Non-Profit: CI Golf Association

This column features a non-profit organisation (NPO) registered in the Cayman Islands. If you’d like your charity to be considered for this column (which means free publicity!) please register your charity as an NPO with General Registry by 31 July 2018.

Golf makes a positive impact on the Cayman Islands through its governing body, the Cayman Islands Golf Association (CIGA).

CIGA has been working to promote and develop golf in Cayman since 1992. Golf is an outdoor sport which has no boundaries in terms of gender or age, with golfers ranging in age from seven to 77 years old. For CIGA, golf is more than a sport — it’s a healthy outdoor activity that instils core values of honesty, integrity, and sportsmanship.

The association is entirely run by volunteers with a nine-member executive committee, and a combined adult and junior membership of 300 golfers. CIGA programmes are funded from membership dues, tournament entry fees and sponsorships. CIGA’s two main objectives for the coming months are the 62nd Caribbean Amateur Golf Championship (CAGC), being staged in Cayman from 31 July to 3 August this year; and junior golf development.

For the CAGC, Cayman will host around 80 of the best male and female amateur golfers in the region for the Caribbean Golf Association’s flagship four-day tournament. Play will take place at the North Sound Golf Club. The Cayman team will be looking to improve their third-place finish last year. Spectators are welcome!

CIGA is indebted to event sponsors DART, The R&A, Digicel, RSM, CNB, Walkers, Aon, Caldwell Banker, and Red Sail.

Volunteers will be needed for the CAGC. To sign up or to learn more, visit www.ciga.ky or email info@ciga.ky.

Since 2013, when the Caribbean Junior Championships were held in Cayman, junior golf has grown exponentially — both in terms of numbers and skill level. Around 100 children receive coaching per week, with more than 30 youth playing in our regular junior competitions. The elite youngsters represent Cayman abroad, at both the junior and senior levels.

For junior golf development, CIGA continues to partner with the North Sound Golf Club to introduce golf to Cayman’s public schools. Following the success of the Sir John A Cumber Primary School programme, which resulted in three pupils becoming regulars, golf professionals will be teaching at George Town Primary School. CIGA is also working with the YMCA to introduce golf into its afterschool programme, which handles more than 1,000 kids.

CIGA is also building on the alliance established in 2017 with the world-renowned Leadbetter Golf Academy (LGA) in Orlando, Florida, to enhance Cayman’s junior coaching. LGA coaches visit once a month to work alongside local professionals coaching our youth, and they pass on their expertise via a train-the-trainer programme.

For more info, visit www.ciga.ky or email info@ciga.ky.

For more information on NPOs, please contact General Registry by emailing paul.inniss@gov.ky.