The Cayman Islands Angling Club and the Cayman Islands Diabetes Charitable Trust have joined forces to raise awareness about diabetes – and to get quite a bit of fishing in as well.
The Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament, which takes places from Tuesday, 1 May to Monday, 8 May, is Cayman’s biggest fishing event, usually attracting as many as 200 anglers and 40 boats.
Registration kicked off on Tuesday night with a party at the Governor’s Ballroom at the Westin Casuarina Resort and Spa where numerous prizes were up for grabs, including two roundtrip Cayman Airways tickets. A silent auction included staycations, spa treatments, auto spa, massages, Guy Harvey’s latest book, restaurant certificates and vouchers for local home and garden shops and fishing stores.
The Diabetes Education Centre at Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital handed out information about diabetes, give diabetes alert bracelets and dietary tools, and provided blood pressure and blood sugar testing. The centre was established last year to help educate and support diabetics.
“On behalf of the trustee, I would like to congratulate the Cayman Islands Angling Club for continuing to support such a worthy cause as diabetes,” said Debra Humphreys of Cayman National Trust Co. Ltd. “The trust is also grateful to all those who made donations to the silent auction and the Department of Tourism which will enable the trust to raise funds that can be put back into diabetes care.”
Christina Rowlandson, speaking on behalf of the volunteers, said: “We would also like to publicly thank the group from Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital as their participation truly helped bring greater diabetes awareness at the registration kickoff event”.
Diabetes is the second most prevalent illness in Cayman, according to the Cayman Islands Census 2010.
Dr. Diane Hislop-Chestnut, co-chairman of the Childhood Obesity Task Force, said she thinks the prevalence of diabetes is probably far greater. “There are many people with diabetes that do not know it and a significant number suffer pre-diabetes due to elevated sugar levels in the blood,” said Dr. Chestnut. “I commonly prescribe lab tests for my patients to determine their risk for diabetes-related complications with or without established diabetes, especially if they are over 45 years of age”.
The trust’s advisory committee plans to attend weight station events throughout the four days of fishing during the tournament in the hope of raising awareness of diabetes among anglers and spectators.
“While sometimes I think we forget how serious a disease diabetes is because it is so common, every diabetic is a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, and it is incumbent on families and health services to keep evaluating treatment and education needs to make sure we are acting in the diabetic’s best interest and effectively lowering the risk of deadly complications,” said Ms Rowlandson, chairman of the trust’s advisory committee. “We are delighted that the angling community is on board to help with this goal.”
The Cayman Islands International Fishing Tournament culminates with the prize giving dinner, awards presentation and auction on Tuesday, 8 May at the Westin, when the raffle drawing and winners of the silent auction prizes will be announced.
Last year, the Barcadere Classic Fishing Tournament generated more than $2,000 for the trust. “This year, we hope that monies raised will far surpass that,” said Len Layman of the Cayman Islands Angling Club.
The Cayman Islands Diabetes Charitable Trust was established on in December 2010 by Cayman National Trust Co. Ltd. as the professional and pro-bono trustee.
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