The Cayman Islands was in top form at the inaugural Pickleball Caribbean Nations Cup Championships where five other teams tested their technique in fierce competition.
The event, sanctioned by the Pickleball Federation of the Americas, took place from 6-9 Feb., beginning with the Caribbean Championships which featured youth players racking up medals, prior to the Nations Cup segment of the tournament taking centre stage over the weekend.
Pickleball Cayman manager Steve Thompson said since the local facility opened in 2023, he had never seen so many people come out to watch the action on the courts.
“For the finish of our Caribbean tournament, it was probably our busiest night ever,” Thompson told the Compass. “I would guess we had nearly 500 people here simultaneously.”
The crowd was entertained by teams from Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and Trinidad and Tobago, all of which tried their luck against a determined and dominant Cayman team but it was Bermuda that flew home with bragging rights with a win over the local team.
Cayman triumphed in the senior division, taking first ahead of runner-up Bahamas and third-place Bermuda. However, in the open division – the most competitive – things got interesting in the finals, where Cayman opposed Bermuda.
The clash between Cayman and Bermuda on Sunday, 9 Feb., was reminiscent of their battle in October at the Pickleball World Cup in Lima, Peru.
Cayman defeated Bermuda 21-19 in the round of 16 to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals and the Bermudians did not forget that loss.
After equalling each other record after four games, it came down to a dreambreaker and, despite Cayman’s best efforts to get another victory over their rivals, it would be the Bermuda team having the last laugh of this battle and avenging their loss.
Bermuda held their nerve in the tense singles match, winning 21-18.
Thompson said the tournament was held after many countries expressed interest in having more competition and the end result did not disappoint.
“We have six awesome teams playing their hearts out here for their country, so it’s really cool to see,” Thompson said.
He said the tournament organisers are exploring ways to expand participation and has no doubt the event will become a staple in the Caribbean.
“Originally we had 12 countries that were interested, and just factors [such as] timing, pricing, for whatever reason, they couldn’t make this, so we ended up at six this time which is great – a nice manageable number for our first event,” Thompson said. “The feedback has been amazing from the countries visiting,” he noted, adding that next year’s competition might attract twice the number of participants.
He noted with the evolution of pickleball in the region and the development of more facilities, the goal will be to expand the tournament to other countries and they have already begun exploring their options.
“[We want] to try and spread it around but next year we are talking about maybe hosting in Bermuda, but we’re still discussing the facility.”
