The Cyprus Youth Cricket Festival took place last Saturday morning at Limassol`s Heritage School, with Cyprus National Team Captain, Mike Kyriacou attending alongside several team members who were present to help train, umpire and hand out prizes to the 40 or so young children.

They are currently playing in the Youth Development Programme which is being run by the Cyprus Cricket Association for under 11`s.

The morning was the highlight of a season of active participation by keen volunteers including ex-Lancashire County Cricket coach, Terry Holt and Mohammad Husain, who runs the Cyprus Cricket Association Youth Development Programme in Cyprus.

The CCA has been instrumental in developing cricket throughout Cypriot schools, although currently most of the activity is centered around the private English language schools, something that Husain wants to change.

“We are very keen to bring cricket into the Cypriot school system although at the moment it`s difficult for us to promote because of the language barrier. We would be delighted to welcome Greek speaking volunteers who could help us do this. What is clear is that many Cypriot children who do go to private schools are really enjoying cricket. The love the sport.”

One parent, Maria Timini, who has two boys aged 5 and 7, is thrilled with their progress. “They started playing last year and absolutely love it. It`s so good to see them enjoying something that is so well organised. It teaches them skills, discipline and coordination and how to behave as part of a team. I think more of our children should be able to play cricket. It`s a shame we don`t offer it in our public schools.”

With the national cricket squad due to compete in the EuropeanChampionships in Belgium during June 20 to 26, focus on the game is strong. National team captain Kyriakou is optimistic about the growth of the sport on the island.

“I`ve been in Cyprus for 10 years now and Ican see a huge difference in the popularity of cricket since I`ve been here. In South Africa, where I`m from, everyone loves cricket and rugby, they`re national sports. It`s taken a while but it`s beginning to build here.

“That`s why it`s so important to encourage our native kids to play. But we need support from government, sports associations, sponsorship. We should be looking to build a strong team now to take us into the World Cup Tournament in 2020.”

There are only 3 Cypriot members in the Cyprus National Cricket team currently.

“Kyriakou calls it a `multi-ethnic team` which represents the values the game actually teaches. He was modelling the official, brand new `canary yellow` 2011 Cyprus Cricket Kit when he presented the children with their Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates and trophies.

If the team succeeds in getting into the top 2 of Division Two, they will be promoted to First Division and go on to play in Jersey in the following month`s tournament.

Meanwhile, Holt sees a definite need on the island for sports centres. “To have somewhere set up for children to play not just cricket, but rugby, handball, tennis, volleyball…all types of sports and give them a chance to learn new skills: this is something I feel would really benefit our youth. We don`t invest nearly enough in sports for our children.”

Last month, the CCA Under 15s team, championed by the International Cyprus Cricket Development Programme, were in Corfu competing internationally with squads from India, Dubai, Norway, UK, Australia, Bulgaria and Greece.

“Kyriakou believes that to be in with a chance to compete in the 2020 World Cup “we need to do more with our young kids now. This is a great start.”

For more information on cricket in Cyprus please contact the CCA on: 7000 2742.

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Larnaca Tourism Board recently organised a meeting to intiate its “Cleaning Campaign in the Larnaca Tourist Area.”

The event was attended by representatives of the CTO, the Community Councils of Oroklini and Pyla the Municipality of Larnaca, the District Administration, the Department of Public Works and Larnaca Police.

During the meeting it was decided that a cleaning campaign, including cutting weeds and removing illegal billboards in major tourist areas, should take place from May 23 to 27.

The aims of the campaign are to clean tha tourist area of Larnaca, with a focus on the coast from Pyla to Larnaca, before the arrival of the summer tourists, and for the area to be monitored and discussed by local authorities on a regular basis.

Tour operators and tourists often comment that the areas are unsightly at a time when strenuous efforts are being made to upgrade and promote tourism in Larnaca. Therefore, the Larnaca Tourism Board appeals to all owners of tourist premises in the Larnaca district to make a special effort to raise awareness on how premises look, by removing signs and banners that not only impede access but also cause clutter and look unattractive.

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The team behind this summer`s Yeroskipou sailing regatta have selected a logo for the event from a selection of entries from Paphos schools.

Yeroskipou Mayor, Tasos Kouzoupos, told  he was impressed with the standard of entries as he took part at the Paphos International Sailing Club (PISC) in the final selection from over 50 colourful artworks by local youngsters aged 8-16.

The winner was 12 year old pupil, Molly Todd, who attends the American Academy, located on the outskirts of Yeroskipou.

“Molly`s entry is quite outstanding in its composition, interpretation and detail, “PISC press officer Nikki Dake said.

Stella Hadjicharalambous, President of Paphos Nautical Club (PNC) remarked on the excellent display of designs.

“They have all done very well and we are most grateful to the participating schools and the art teachers who have been on hand with advice.”

The actual judging of the 50 designs was conducted by the regatta committee and PISC members.

