George Town, Grand Cayman, 6-June 2014:

Football fans of the Cayman Islands, as well as the general public bore witness to the launch of the 2014 Pirates Week Beach Soccer Open Cup on the weekend of May 31st. This was a historic moment for the Cayman Islands as it was the first official beach tournament of its kind to grace our shores. Together, the Cayman Islands Football Associations and the many corporate sponsors that joined in supporting this event, ensured the tournament was a complete success. To show their support of football in the Cayman Islands and this innovative event, the Paramount Group, a sponsor of the Cup, entered two teams: Supermix Concrete and BlueSky Airlines.

Supermix Concrete proved to be one of the dominant teams throughout the Cup leading the Men’s division through the round-robin games, and finishing undefeated heading into the playoffs. Supermix began their rampage against competitor Roma U23 with 5 – 1 victory aided by team-player Immer Carter, winner of the Golden Boot, leading the team with two goals. Carter, who netted 12 goals throughout the 2-day tournament commented on his team’s success as well as the success of the tournament, “It’s a great feeling to win the Golden Boot, but it would have been an even better feeling to win the tournament. I believe the event was a good learning process with some areas of improvement, but overall it was very competitive and exciting. I think the competition was great, and I saw a lot of heart and effort in the tournament. We would like to thank our corporate sponsor Supermix for supporting our team and this event.”

Yet, despite demonstrating their prowess throughout the event, the Supermix Concrete team met their match in the semi-finals, as they took on the Gunners in an epic playoff round. The game saw non-stop action, with both teams putting on a show for fans as they demonstrated their acrobatic athleticism and each scoring spectacular goal. Supermix netted their second goal in the final minute of the 3rd period, and although there was a clear momentum shift in their favour, the team simply ran out of time to net the equalizer, ending in the final score of 3 – 2. The Gunners football squad proceeded to finally take the tournament championship in their triumph over the C.I. Strikers.

David Rankin, Managing Director of Supermix Concrete commented on his team’s tournament success, “The players definitely deserve praise for their efforts throughout the weekend. They came out strong, determined, and put in100% effort, leaving everything on the pitch. On behalf of Supermix; the on-time concrete company, we are very proud of these players especially Mr. Immer Carter on claiming the Golden Boot award. Football is a part of Cayman’s heritage, and we have grown as a community because of it. Now with Beach Football entering the sporting stage, we can only expect better and more rewarding experiences to come, and Supermix has every intention to be a part of the growing phenomenon of Cayman sports.”

In the Women’s division of the tournament, BlueSky Airlines fielding players from the Sunset Football Club, stepped on the pitch against some of Cayman’s top Women Footballers, some of these players having played in professional football teams overseas. The players of BlueSky Airlines showed excellent showmanship and skill, even as they were defeated by opponents Scholars and Sunrise Football teams, finishing the tournament 1 – 2. Scholars went on to win the Women’s division. Jessica Lopez, team captain for BlueSky Airlines expressed her content with her team and the event, “It was a great tournament, the idea was new to us on the island so it was certainly fun. It was definitely tough, completely different from our normal football game, and without a doubt more tiring. I was very pleased with one of our standout players, Sarah Pinches. When our goal keeper got hurt, she volunteered to in goal and she did not let us down. She did an amazing job saving shots and helped us win out final game of the event!”

Team Manager of BlueSky Airlines football team, Nicky Keough echoed Lopez’s sentiments, “Jovani Hessing, our goalie who is just back from playing overseas with the ladies International team, made excellent saves in the first and second game. Unfortunately, Jo got injured in the second game and Sarah Pinched stepped into the goal to take her place. This was an excellent event, although it was surprisingly different. We had a lot of fun, and are very appreciative to BlueSky Airlines for supporting us in the tournament.”

Business Development Manager of BlueSky Airlines, Tara Ebanks expresses her thoughts on the tournament as well as her pride for the women who participated, “The women who participated in this first-time event did an amazing job and showed their exceptional skills on the field. On behalf of BlueSky Airlines I would especially like to express my praise to the ladies who played for BlueSky Airlines and to Ms. Sarah Pinches who stepped in for her team when their goalie, Ms. Jovani Hessing was injured. This event was a great way to tie in our island’s love of football with the beautiful beaches we boast. It was an important step in connecting the people of Cayman with the many corporations here who are willing to support these sort of events and bring the island together doing something we all love. The women who are part of Cayman’s nation football team as well as those who have a love of football are all amazing competitors and deserve to be recognized for their skills and abilities. This event was a great way to show our support of these amazing ladies and have fun doing it! BlueSky Airlines will definitely continue to support the growing interest of Cayman sports.”

Melanie McField, Executive Director of Pirate’s Week and tournament organizer said, “Beach Football is an excellent addition to the Cayman Islands sporting community. We have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and some very talented footballers. What better way to combine the two. I couldn’t have asked for a more successful tournament with all the teams and great spectator participation. The atmosphere was excellent and I’m truly happy with how it all turned out. Pirate’s Week is holding a series of fundraising events to ensure the standards are not compromised and this was a highly successful one.”