It is no secret that the Cayman Islands has a problem with obesity and sports are being sought as an answer.
Local basketball has a number of competitions coming up and at the forefront is the KPMG Under-14 league. The Cayman Islands Basketball Association handles organising duties with support from the Department of Sports, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sports.
Director of Sports Collin Anglin states the U14 league is part of a strategic plan to get kids healthy.
“The department backs all sports and endorses this league, which is fully sponsored by KPMG,” Anglin said. “The league is also a partnership between the ministries of education and sports as it utilises the late bus system. Transportation is being provided for all participants and I thank both ministries for that.
“In terms of exposing kids to healthy competition, sports and avenues to being positively involved in activities between 3pm and 6pm, inter-school sports is the answer.”
The 2012 league is different from past U14 basketball competitions in that an extra emphasis is placed on educational institutions. This year all of the teams are from local high schools. John Gray High, Clifton Hunter High and Triple C have produced six squads in the boys and girls divisions. Matches take place indoors, either at the Triple C school hall or the University College of the Cayman Islands multipurpose hall.
The league opener was in late January with more matches slated for this Monday, 20 February. At 3.15pm the John Gray Dolphin Academy battles Triple C with Clifton Hunter facing JG Marlin Academy at 4.15pm in the girls segment at Triple C.
Local basketball is slowly gaining steam. Aside from the youth competition, the national women’s league is currently ongoing. Among the competing teams are Welly’s Cool Spot and the Dominos Lady Heels. The men’s league is slated to start shortly.
Private schools were approached to take part in the U14 league but opted to compete in a five-week mini-basketball league under a wide-ranging Private School Association Interscholastic Sports League. Designed for middle and high school students, the interscholastic league features netball, football, volleyball, athletics and swimming in addition to basketball.
For the record, the schools that are members of the association are Cayman International School, Cayman Prep, St. Ignatius, Triple C, Cayman Academy, Wesleyan Christian Academy and Grace Christian Academy.
Ultimately, Anglin states all competitions that promote sports participation among schools are desired.
“I’m happy to see leagues like this happen and I hope for the proper development of all sports. Competition in general needs to be organized in an inter-school format. It needs to be the highlight for every student to represent their school in these competitions.”
Related Videos
