Sports

Since 2001 the Roaring Lions Football Club has been conducting a grassroots football training camp for children to help cultivate home-grown talent. The Club’s venture has been made possible through the kind sponsorship of Sunset Homes. Sponsorship ranges from US$2000.00 US$2500.00 whenever materials are procured for the group. Items that are normally purchased include balls, cones, children and coaches’ uniforms and shoes for deserving athletes.

On Saturday February 9, almost 200 children filled the James Ronald Webster Park for the second annual JW Proctors Track Classic. In terms of athletics, this event if the first on the calendar of track and field activities for the 2008 season and also serves as the precursor to the CARIFTA games that will be held in St. Kitts in March.

This weekend, players from the Anguilla Tennis Academy participated in the Oyster Bay Tennis Tournament in Sint Maarten. The two-day event began the morning of Saturday, January 27, and ended late afternoon on Sunday, January 28. The annual event, sponsored by the Oyster Bay Hotel, was held at the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex. Les Brown was the tournament director and organizer.

On December 9, eight professional and eight amateur tennis players competed in a charity tennis tournament at CuisinArt Resort and Spa. All the proceeds went to benefit the Anguilla Tennis Academy’s children’s programme. The tournament began with the inauguration of the new tennis courts at CuisinArt. This addition is coupled with the nearly finished Spa which is set to open early next year.

Telecommunications provider Digicel, one of the contributors to the novice cycling event which took place on Sunday December 2nd is partnering with the Link Cycling Club to promote healthy living.

The curtains came down on an exciting finish to the 19th Annual National Bank of Anguilla-sponsored Primary Schools Football Tournament on Saturday, December 1, at Coronation Park.

Anguilla junior athletes distinguished themselves well in the 2007 St. Martins Day Road Relay on Sunday 11th November. A record number of 45 teams lined up for the 20th running of this annual event which started at 7:00 am sharp from the Raoul Illidge Sports Complex through to the French side ending back at the complex for a distance of just over 20 miles.

Coronation Park is the venue for the National Bank of Anguilla-sponsored 19th Annual Primary Schools Football Competition which is now in progress. It commenced on November 2 and will continue until December 1.

Many positively-thinking young men across Anguilla have grouped themselves into what has the potential of becoming a strong force in harnessing youthful energies and encouraging discipline, while building interest in the national sport of boat-racing and other fun-filled activities.

Mr. Colin Johnson chaired a ceremony held at the James Ronald Webster Park on Monday, October 29 at 4pm to announce the commencement of the AFA – NBA Interhouse Football League of the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School. All five teams representing the pink, yellow, orange, purple, and maroon houses were present to hear remarks from various contributors.

The third annual Sint Maarten Optimist Sailing Championships that took place on Saturday 13th October showed an increasingly high level of sailing ability as 17 youth sailors from Sint Maarten and Anguilla sailed a series of 7 races in the Simpson Bay Lagoon. This was the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club’s (AYSC) second time attending this regatta.

After a successful summer programme in which more than 250 children learned how to play tennis, the Anguilla Tennis Academy’s After School Programme has kept the momentum. Classes began at the new facility in Blowing Point on October 1 with almost 80 children enrolling immediately.

Kreative Communications Network, a local Television Production and Broadcasting entity, has donated six footballs to the Valley Primary School Football team as they prepare themselves for the upcoming National Bank of Anguilla Primary School Football Competition to be held in November 2007.

The curtain came down on the BSC Halbzeit Selection of Berne Switzerland tour of Anguilla with an impressive victory over the Anguilla All Star Selection on Sunday 14th October at the Ronald Webster Park. Playing an exciting brand of football, the Swiss totally out played their Anguillian counterpart.

A special dinner, cricket match and a motorcade in Anguilla, and a tour to St. Martin/St. Maarten as well as other activities, were all part of celebrations over the past weekend by the Anguilla Cricket Team which won the Leeward Islands’ three-day competition for the first time.

The Links Cycling Club of Anguilla (LCCA) is presently embarking on a passionate drive to recruit young boys and girls that are willing to engage in the beloved sport of cycling. According to Mr. George Lake, president of the club, there are presently ten enthusiastic youngsters who are enamored with the sport and are prepared to work hard to achieve good results.

Although most outsiders would assume that cricket is the national sport of Anguilla, residents know that sailing and boat races draw the most crowds and unify the people. In its efforts to continue Anguilla’s tradition of sailing, the Anguilla Youth Sailing Club, for the past two years, has been teaching young people to navigate the waters that surround Anguilla. This past Saturday, October 6, the AYSC held an Open House at Sandy Ground. Many students and community members came to the clubhouse on the beach to sign up and learn more about the programme.

The Anguilla Football Association will be hosting the BSC Halbzeit Selection of Berne Switzerland from 5th to 15th October 2007. A Journalist and a Photographer will accompany the team to document and report on their visit to the island.

Once again the Anguilla cricket team delivered a knock out punch to another Leeward Islands cricketing power in a three-day encounter. Anguilla performed well in the batting and bowling departments and was ably assisted by some excellent fielding. Batting first, Nevis struggled to 111 runs. Its top scorers were Tonito and Akito Willette who scored 37 and 22 respectively and Kerion Powell who contributed 20 runs.

As the search for the first ever Anguillian winner of the John T memorial race continues, Mr. George Lake president of the Link Cycling Club of Anguilla (LCCA) has been busy cultivating talent to do just that.