The art competition was the brainchild of committee member, Rod Chorlton.

“We are hoping for a good response”, he said. “But this has surpassed expectation. The winner will not only have her own T-shirt to treasure, but also a chance to go sailing with a club member at Latchi on the Kataklysmos holiday. In fact all schools that entered the competition will be invited to join PISC members there. We think this is an inspiring way to get local youngsters involved in every aspect of sailing.”

Whilst the art competition shows the lighter side of the regatta planning, unexpected problems appear to be hampering the registration of sailors for the event.

Recently introduced legislation on the licensing of road trailers has come to light that means that many of the trailers, an essential part of small boat equipment, expected to transport dinghies from clubs across the island cannot be registered for use on the roads due to the non-existence of required customs documentation. The regatta committee is seeking help from the Cyprus Sailing Federation, who have already pledged their full backing.

“This state of affairs may also affect the Cypriot sailors whom we hope will get involved. We really need them to commit to applying to enter the regatta for, without them, we cannot really achieve our wish for a highly successful sailing event” a spokesperson for Yeroskipou Municipality said. The details of the regatta including information about how to register as a participating sailor are on the council website: www.geroskipou-municipality.com

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A monthly women`s lunch event is hosting a golf taster day at the recently-opened Elea Golf Course near Yeroskipou.

Ladies at Lunch will run a thirty minute golf lesson followed by a specially-devised three-course lunch menu including two drinks at the prestigious golf club restaurant in June.

“The golf lesson will be a light-hearted introduction to golf and for ourconverted golfing ladies, it will allow time to practise your swing and technique,” organiser Janice Ruffle said.

Situated at the heart of the prestigious Elea Estate in Cyprus, Elea Golf Club offers world-class golf in a stunning setting. The Par 71 course, designed by golf legend Sir Nick Faldo, incorporates numerous natural features.

The first `Ladies at Lunch`, was held late last year with the aim of providing informal opportunities for professional networking, socialising and and exchanging information about the practicalities of life in Cyprus.

The meetings attract woman of all nationalities and backgrounds. Since the first event, monthly events have seen talks on health, beauty and fashion as well as small business practice. Future Ladies at Lunch events include an Afternoon Tea event and a talk on home security.

The June event at Elea will also include a wine tasting courtesy of award-winning Limassol winery, Zambartas.

“It will be a great pleasure for us to introduce our wines at the wine tasting event in June,” Dr. Akis Zambartas said.

“Please wear or bring trainers or suitable attire and consider bringing sunhats and bottled water,” Ruffle said. “There will be time to freshen up prior to dining and for the ladies who would prefer not to participate in the golf practice, you are welcome to be a spectator or have coffee on the terrace relaxing and enjoying the views. During your visit, personal tours of the new venue can be arranged for the enthusiastic golfers.”

The June Ladies at Lunch event takes place on June 17 from 12 noon until 2:30pm. The fee is 35 euro. Places for the event are limited so early booking is advisable. The deadline for reservations with a 15 euro deposit is May 27.

For more information, contact ladieslunching@ymail.com or phone 99 987 672.

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The Cyprus Institute recently hosted a conference for Middle Eastern scientists and students on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This event was organised jointly by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Colorado, USA and The Cyprus Institute.

The aim of the event attended by Middle Eastern students, faculty, scientists and weather forecasters was to learn about the latest methods in computer weather prediction as well as the operation of a complex computer software system that is used worldwide for research and operational forecasting related to weather, climate, air quality and flooding.

The weather and climate prediction software system called the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is managed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the US, and is used worldwide by thousands af scientists, NCAR conducts similar workshops in the US on a regular basis. On this occasion, NCAR decided to carry out traning in the Eastern Mediterranean region making it available to all interested scientists and professionals.

Participants were from ten countries: Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebonan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Tunisia and Turkey representing universities, government research laboratories and the national forecasting centers of their countries. The Cyprus Meteorological Service cosponsored the workshop. The knowledge and skills gained will lead to the availability of better weather and climate information in the future for the Middle East, with benefits to the economies and public safety. It is also expected that it will encourage further scientific collaborations among nations in the region.

In addition to its central regional position, the CyI was selected to host the event as it has high-performance computing equipment that is necessary to run the WRF model which has hundreds of thousands of lines of code.

CyI research scientists Drs. Amit Teller and Panos Hadjinicolau contributed to setting the scientific goals of the workshop and the preparation of the scientific material. The workshop began with a welcome from the Vice President for Research of the CyI, Prof. Leonard Barrie, and from Dr. Filippos Tymvios on behalf of the Director of the Cyprus Meteorological Service. During the course, training lectures were given by nine NCAR scientists. The participants also spent many hours with hands-on-computer-laboratory exercises where they learned to run the WRF model on the high performance computer of CyI. It is expected that a similar course will be hosted periodically by the CyI, that is becoming a centre for climate, weather and computer science research in the Eastern Mediterranean.

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