After three days of competition, Sol emerged the overall winners for the 2024 Cayman Islands Gaelic Football Club Conyers Mixed 11s.
The pre-season tournament, held from 12-14 Jan., featured about 400 players divided into 20 teams, competing at the Camana Bay Sports Complex. Those teams were placed in groups A and B – ‘elite competition’ – and groups C, D and E – ‘social competition’.
After a dominant performance throughout the tournament, most notably on the final day, Sol, which competed in group B, closed the show to win the cup.
In their first of three matches on Sunday, Sol battered Interpath 20-7. They went on to defeat Dart in a close game that finished 9-6. Sol wrapped up gameplay with a 11-2 win over Campbells to seal their place as overall champions.
They were several squads that were awarded for top performances during the tournament – Harmonic, named bowl winners; Teneo, vase; Deloitte, jug; and Citco, plate.
Gaelic growing domestically
Cathal McGrath, chairman of the Cayman Islands Gaelic Club, told the Compass that the pre-season tournament has been successful every year, with the number of participants increasing.
“There’s more and more every year, particularly with the corporate,” McGrath said. “Obviously, it is an Irish sport and traditionally a lot of the players that take part are expats but it has gotten so big on Cayman, that…locals are coming in.”
He noted that once many of the first-timers get a taste of the sport, they return for more.
“They say ‘Yeah, it’s a great sport’ and then they bring their friends in as well,” McGrath added. “So the bigger it gets within the company it allows us to get it larger amongst the Cayman community, and I’d say numbers wise, we are 10% higher on the local population versus last year.”
According to McGrath, the Conyers Mixed 11s also serves as a scouting opportunity for teams looking to recruit talent for the upcoming Harneys Gaelic Football League, which is scheduled to kick off with the first round of matches from 2-4 Feb.
Teams will be announced for the league during the Cayman Islands Gaelic Football Club’s annual draft at the Seven Mile Lounge on West Bay Road on 26 Jan.
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