public Works Department recently handed over the keys to the newly completed facilities in West Bay to the Ministry of Sports.
The 5,884-square-foot building includes two changing rooms that each accommodate a 20 person team. Both have their own lockers, whiteboards, a coaches’ room, showers, and a restroom.
Players also now have direct secure access to the changing rooms, so that they do not have to mix with the press or other officials.
Other facilities include a medical suite, anti-doping control room, and a referees’ dressing room, all with their own restrooms and showers. In addition a VIP reception area, secretariat suite, and media/press conference room all overlook the playing field.
Parking services now accommodate large buses and persons with disabilities. Meanwhile brand new public bathrooms have also been added to the building, as well as a concessions room with two roll-down grilles to serve the multitude of fans that attend football games in the district.
In addition the project management team designed and constructed the new structure with the future of the stadium in mind.. As such the roof of the new structure was engineered to provide the base for a possible new grandstand in the future.
Anson M. Stuart, Project Manager for Public Works, and Delano Bush, Site Manager at Arch and Godfrey, led the tour. Garth Arch, Managing Director at Arch and Godfrey, Pedro Theye, Senior Architect at DDL Studio, Alexi Ebanks, Architectural Designer at DDL Studio, and Joel Francis, Senior Policy Advisor in the Ministry with responsibility for Sports, Youth, and Culture, were also present.
Arch commended the efforts of everyone involved with the project, especially Project Manager Dean Gaffigan, and Site Manager Mr Delano Bush, both at Arch and Godfrey.
Government undertook the project to ensure that the stadium would be CONCACAF approved for all future tournaments, including the U-15 girls’ championship beginning on 6 August.
Officials expect the site to be furnished within the next couple of days, in preparation for the start of the tournament.
Representatives from CONCACAF and CIFA also did walkthroughs of the new structure to ensure that the building met all CONCACAF requirements for the upcoming U15 girls’ competition which gets underway this evening Wednesday 6 August 2014.
Brandyn Murray trains with elite in Germany
(CNS): Over the summer, twenty-year old college sophomore Brandyn Murray had the unique opportunity to train with a number of professional and semi-professional football teams in Germany and England. The trip was made possible with the financial support from Grasspiece Promotions and a number of local companies and individuals. Brandyn’s preparations included several early morning training sessions at the Annex Field and numerous beach sessions with former Cayman internationals Lee Ramoon and Colin “Dougie” Rowe. In June, Brandyn spent one week with FC Augsburg’s Under 23 team in Augsburg and four days with SV Pullach in Munich.
FC Augsburg play in Bundesliga 1 and their Under 23 team participate in the German fourth division (Regionalliga Bayern). SV Pullach compete in the Bayern League South, Circle Class (equivalent to Division 5).
At FC Augsburg, under the tutelage of Under 23 head coach Dieter Märkle and assistant coach Oliver Beer, Brandyn enjoyed five days of high-intensity training at the FC Augsburg Youth Facility.
As the squad was already in their second week of pre-season training, the sessions were very technical and physically demanding and Brandyn took a few days to adapt to the speed of German football. By the second day, young Murray had adjusted his game and adapted quite comfortably in meshing with the rest of the squad.
He was exposed to a number of technical drills involving quick passing, ball control, positional play, possession and movements without the ball mixed in with weight training, calisthenics and yoga.
At SV Pullach, under head trainer Frank Schmöller, Brandyn trained for four days with the semi-pro outfit before heading over to England on July 3.The training in Germany was arranged through Joseph Albersinger, a former resident of the Cayman Islands, who returned to Germany 12 years ago to complete his UEFA coaching licences. Once a member of the historic Strikers Football Club in the Cayman Islands, Albersinger has coached a number of youth teams in the German professional leagues and was most recently a youth coach at FC Ingolstadt, a Bundesliga 2 club.
In England, Brandyn was based in Swindon and travelled to Macclesfield Town FC in Macclesfield, just south of Manchester. Macclesfield Town play in the Conference Premier, one tier down from League Two and is managed by John Askey.
Brandyn spent two weeks with the Silkmen along with several other triallists and quickly learned that at this level, unlike Germany, it is very physical. The training experience in England was arranged through Fitzroy Simpson, who is responsible for the placement of the three Caymanian youngsters at Swindon Town FC’s Youth Academy and one Caymanian youngster at Reading FC’s Youth Academy. Simpson has been instrumental in developing the relationship between the Swindon Town FC Youth Academy and the football
fraternity in the Cayman Islands through Grasspiece Promotions.
Commenting on his European experience, Brandyn said, “It was an awesome experience, especially in Germany where I felt more comfortable with the style of football FC Augsburg and SV Pullach play. I am small in stature and prefer the technical aspect of football where I can use my passing and speed rather than my physical attributes. The reviews and comments I received from the coaches in Germany were positive so I hope to return to Germany next summer to secure a few try-outs. We’ll see what happens.”
