Sports

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.

Monday evening this week saw the official closing of the 2007 Anguilla Female Football League with an award ceremony at the Old Caribe Restaurant at the Anguilla Great House. The league was sponsored overall by the Caribbean Commercial Bank which provided the trophies for the winning teams and individual winners as well as cash prizes. In addition there were co-sponsors for the four competing teams.

The 2007-2008 Scotiabank Kiddy Cricket season started with an opening ceremony held on the Ronald Websters Park on 19th September 2007. Mr. Cardigan Connor, representative of the W.I.C.B., hosted the event. The ceremony was held to explain to the primary schools what activities and programs they would be engaged in for the year. Mr. Ralph Hodge (President Cricket Association) gave the opening remarks, thanking Scotiabank for their sponsorship of the program. He also stated that a tree starts from a root so the initiative of cricket for the kids of Anguilla is well appreciated.

Sunday, September 23, was the date of the commencement of trials at the Ronald Webster Park in Anguilla for the selection of the island’s “Pro Team” for the Stanford 20-20 Caribbean-wide cricket tournament over the next year.

The Sunset Homes Attackers are actively pursuing training for the upcoming Anguilla Football Association Male Senior League which is carded for kick-off in October 2007.

The children of the Stoney Ground/Caul’s Bottom area were treated to a day of fun and friendly sporting competition on Sunday September 9th 2007.

On August 29, five delegates from the Anguilla Tennis Academy travelled to New York to attend the 2007 US Open Championships. The US Open is one of the four major grand slam tournaments and the last one of the year. The previous year, both Mitch Lake and Jason Allen attended the tournament and decided that it would be a great professional development opportunity for the ATA staff so that they could become more familiar with the tennis industry at all levels of play.

The overall winners in the Health Authority of Anguilla Golf Classic Tournament over the weekend were Jim Filaroski, Mark Filaroski, Read Davis and Doug Leason who represented Comp.Nation and McGriff, Sible and Williams.

The Anguilla Football Association Annual Soccer Camp was another resounding success. Over one Hundred kids between the ages of 3-17 years, flocked the park each day between the hours of 9-12 am from 13th to 24th August.

Anguillian Giordan Connor, now a highly qualified university graduate, is a fine example of how an ambitious young man, who started out as a footballer, can make it to the top of the ladder in education through sheer hard work and dedication.

Three weeks ago, the new courts at the Anguilla Tennis Academy’s facility in Blowing Point were inaugurated and thus the annual summer camp began. With a plethora of highly trained coaches and youth leaders, the quality of this year’s camp has indubitably been augmented and it shows in the progress of the children. Because of the large number of children participating, a number which exceeds 230, the ATA staff hopes to continue to propel tennis as a sport to be reckoned with not only in Anguilla, but in the Caribbean. Among the large number of students, 60 are members of the After School Program and have shown significant improvement not only in the camp, but throughout the year.

Young Anguillian will be travelling to Japan on August 18 for the World Championship Games. He is fresh from his Pan American Junior debut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he lowered the National Junior Records in the 100m and 200m which were at 11.16 and 22.65. Both records were held by Athlee Ruan. The new records are now 11.02 and 22.31 which are now Rogers’ best.