After a peaceful eight week hiatus for Cayman Islands hockey fans, the excitement has returned.
Look for 2012 to be the benchmark year for the sport’s growth. Last year proved to be successful as the Kings Sports Centre house league grew in participation by 20 per cent, leading to the blossoming of the CI Kings who claimed Florida State glory and the addition of several new team sponsors. As February rolls in, the schedule of events for the year is quickly filling up.
On 11 February the CI Kings travel team fundraising committee are hosting Hockey Day in Cayman, at Clubhouse sports bar from 2pm to 11pm. Lead event organizer Julie Hughes commented, “This is a highly anticipated day for hockey fans, especially those from Canada, as this is the day where all Canadian teams play each other. We plan to have activities such as Hockey Bingo, a raffle, hockey pick’em, skills competition, 50/50 draw, a card trading table for the kids and more.” To get involved, contact Julie Hughes at [email protected].
The CI Kings travel hockey team looks to repeat their 2011 successes and have begun the year in fine form. The group began beach training and power skating practices in January. The side, which has featured talents like Tynan Klein, has grown to represent almost six complete teams, intending to represent Cayman hockey in three events this year, including one on home soil. Team Manager Nicole Hastings added, “It’s really great to see that so many kids have joined the programme – from 12 kids last season to over 40 this season. It is fantastic to help grow the programme, seeing how many kids are excited about hockey and are willing to get up at crazy times in order to practice!
“We have a great group of kids and parents and we are really excited about our first trip to the US. Personally, I can’t wait to see the kids’ hard work pay off when they score their first goals in the US tournaments – it’s so exciting when you see a kid’s arms go up in celebration the moment they realize they scored.”
The January Learn-to-Skate programme comes to a close this Saturday, 4 February. The eager skaters will graduate and earn their medals after a successful five-week session; many of whom will go on to join the growing Cayman hockey family. The programme is open to participants age 4-14 and teaches the basics. The next session is scheduled for May.
In house league play, the adult hockey and youth leagues will soon roll back into action. After going through a makeover in the off-season, which included the complete redrafting of all of the teams, the adult league is proud to have expanded for the first time, with the addition of a new fifth squad. League play begins on 7 February, with games each Tuesday at 8:10pm and 9:10pm.
In Youth league action, the league drafts are due to take place over the next several days as the Peewee, Atom, and Novice coaches select their teams for the season. The programme will begin official practices and games during mid-February and continue through until June. In addition to the Inter-School game Tournament, the league is proud to have the return of the Blackhawks Youth Development programme in March and the new junior referee and coaching development programme.
Athletic Director of Kings Sports Centre Raymond Singh commented on the 2012 campaign saying, “We have several goals and a busy agenda this year across the entire programme. Thanks to the additional efforts of volunteers like Nicole Hastings, Julie Hughes, Nancy Barnard and Colleen Stoetzel-Singh, we have the means to achieve them. We have set four primary goals for this year: the increased development of our Learn-to-Skate programmes through School of Fitness, locating a new league title sponsor in order to maintain our current level of league service, sustaining our achievements within the CI Kings organization and the successful implementation of our new junior referee and coaching programme”.
For more information, e-mail programme director Ray Singh at [email protected]
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