He added, “Special thanks to the individuals and companies who helped finance my trip and to those persons who supported my efforts. Thanks to Mr. Albersinger and Mr. Simpson who were instrumental in securing these valuable training opportunities for me and who made my stay in Germany and England enjoyable and comfortable. Thanks also to Coach Lee (Ramoon) and Coach Dougie (Colin Rowe) for their efforts in preparing me for my trip.”
As Brandyn alluded to, plans are already underway for him to return to Germany next summer for try-outs following the completion of his sophomore year at college.
Photo: Brandyn Murray (left) with FC Augsburg Under 23 head coach Dieter Markle.
Football tournaments benefit the community
(CNS): The director of Cayman Islands National Football teams has said that the opportunities being provided by the regional football body go way beyond the goal count and competition on the pitch. Renard Moxam said tournaments held here provide great opportunities for young sports men and woman, improve standards for players, the pride for Caymanians in hosting international events as well as the benefits to the economy. As he oversees the preparations for the CONCACAF Girls U-15 tournament, which kicks off on 6 August and will take place on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, the local football director said winning would be great but it's not all that matters.
While he acknowledged that watching a local team become victorious is the ultimate goal, Moxam said success is not only be measured by winning.
“The wins and loss column is an important barometer that is looked at by most, but equally looking at the bigger picture,” he stated. “The larger goal is to make a major contribution towards the molding of young people in a positive manner and towards them becoming better athletes and better people, who will hopefully take future roles in the positive development of society.”
Moxam explained that these type of competitions provide an opportunity for Cayman players to learn how to perform under pressure as part of a team. "A vital skill that should benefit future generations of Caymanians whether at work, school or play," he added.
As well as the economic benefits the director said another key benefit to the local community is the pride felt by hosting international events of this magnitude. In the last year the Cayman Islands has successfully hosted the inaugural Boys’ U-15 Championship in August 2013, the first ever CONCACAF Sports Summit and the Women’s’ U-20 Championship in January 2014.
Having been involved in local football for more than three decades in several capacities, Moxam expressed great pride in Cayman’s track record as a host of regional football competitions and faith that the local organisers will deliver another world-class competition. “The Cayman Islands will be seen as a fantastic host country, wherein the true Caymanian spirit will come to the forefront and from a sporting stand point, that our country is seen as a viable challenger in future tournaments," he said.
The CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championship will be held at four venues. The Truman Bodden Sports Complex, T.E. McField Sports Centre, Ed Bush Sports Centre
and Cayman Brac Sports Field.
Group A: Cayman Islands, Curacao, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands
Group B: Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Bermuda
Group C: Jamaica, Costa Rica, Anguilla, Belize
Group D: Canada, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico
Cayman cyclist drops out of road race
(CNS): The man who carried the flag for Cayman when the team opened its Commonwealth Games bid last month ended the competition for the country with a disappointment. Michele Smith pulled out of the Men’s Road Race Sunday, within the first three laps of the 12-lap event, which covered 172 kilometers through the streets of Glasgow. He said the conditions were not favorable for a good ride after the surprise summer weather turned a little more usual for Scotland and Smith had concerns about his start position. “It’s a technical course. If you’re not in the right position from the start, I mean you stand no chance of getting to the front," Smith told the CIOC pool journalist.
"From when the race started, I was about 45 seconds from the front of the group. So it was just strung out right from the start. You had the big teams and they wanted to drop the smaller countries to get rid of the danger. Also the course is technical and with the wet conditions that even makes it worse. We didn’t have to make any adjustments to the road bike for this race. They don’t really check your road bikes as much as they check your time trial bikes and that’s just the way the Union Cycliste Internationale is," he added.
Smith was not the only rider to pull out, as a result of choice, injury or mechanical failures. There were 140 riders that started Sunday’s race but only 12 ended up crossing the line with the others receiving Did Not Finish results.
Geraint Thomas of Wales won the gold medal in four hours, 13 minutes and five seconds while Jack Bauer of New Zealand grabbed the silver and Scott Thwaites of England took the bronze in a photo finish as both riders had identical times of 4:14:26.
Before the road race Smith had place 36th out of 60 riders in the 40km time trial with a mark of 58:49:64, well off the pace set by gold medalist England's Alex Dowsett with 47:41.78.
Despite his decision not to complete the road race in the rain he was not overly disappointed by his Games.
“I think it turned out well. Like I told you after the time trial, I came here with two expectations. One was a personal record in the time trial and the other was to finish the road race. You know, we all come into different events with goals, not to say we’re going to achieve them because there are a lot of variables on that day.
“The race had just started and I think it was like 130 that started. You had big teams like Canada that had already dropped out of the race. So, at the end of the day, you’d be lucky if 40 participants finish," he added.
