SteppingStones was excited to be one of the sponsors of the Cayman Squash Open, which ran from May 5th – May 10th 2009. The competition boasted some of the top male and female competitors ever to compete in the Caribbean. Battling it out in the women’s event was three times World Open Champion Nicol Davis from Malaysia; World No 2. Natalie Grainger, from the USA; World No 4. and current Commonwealth Games gold medallist Natalie Grinham, and five times Caribbean Champion, Marlene West.
The Men’s Invitational event saw Cayman’s four best players: current Caribbean Junior Champion Cameron Stafford; five times national champion Dean Watson; South Sound Squash Club Champion Jake Kelly and Maples Commonwealth Games Squad member Ryan McConvey compete against current Caribbean No.1, Shawn Smith from Barbados; Caribbean No.2, Colin Ramasra from Trinidad and Tobago and Caribbean No.3 and current Caribbean Men’s Champion, Gavin Cumberbatch from Barbados.
“This was an exciting sporting event to be part of”, said Milly Serpell, Managing Director of SteppingStones. “The Cayman Squash Club did an excellent job in attracting such talented players from across the Globe. We were drawn to being involved when we heard that our sponsorship would help the Cayman Open in their aim to offer free squash to Cayman’s youth.”
The 2009 event ran free workshops every day for Cayman school children, offering juniors the opportunity to play against the visiting pros. In addition, 12 Caymanians were offered squash scholarships, including free squash equipment, free membership and free lessons. “Opportunities to get young people inspired, involved and learning, whether it is in school, in sport or in any other area of life are key to the success of our young people and we are proud to be involved.”
