The Tribune

WHEN 120 football players from four different Caribbean countries get together to play 36 matches in two days it can’t be anything other than a great experience for everyone. Last weekend the beautiful football pitch at Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) saw an exciting series of high level 13-and-under football matches played by students from international schools across the Caribbean.

“It was fantastic football,” said LCIS athletic director Craig Massey. “And it was a wonderful experience for all of the players, coaches and families involved.”

For the second year the KPMG has sponsored Football Fest, January 31 – February 1, which brought football teams from six international schools to the campus at LCIS for a two-day event. Twelve teams, three more than last year, battled against each other in the annual event.

LCIS families hosted players from The Codrington School (Barbados), Cedar International School (BVI), The American International School of Kingston(ASIK, Jamaica) and Lucaya International School (Freeport). Visiting teams were joined by teams from both of the international schools in Nassau – LCIS and St Andrews School.

“As a school we are driven to offer transformative experiences for our students,” explained LCIS principal Stacy Bobo. “Events like this teach all students so much. They learn about other cultures, make new friends, and an have opportunity to exhibit outstanding sportsmanship,” she added.

The competition culminated on Saturday afternoon with the 13-and-under girls final played between St Andrews and LCIS. St Andrew’s emerged as the victor (2-1) after a hard-fought battle. The 13-and-under boys final was also between St Andrews and LCIS, with LCIS taking that victory with a final score of 2-1. “All of the players gave maximum effort and it was a pleasure to see high calibre football from all of the schools,” Mr Massey said. “It was hard to know which game to watch!”

The tournament was part of the Caribbean International Schools Association’s (CISA), designed to enhance sporting competition between international schools in the Caribbean. The LCIS PE department worked tirelessly to host the event and ensure that all players were kept motivated and entertained.

The event would not have been possible without the PE Department’s amazing teamwork. Future CISA events include The Blue Iguana basketball tournament in Cayman Islands in April and Socca Feva (hosted by AISK) in Jamaica in February.

KPMG has always shown outstanding support of football in The Bahamas, and has sponsored the event since its inception. Subway and Thompson Trading were also important sponsors of the event, providing food and snacks throughout the entire weekend.

The two-day event was monitored by an EMT team from Doctors Hospital who worked alongside the LCIS school nurse Lora Bower to ensure that all players and spectators were well looked after.

“Football is a part of the culture of LCIS,” Mr Massey said. “We have invested in our players development with specialist coaching and great equipment through our LCIS Sports Institute and the results are obvious. Our standard of play has improved significantly since the inception of the Sports Institute. Our families are also very supportive of our Dragons football teams.”

More than one third of all students at LCIS are competitively involved in football, so it is no surprise that there was an excellent turnout this weekend. “It was an amazing football experience,” Massey said.

“Our LCIS Dragon Football families willingly billeted the 70 visiting players and coaches and helped run the concessions tables all weekend long. Our younger members who were not playing in the tournament served as “ball boys” and two of our students Sean Blyden and Zac Luedders were happy to provide almost continuous music from the music tent. Our entire LCIS family worked together to make this happen.”

Minutes after the final whistle blew players were invited to unwind with a swim in the LCIS pool followed by a celebration BBQ. A great way to end a great two days of competition with some new life-long friends!

Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) is one of 218 schools worldwide that is a fully accredited International Baccalaureate (IB) school.

The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognising their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. For more information on LCIS please visit www.lcis.bs