With the government in talks to have new sporting facilities constructed in the eastern districts, Cayman Olympians Ronald Forbes and Raegan Rutty believe it’s a step in the right direction.
Last month, Director of Sports Kurt Hyde told the Compass that the Department and the Ministry of Sports are in discussions about putting in multi-functional courts in North Side, noting that the government is also considering building other new facilities, in West Bay and East End, depending on budget.
Forbes spoke of the advantages of having facilities in individual districts. “During the last several decades, with the continued construction of sports infrastructures throughout the Cayman Islands, such facilities have provided a multitude of opportunities for up-and-coming athletes to explore their talents and sporting ambitions, [and] I am a living beneficiary of such opportunities, programmes, and development,” Cayman’s national record holder in the 110-metre hurdles told the Compass.
Raised in North Side but, like most athletes, trained at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex during his early days in track and field, Forbes noted that while current facilities can still benefit athletes – proven by his own success – he said there is still room for improvements.
“Such efforts have afforded me and many others the opportunity to develop up to the Olympic level and can do so for many future generations,” he said. “Although we as a country have made tremendous strides toward athletic excellence, we still have much room for growth.
“With the continued efforts to outfit current sporting facilities under way to utilise the real estate to its fullest potential, such initiatives can only benefit the community, visitors and, most importantly, the future local sportsperson who dares to dream of sporting excellence.”
Currently in North Side, there is a single pitch in addition to the Edna Moyle Primary School field and basketball court. There is also the Clifton Hunter High School pool; however, that has yet to be occupied by a swim club outside of school hours.
In East End, the only sporting facility under government is the Donovan Rankine Civic Center Football Field, outside of the district’s primary school.
Meanwhile, in Bodden Town, the Haig Bodden Stadium, which features a basketball court and football pitch, remains as the two facilities where domestic training is conducted by clubs outside of the Theoline L. McCoy Primary school playing field.
However, George Town and West Bay boast over 10 facilities between them under the government, which caters to various sports.
Now, with the proposal to replace the roofing at the national stadium, among other plans, Hyde says in due course everything will be completed.
Opening doors
Cayman’s first Olympic gymnast, Rutty, said it would be good to have more in her hometown of East End, that would cater to the up-and-coming Caymanian athletes.
“I think it’s such a great idea,” she said. “I believe that it will open doors for more children to be able to become exposed to sports and other extracurricular activities.”
With the country’s population growing towards 100,000, athletes won’t be the only ones benefiting from sporting facilities in the eastern district, Rutty added.
“Growing up, going to school in George Town and then gymnastics in George Town, I would have to leave the house before sunrise, at 5:45, to beat traffic and then I didn’t get to come home until 8:30 at night.”
“It was long days; I would have to do homework in the car… and I know it was an inconvenience for my parents as well because they would have to do the driving,” Rutty said. “So, I think if government built facilities in East End, it would just allow more children to be exposed to sports and give them an opportunity… Without the strain of driving back-and-forth and therefore saving money on gas.”
It’s not the first time an idea has been proposed to have a new sporting facility in that part of the island. In fact, world-famous boxer Manny Pacquiao helped break ground for a proposed boxing facility in Bodden Town in January 2017, for which architectural plans were drafted and submitted to planning.
However, that project was shelved following the election that year when previous sports minister, Osbourne Bodden lost his seat.
Currently, the Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association, the Ministry of Sports, along with private sponsors, are working to break ground this December for the much-anticipated aquatic centre which will feature an Olympic-sized 50m pool in George Town.That project, according to CIASA president Steve Broadbelt, is estimated to be in the range of tens of millions of dollars.
While Forbes welcomed the new additions to Cayman sporting landscape, he also advised those responsible to also make investments from a holistic point of view.
“As we continue to develop the country’s infrastructure, let us be mindful that we must develop the community simultaneously in terms of new programs, training, coaching, and mentoring, for it is [impossible] to build the country and not build the people with it.”
There has been no official word from the government on a timeframe for a sporting facility of any kind to be constructed in North Side or East End.
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