From Cayman Islands Olympic Committee

Amongst the news in our September 2013 Newsletter, Thomas Bach (pictured) was elected as the 9th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina. President Bach was elected after two rounds of voting. The President is elected by the IOC Members by secret ballot for an eight year term, with the possibility to stand for re-election. Bach succeeds Jacque Rogge who stood down after 12 years as IOC President.

Elite Continental Boxing Championships

Tafari Ebanks and Kendall Ebanks were personally invited to the Continental Boxing Championships in Santiago, Chile. Accompanied by Coach Nayon Anglin, the two Caymanian Boxers competed in this prestigious event. Kendall Ebanks fought Argentina’s Alberto Palmetta, showing great promise in a fight against such a strong competitor, but unfortunately lost on points 30:25. Tafari Ebanks fought Mexico’s Olympic Favorite Sergio Cherino, but also lost on points. While in Chile, the Cayman Islands Boxing Association (CIBA) sent Coach Norman Wilson to attend the AIBA Coaching Certification Course. Coach Wilson acquired his 3-star certification.

Pascal strikes Gold again

Alexander Pascal took home another Gold Medal in Javelin this time from the prestigious Pan Am Junior Championships in Medellin, Columbia. Pascal started the competition by throwing 68.89M taking him to the second round. He took the lead in the competition with a throw of 69.80M. In the final round he showed his dominance by throwing a personal best and a new Cayman Islands National Record with a throw of 72.83M. Pascal has been working closely with Cuban Coach Roberto Diaz to improve his technique and minor flaws. Coach Diaz was funded by the CIOC through the Glasgow 2014 Athlete Preparation Grant and worked to identify talent and develop the skills of young Caymanian javelin throwers.

CI Squash qualifies for Veracruz 2014

The Caribbean Squash Championships were a success for the Cayman Islands team. The event was held in Guyana from August 10th – 17th. Cameron Stafford, Julian Jervis and Daniel Murphy all competed in the singles event. Cameron played for fourth place in the men’s singles and Julian took third in the Plate. The CI Men’s team placed second overall (pictured right) with Guyana placing 1st and Jamaica placing 3rd. The CIOC funded the CI Squash Association to participate in this event which Heather Roffey qualified them to compete in the Veracruz 2014 CAC Games.

2014 Chef de Missions

The CIOC has elected Chef De Missions (CdMs) for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The CdM for the Veracruz CAC Games will be announced later this year after all nominations have been reviewed.

David Carmichael, who served as the CdM for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games for the Cayman Islands delegation, was named Chef de Mission for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games where Cayman anticipates sending at least one athlete in Alpine Skiing.

Jennifer Powell has been named the CdM for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games which takes place July 23rd to August 3rd. Jennifer, the Chief Operating Officer of the CIOC, was the CdM for the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and competed in the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Heather Roffey will be the Chef for the Nanjing 2014 YOG which takes place August 16th – 28th. Heather was the Singapore 2010 YOG CdM and represented the Cayman Islands in swimming at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

All officials who organise the Cayman Islands delegations are volunteers who work alongside the staff of the CIOC and the CIOC appreciates their dedication and the support of their employers.

CIOC New Employee

The CIOC has added new employee, Trent Christie, to our team. Trent recently completed an internship with the CIOC after which he was offered a full-time position. Trent was key in the organisation of Olympic Day and has also been working on the 40th Year History book of the CIOC. Trent studied Sport Management at Flagler College and wishes to continue his development in the sport industry while at the CIOC.

CIOC Audit

The CIOC thanks Deloitte for their dedicated support over the past 4 years, providing pro bono auditing of the CIOC financials up until the year 2010.

Moore Stephens Decosimo Cayman Limited (Decosimo) has since generously engaged in a partnership with the CIOC that will see Decosimo auditing the CIOCs’ financials pro bono until at least 2014. Decosimo is now a Top Sponsor of the CIOC.

Decosimo has since begun the auditing of the 2011 and 2012 financials.

Queen’s Baton Relay

The Queen’s Baton Relay for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will reach the Cayman Islands on April 11th, 2014. The Queen’s Baton contains Her Majesty’s ‘Message to the Athletes’ and is symbolically carried from Buckingham Palace across the 71 nations and territories of the Commonwealth and for the first time will be escorted by at BBC Television crew who will be posting live footage and compiling a complete video of the Batons’ journey. The CIOC will engage its national sport organisations to transport the baton through each district across all three islands with athletes of all ages, and utilising various means of transportation through sport.

Tokyo wins 2020 Olympic Bid

Tokyo was selected as the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games by the IOC, also taking place during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Tokyo, selected over the cities of Madrid and Istanbul, previously hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1964. Wrestling has been added back to the Olympic Programme for the 2020 and 2024 Games.

Upcoming Events

Oct 12th

CUC 800M Swim (Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association)

Oct 13th

Triathlon Training Series Race 3

Oct 11th- 27th

AIBA World Boxing Championships – Almaty, Kazakhstan

Nov 8th – 10th

Spikefest (Cayman Islands Volleyball Association)

Nov 9th

Pirates Week Annual 5K (Cayman Islands Amateur Swimming Association)

For more on this story and to download the Newsletter go to:

http://www.caymanolympic.org.ky/blog/cioc-september-2013-newsletter