Flag football in the Cayman Islands will hunt opposition in the US shortly.
Both of the sport’s governing bodies will be sending teams to Kissimmee, Florida. There Cayman will compete in the US Flag and Touch League national flag football championships 13-15 January.
Cayman Islands Flag Football Association President Phil Brown states the competition is one of numerous events on the schedule.
“There was a beach tournament in December,” Brown said. “February sees the start of the kids programme and the co-ed league. The venues for them will be the same as in years past. That is co-ed games should be at the Annex (TE McField Sports Centre) while the kids will play at Camana Bay.”
The venue for this weekend’s Kissimmee matches is the Austin Tindall Sports Complex, a manicured, lighted field used especially for flag football. The national championships, which is backed by entities like the Central Florida Sports Commission and the Florida Sports Foundation, is in its 41st year and features over 300 teams from the US, Canada and Mexico.
Cash prizes are on offer and 13 different styles of play will be seen. Among those styles are five-a-side and four-a-side, which sees four divisions including a 35 and over category. The women’s segment features eight-man eligible and seven-a-side screen formats.
This is not the first time Cayman has played at the international tournament. Last January a select women’s squad took part and won only one of its three matches. Some 20 ladies suited up for Cayman including Tamika Byrd.
Interestingly, the association held a fundraising raffle for the trip at Club House sports bar over the weekend. Among the items on offer at the West Bay Road establishment were a $400 CUC voucher, a LIME phone, Caybrew beer, NFL jerseys from Sports Port Ltd and gift certificates to Club House, Lobster Pot and Impression Salon.
News of the tournament comes after the inaugural Boxing Day Classic tournament on 26 December. The four-a-side co-ed competition, organized by the Grand Cayman Flag Football Association, took place at Royal Palms. Proceeds from the event went towards funding the association sending a seven-a-side team to Kissimmee.
Last month also saw the International Cup, the last Cayman Islands Flag Football Association event of 2011. Residents represented various countries at Ed Bush field in West Bay. Team USA won the men’s category behind Most Valuable Player Chris Lucas and talents like Matthew Bone. Team World would win the women’s segment.
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