Early registration for BVI Half Marathon opens Saturday

TORTOLA - Organizers of the 7th Deloite/Ogier BVI Half Marathon have announced that early registration for the upcoming event opens on Saturday. The 13.1-mile race is scheduled for Nov. 17, and it starts and ends at A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds after traversing Tortola's south coast.

The early registration fee through Nov. 1 is $45 and $50 through Nov. 16. There will be no race day registration. The fee includes breakfast, a finisher's medal and an official race T-shirt.

Registration information can be obtained from race director Kay Reddy at reddyk@blenheimbvi.com or Stephanie Russ Penn at ivb@mf.iaaf.org.

The race will offer a $500 prize for the top men's and women's runners, with second place in each category bagging $250 and third-placers getting $150. There's also a $150 prize for the top men's and women's finishers over 45 years, as well as a $500 prize for anyone breaking the two-year-old course record of 1 hour, 7 minutes and 38 seconds.

The Ceres Juices 10K Series, which is a lead-up to the event, is already in progress with the next race scheduled for Sept. 22. The BVI is also preparing to host a leg of the NACAC 10K Series for the second time on Oct. 6.

Sea Cows Bay Basketball Club launches showcase league

The Sea Cows Bay Basketball Club has launched a showcase league for 7-10 year old players in the Third District. The club, headed by Milton McLean, has been organizing clinics and tournaments since its formation in 1994.

"I think that we need to start introducing the game at an earlier age," McLean said. "I have gone down as far as six year olds. Once you get them into the game early, we try to get them to do the skills properly. I think at that young age, you're really going to get them into playing the game the right way in terms of the skills - shooting, passing, dribbling - so it's really for the young ones because they want to play. We have been ignoring them for a while and if we get them at that young age, then of course, it builds better basketball by the time they get into the 13-15 category."

From his observation, McLean said he has seen kids who have no skills but their passion for the game is overwhelming. He said it feels really good to see, that even though some of them can't really dribble the ball, their passion is just to participate.

"On the other hand, we see the complete opposite -kids who are going to be dynamic," he said. "These kids can shoot, dribble, pass and they are beginning to learn the game. So we have both ends of the spectrum and we are working with them so that whatever they can do right now, we are going to be patient and work with them. With these young ones, it's really and introduction and getting them to play the game the right way."

When asked about the challenge in getting this off the ground, McLean said it has been getting parents to send out their kids. He said while they have started with three teams in the district, they recognize there a lots of kids out there, a few who have played but many more who have not been introduced to the game and would like this opportunity.

"But the parents are either too busy or they are not aware of what's going on, so the challenge is really to get the kids out as possible," he said. "We feel that we can get another 20 to 25 kids from the area out and expose them to the game."

- Dean Greenaway is a Daily News correspondent based on Tortola

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