The Cayman Islands Basketball Association is taking its talent from the court to the pavement as it hosts its inaugural 5K Walk/Run.
Starting at the Camana Bay Arts & Recreation Centre on Sunday, 28 June at 6.30am, the walk/run aims to bring the community together to promote health and wellness while rallying financial support for Cayman’s youth basketballers.
The event’s immediate focus is to support a group of athletes who are headed to Orlando, Florida next month for the AAU World Championships, with funds going directly to areas such as travel, room and board expenses.
For Jonathan Powery, the boy’s U17 national team head coach, “This championship is very important for their development as they will be challenged and pushed in the games. Every donation you give is just helping these boys to continue to build, get stronger and develop their character even more.”
Echoing these sentiments was assistant coach Greg Miller, who said, “Sports is extremely important, especially for our youth [and for boys].”
“There’s a variety of different things that they can get themselves involved in … and they have a lot of energy, so if that’s channeled and directed towards something that is prosocial and is good for their development, then it goes a long way,” Miller added.
Cayman Islands Basketball Association’s head of fundraising, Charmaine Miller, explained that the idea for the 5K emerged naturally in a community that deeply values health and fitness and regularly shows immense generosity for good causes.
She added, “As part of our strategic plan for the association, we wanted to do something whereby we’re not only raising funds, but we’re also including our young players in the process.”
“We thought that this is a really good opportunity to do both things: ensure that players have an important role to play when it comes to raising funds for opportunities that benefit them and also continuing to recognise that these are easy fundraising opportunities to support a community that values health and fitness,” she said.
Recognising that this is the first 5K hosted by the association, she said that their target number of participants is “at least 200”.
After crossing the finish line, participants can look forward to refreshments, raffle prizes, giveaways, and a basketball shootout tailored for children. Registration is $25, which includes post-race refreshments and a T-shirt.
Related Videos
