Sports

(CRFU): The Advance Fire & Plumbing Buccaneers ended their Heineken Shield drought with a win 14-12 win over the Century 21 Cayman Storm on 15 December. Having competed for the shield 3 out of the 4 years the trophy has existed the Buccaneers have succumbed to the Storm and the John Doak Architecture Iguanas in previous battles but it was to be 3rd time lucky for the Buccaneers.Last year the Shield was secured by the John Doak Architecture Iguanas with a hard fought 23-5 win over the Buccaneers but the score line was a much tighter affair this time round.

(CBAC): The Camana Bay Aquatic Club (CBAC) travel team returned home from Toronto last week to a great reception from families and friends. The well-deserved airport celebration capped an exciting weekend of swimming at the 14th Annual Mega City Short Course Special and the North York Aquatic Club (NYAC) 30th Annual Youth Cup, between 29th November and 2nd December. The Mega City Short Course is a developmental meet for young emerging talent, while the Youth Cup is a nationally-renowned swim meet for competitive swimmers aged 11 to 17. Both meets are highly respected in the international youth swim circuit. The meets took place at the Etobicoke Olympia Pool in Toronto with over 1,200 Canadian swimmers competing, as well as 30 CBAC swimmers.

(IMDFT): The annual International Men’s Day celebrations kicked off in Cayman last month with a football tournament sponsored for the second year running by a generous donation from local insurance company, Saxon MG. International Men's Day focuses on the health of men and boys, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality and highlighting positive male role models. It is intended to raise awareness about discrimination against men and boys, and also to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular to community, family, marriage, and childcare.

US women's scoocer pro, Carli Lloyd, will be attending the Dream Out Loud Foundation's 'Arie Smith Soccer Camp' on December 17th and 18th, 2012, at the Ed Bush Stadium in West Bay. The Camp will run from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. each evening and is free for boys and girls to attend. Lloyd will greet and take pictures with the campers and tell her motivational story about her journey as a professional soccer player. Carli Lloyd is a member of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and has played for various clubs in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league. She has over 140 caps for the U.S. National team and 41 goals.

(CIASA): Stingray Swim Club members will travel to Kingston, Jamaica this weekend to compete in the 2012 Christmas Open Swimming Championships at the National Stadium 8-lane, 50m pool. The 14 swimmer squad will compete in over 80 individual events, each with a specific, personal goal attached to it. Swimmers aim for a Personal Best (PB) time with each swim, but at this meet the swimmers will also be chasing qualifying times for the 2013 CARIFTA games in Jamaica and the Island Games in Bermuda next year. With a mixture of CARIFTA experience and first appearances in a 50m pool, Stingray Swim Club Coach, Andy Copley, knows there may be some nerves on deck but he also knows his swimmers are ready.

(CUC-PFL): Last Saturday, Cayman Prep School’s Under-11 team rounded off a perfect football season by defeating Red Bay Primary 3-1 in a “top of the table” Group B clash at the Annex Field, George Town. Both schools started the day boasting a perfect record, with five wins out of five and Cayman Prep holding the edge thanks to a superior goal difference. With qualification assured for both schools in the Under-11 Champions Cup Playoffs in January 2013, a very valuable three points were on the line. During the season, Cayman Prep scored an impressive 44 goals so it wasn’t much of a surprise when the Prepsters took the lead in the 16th minute after Aaron Jarvis got on the end of teammate David Pitcairn’s perfect cross.

(CITA): On Thursday, 6^th December, dive equipment manufacturer Aqualung held an equipment service clinic in Cayman for 16 employees of local dive operators, all members of the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA). Keen to maintain the Cayman Islands' reputation as a safe diving destination, attendees were trained on how to inspect gear and identify servicing needs. A certification of training from the equipment manufacturer means dive operator employees can carry out cleaning and servicing at their local shop, saving them from having to return the equipment to the manufacturer. The Cayman Islands attract tens of thousands of visiting divers annually.

(CIASA): Stingray Swim Club members Lara Butler, Geoffrey Butler and Matthew Courtis put in a stellar performance last weekend at the South West Regional Short Course Championships in the UK, achieving personal bests, a CIASA record and CARIFTA qualifying times. Cayman Swimming’s Technical Director, Coach Ian Armiger, was delighted with the results, saying, “Cayman’s swimmers are training hard and the results are coming in where we want them to." The event took place at Millfield School in England. The South West region covers the six counties of Cornwall, Devon, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset and Gloucester making this meet highly competitive.

