With a $20,000 sponsorship for Race Cayman 2010 - the 2010 Byte CII Midwinter and North American Championships and Youth Olympic Games qualifier for North America and the Caribbean - the Ministry of Sports has once again put its weight behind Cayman’s young sailors.
The race is next year’s regional qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games, to be hosted by the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC). The event will see North American and Caribbean teams competing in the North Sound next March.
In addition to this one-off sponsorship, the Ministry has also increased its annual grant to CISC for its school training courses. This sport development programme gives government primary school students a chance to try their hands at sailing.
“The wellbeing of our youth is high on our agenda and creating opportunities for them to learn new skills, participate and build confidence, is one of the best ways to help them,” said Minister of Sport the Hon. Mark Scotland.
Calling the sailing programme “a great success,” he said that last year, well over 500 students had participated.
“While all sports are important, sailing is particularly close to our hearts in Cayman. Being on the water is an important part of our culture and we have a proud maritime past. Sailing also produced our first Olympians in 1976 when Gerald Kirkconnell and Carson Ebanks competed, with Peter Milburn as an alternate,” Minister Scotland explained.
He concluded, “The emphasis is on participation, but we are also constantly looking for our next Olympians.”
