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Sports tourism is flourishing in the Cayman Islands to the extent that as one major event is staged another one comes along faster than a West Indies bouncer. Campbells partner Guy Manning is four mountains into his challenge to climb the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Usually when talking about sports tourism in Cayman,
much emphasis is placed on hosting major events, such as June’s Flowers
Sea Swim or the upcoming World Open for women’s squash in December, but golf deserves a place at the table. Caymanian Jeffrey Wight gave up a good job in the civil service for the challenging position in the private sector managing the sports and recreation facilities at Camana Bay. Corporate sponsorship sought for off the beaten track. “To
excel at the elite level,” says Donald McLean of the Cayman Islands
Olympic Committee, “You need to be a full-time professional athlete. The
days of amateurs have gone. And that costs money. Harbour House Marina is holding a massive sale event on July 30 with 20 percent discounts accross the board on merchandise in addition to making many boats available for test drives. Running a marathon that stretches over 26.2 miles used to be the average
weekend warrior’s ultimate sporting goal. As overall fitness levels
rose, that became far more achievable and commonplace. The ex-USS Kittiwake will be sunk off West Bay in December. It’s
considered to be the biggest diving boost for Cayman since Stingray City
was established. Although cycling may be associated with big mountains, Cayman’s
excellent winter weather, as well as proximity to the United States,
makes it an interesting alternative for early season team building camps
for the world’s top professional teams. Former world number one tennis player Jim
Courier is known for his impressive work ethic, practicing above and beyond
what is expected of him, and his efforts have paid off with a remarkable career
in the sport. Sometimes, though, things just happen by chance. Cayman will play host to one of
the world's top cycling teams when they hold their first training camp in Grand
Cayman later this year. Having made a huge success of the annual Flowers Mile Sea Swim, Frank
and Dara are focusing on another open water event to help Cayman’s
economy and also make it an Olympic event. Ron Shillingford reports. Cayman’s open water swimmers are primed for the biggest sports event on the calendar. Along with St. Lucian kids, Cayman has the most slothful kids on the planet, a health survey published in April claims. Swimming in the Cayman Islands is the most successful and popular
sport and that is evident by the size of the annual Flowers Sea Swim. In
fact, it has become so popular that it is now restricted to 800
entrants. Ron Shillingford reports. Sports tourism is worth $22 trillion globally and the Cayman Islands
have certainly started the year intent on grabbing a slice of that
lucrative income. Ron Shillingford reports. Cayman's squash profile has risen spectacularly on the international circuit recently and with its next major event approaching, at Camana Bayin a couple of months, that burgeoning reputation will go up a couple more notches, writes Journal journalist Ron Shillingford Boxing in Cayman is set to soar mainly because the new state-of-the-art
gym is becoming a magnet to aspiring champions. Ron Shillingford
reports. During a recession historically health and fitness interest
increases. That has certainly happened in the Cayman Islands, writes Ron
Shillingford. A deep-seated passion for helping develop Cayman’s youth has been
recognised and congratulated as Acting Sports Director Collin Anglin was
named the Young Cayman Leadership Awards recipient for 2010 Sports tourism is constantly in the news as a source of untapped
revenue in the world recession. The annual Flowers Sea Swim attracts the
largest number of visitors to these shores of all the sports events.
Journal journalist Ron Shillingford looks at how sea swims could
increase tourism dollars. Cayman’s squash profile has risen spectacularly on the international
circuit recently and with its next major event approaching, at Camana
Bay in a couple of months, that burgeoning reputation will go up a
couple more notches, writes Journal journalist Ron Shillingford. Cayman’s track and field athletes are a hard working bunch; their haul
of international medals over the years has proven that. They generally
get a medal or two at the annual Carifta Championships, which is always
held over the Easter break We may be in the midst of a world recession and things have not been too rosy financially for Cayman this year but at least the sports scene has remained buoyant, writes Journal journalist Ron Shillingford.
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