St Ignatius takes RBC Sailing Championships

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

The winning team from St Ignatius poses with their trophy.

In one of the more unusual school sports championships, a team from Saint Ignatius Catholic School triumphed in the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) School Sailing Championships at the Cayman Islands Sailing Club (CISC).

Traditionally held at the culmination of the school year, the RBC School Sailing Championships enables teams from rival schools to compete against each other after a year of learning how to sail.

RBC returned as the sponsor in 2006 after the event was postponed last year in the wake of Hurricane Ivan.

Prior to the September 2004 hurricane, the RBC School Sailing Championships was one of the most exciting dates in the youth sports calendar in the Cayman Islands, and this year's event, held on 16 June, recaptured the unique spirit of past race days.

Teams competed from St Ignatius, Cayman Prep High School, and Cayman International School (CIS), and following a total of four races, St Ignatius placed in first, ahead of CIS and third-placed Cayman Prep.

The award for the best single boat was given to the CIS team of Oliver Fogherty and Thomas Wolfe.

Mr Gil Plamondon of RBC attended the event and presented the winning team with the RBC School Sailing Championships trophy at the awards ceremony that followed the races.

CISC Director of Sailing Michael Weber said the students enjoyed an "excellent" regatta. "There were even a few protests, which is an indication that the students are beginning to understand the complex rules of sailing! Overall, the racing was a great showcase of hard work over the last few months," he said.

"Interschool athletic competitions are an important part of education and we are very happy that RBC is allowing us to add sailing to the list of sports available to schoolchildren."
Mr Weber went on to say that he was not surprised to see St Ignatius triumphing in the event.

"St Ignatius has added sailing to its regular school physical education curriculum and extracurricular activities for years, and it continues to support our programmes. The RBC regatta is an excellent event and I hope it is an incentive for us to be able to provide sailing lessons to more schoolchildren next year."

For further information about the CISC, including sponsorship opportunities and details on the youth sailing programme, either visit www.sailing.ky or contact Club Administrator Heather Bradley on 947 7913 or at admin@sailing.ky.

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