Meanwhile on the squash court mixed doubles competitors Marlene West and Cameron Stafford were defeated by the Republic of Northern Ireland, while Daniel Murphy and Eilidh Bridgeman were beaten by Scotland. Julian Jervis and Myron Blair were eliminated in the men's doubles by Wales.
On the track, the 4x100m relay squad of Tyrell Cuffy, David Hamil, Kemar Hyman and Troy Long were eliminated in the preliminary heats, placing fifth out of six teams with a time of 40.50 secs. There were no surprises when Jamaica went on to take the gold led by Usain Bolt in 37.58 seconds, ahead of England which took silver in 38.02 secs and Trinidad and Tobago with bronze in 38.10 secs.
Junior swimmers head for Championships
(CIASA): As the Commonwealth Games’ swimming competition draws to an end, 10 of Cayman’s Junior Representative Team swimmers are preparing to compete in the 2014 Southern Zone Senior Long Course Championships in Fort Myers, Florida this week. The swimmers left on Sunday morning and were training in the 50m pool at the Florida Gulf Coast University Aquatic Centre on Monday, in preparation for the Championships which started on Tuesday, 29 July. Representing the Cayman Islands are: Jonathan Key, Samantha Bailey, John Bodden, Matthew Courtis, Wunyae Crawford, Alison Jackson, Sarah Jackson, Iain McCallum, Cole Morgan, Zororo Mutomba and Ella Plunkett.
“This is a Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association (CIASA) sanctioned overseas meet for our Junior Swimmers,” said Technical Director Bailey Weathers. “Following CARIFTA, I met with swim club coaches who agreed that our swimmers need to have opportunities to participate more frequently in competitive; prelim-finals swim meets. We found this meet and it was a perfect fit. The times are fast, the competition will be strong and our swimmers will be able to work on their race preparation and execution as well as getting in and swimming as fast as they can.”
The Cayman team is coached by Coaches Brad Hutton and Andy Copley and the Team Manager is Coach Marie Shepheard. The meet: 2014 Southern Zone Senior LC Championships is available on Meet Mobile (you can download the app for free) and follow the team as they represent Cayman.
Not to be outdone by the Junior Swimmers, Cayman’s Masters are also heading off to another CIASA sanctioned swim championship. They are taking part in the 15th FINA World Masters Championships, August 2-10th in Montreal, Canada. These championships are held every two years and the group from Cayman: Michelle Bailey, William Balderamos, Lee-Anne Corin, Kim Eckart and Elliot Smith, look forward to racing against some of the worlds’ best Masters Swimmers.
“We are so happy that Cayman Swimming will be represented in Montreal,” said CIASA President Michael Lockwood, “With two years until the next competition I might start some serious training again myself … but in the meantime it is great to see so much happening with swimming this summer. From the government swimming camps at the Lions Pool with Coach Ryan Mushin, to overseas competitive age group swim meets, Cayman representative teams in Ft. Myers and Montreal and of course the stellar swims produced by our swimmers at the Commonwealth Games, there is no doubt that Cayman Swimming is growing from strength to strength and I am already looking forward to the upcoming swim season.”
Haines takes another marathon in his stride
(CNS): In an amazing performance Derek Haines stormed to the finish line at the San Francisco marathon on Sunday in a fraction over four hours. The veteran runner has now pounded the pavement in four different cities in order to raise $1million for the local hospice charity to help them build a much needed inpatient facility. Following the fourth of his targeted six marathons in one year, Haines now has over $640,000 pledged towards the target. With the Dublin marathon in October and the home run in Cayman in December, what was a hefty looking target for the charity at the beginning of the year is looking more and more possible, as Haines at 65 years of age is tackling the marathons with style.
Speaking about the weekend run, Haines told CNS that it went very well and he was pleased with his time of 04:00:42, which he said was down to a fast second half.
"It is a picturesque course, although hilly, with great views including running over and back across the Golden Gate Bridge. The weather was perfect so that helped a great deal also. Rotary Club of Grand Cayman President Brian Hurley and Rotarian Tim Bradley ran creditable half marathons and it was great to have them and Tim's family there in support," Haines said. "The marathon and half marathon entries were completely full so there was a big field of runners. I finished in the top 25% and was 6th in my age group," he added.
Having met up with an old friend from the Cayman Islands who now lives in San Francisco, while he was in the City, Haines said he was taken on a boating tour of the Bay on Monday and his friend handed over another CI$1K for the challenge.
In addition, Haines said, just this week he was handed another generous donation from some local businessmen, who wish to remain anonymous, of US$25K.
"This is excellent news and brings the total pledged/donated to about CI$640K," the veteran runner said. "I wish to thank all of those who are supporting the cause. It really is tremendous how the Cayman community have responded to this challenge."
Anyone wishing to pledge towards the cause can visit six4hospice.com to find out how and more about Haines' amazing marathon challenge
Photo: Ciara Bradley, Tim Bradley, Derek Haines, Brian Hurley, Kayla Bradley. Photo by Traci Bradley