(PD): Three dedicated youngsters were honoured last week by Professor Don Jacob, the founder of Purple Dragon Don Jitsu Ryu System, when he presented them with their black belts at a special ceremony held at Cayman’s Purple Dragon Dojo at the Mirco Centre. At the ceremony, Sensei Karen Baptiste and Sensei Cindy Allison were also promoted to their fourth-degree black belts.  Both women also earned renchi sensei belts, marking a peak of personal achievement for them. To gain this prestigious accolade all five black belt recipients had taken part in a grueling three day grading event in August at the Purple Dragon World Headquarters in Trinidad, along-side 30 other black belt candidates from around the world.

(CBAC): Aspiring swimmers can learn to swim and progress basic water skills at the Camana Bay Aquatic Club (CBAC) Swim School, launching January 2013. Classes for children, adults and caregivers will take place at the Camana Bay Pool and term will run from Monday 7 January to Sunday 3 March. Registration is now open. Swimming is an essential skill for people living in the Cayman Islands. Ensuring your child learns to swim at an early age not only provides a number of health and social benefits – but could also one day save a life. The philosophy behind the new programme from the Islands’ top competitive swim club is to provide an environment where the enjoyment and practice of water-based skills leads to happy, confident and competent swimmers.

(CRFU): The latest sporting triumph in the MOVEMBER 2012 series took place at the Cayman Rugby Football Club last Saturday as teams took to the field for the inaugural MOvember Corporate Touch Rugby Tournament. The tournament was organised by the CRFU and the money raised was their donation to MOvember Cayman 2012. MOvember is an annual charity event held in November with the aim of creating awareness and raising money for men’s health and prostate cancer. By growing a moustache for the whole month, guys or “MO Bros” as they are also known, raise money for the Cayman Islands Cancer Society.

(CISC): The 2012 Compass Marine National Laser Championships were held in the North Sound by the Cayman Island Sailing Club (CISC) over the weekend of 24th and 25th November. The wind conditions remained strong throughout the regatta ensuring exciting fast sailing.Compass Marine was the new sponsor for this event “We are really happy to be sponsoring the most significant dinghy competition in Cayman’s sailing calendar” said Mike Farrington, owner of Compass Marine. “The Laser is the largest Olympic sailing class in the world and we are lucky to have a substantial fleet here in Cayman. Eighteen boats out on the water is a good turnout. Especially pleasing is to see more youth sailors competing than ever before.”

(CISC): On Friday 23rd November, close to 50 sailors representing nine schools (Red Bay, Savannah, Cayman Prep, Prospect, Georgetown, St Ignatius, Cayman International School and Outer districts a combined East End and North Side Primary team) battled it out in the North Sound for the right to be crowned 2012 National School Sailing Champions.The racing was always very close and after 24 races only 7 points separated the top 5 schools. Cayman International School took first place with 20 points, second were a much improved Red Bay Primary with 23 points and Cayman Prep were third with 24 points. Outer Districts were just outside the top 3 with 26 points and Savannah took fifth with 27.

(CUC- PFL): Two first half strikes by Grace Academy’s Gunnar Studenhofft and a third from Jaden Ebanks were enough to see off a spirited George Town Primary in a thrilling Under 11 encounter at the Annex Field this past Saturday. Leading 3-0 at halftime, the points seemed all but secure for the West Bay outfit but a determined second half display from George Town Primary, led by Joshua O’Garro, kept the game close. A goal by George Town’s Jordan Summerville in the 41st minute and a second from the boot of Joshua O’Garro in the 51st minute set up a tense last few minutes, which saw some resolute defending from Grace Academy.

(CISC): Well known on the local sailing scene, Jane Moon was recently honoured by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF), receiving an ISAF Silver Medal for her Outstanding Contribution to the Sport of Sailing Worldwide.  The medal was presented to Jane by Goran Petersson, President of the International Sailing Federation, at the recent ISAF Annual Meetings, held in Dun Laoghaire Ireland and on the occasion of her retirement from ISAF after 18 years of service.  Jane first attended the ISAF meetings in 1994 and since then has not only represented the Cayman Islands but also the entire Caribbean and Central American Region at World level.