Flag football in Cayman seems poised for two female leagues.
The Cayman Islands Flag Football Association recently announced plans to put on a women’s league this summer. The competition is slated to join the Dart Women’s League, put on by the Grand Cayman Flag Football Association.
The Cayman Islands Flag Football association stated the move is about building unity.
“As some of you may already know, the association is excited to announce the return of our Women’s Premier League,” the association noted. “We believe the consensus choice is to facilitate both leagues at one venue and as an association, we strongly support this initiative.
“We have the resources and “know how” to handle this transition and look forward to working with you all to accomplish this. We will be extremely open to recommendations. At this point, the group plans to stage the women’s league alongside the men’s competition at the Ed Bush field in West Bay. The Grand Cayman group would continue its matches at the Camana Bay Sports Field.
The Cayman Islands association staged a women’s event in years past. In 2011, a number of ladies made the decision to form another governing body.
Over the last two years, there has been talk of unifying male and female players again under one group. For flag football stalwarts like former Cayman Islands association vice president Brad Conolly, 2013 is about unity within the sport.
“As a player, seeing as the women are keen on being part of the Cayman Islands association again, I’m looking forward to both associations being under one umbrella again in 2013,” Conolly said. “It makes more sense to play at the same venue on the same day so I hope it happens.”
Currently, Sophia Dilbert serves as the Grand Cayman association president. Dilbert has said only that the focus is on the women’s league and a proposed youth programme.
Dilbert also said the youth initiative was approved by the NFL, was slated to form part of the athletic curriculum within local secondary schools and was expected to start by the end of last year.
News of the women’s league comes after Maggie Ebanks and the national women’s team recently helped put on a one-day tournament at the T.E. McField Sports Centre. Dubbed the “Cayman Classic,” the event unveiled an eight-person style of play for women, complete with downfield blocking, which is a departure from the traditional seven-a-side look.
The squad tried that format during a recent international tournament in Florida without success. A host of familiar names took part, including Dionne Whittaker and Carrie Barnett.
The Cayman Classic also catered to the guys, via a nine-man segment organised in large part by flag football stalwart Brendon Malice. Many star veterans participated such as Simon Rivers and Richard Campbell.
At the moment, the Cayman Islands association has two ongoing competitions in its co-ed league, sponsored by Burger King, and its youth league, sponsored by The Security Centre Limited. Co-ed action takes place on Fridays at Ed Bush while youngsters storm the Camana Bay field on Saturdays.
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