Georgetown, Grand Cayman, April 13, 2010: The dust has hardly settled at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in Grand Cayman following the successful hosting of the 39th CARIFTA Track & Field games for 2010 yet already there’s a buzz in the air about next year’s event.
And much of the talk has centred on the historic partnership between LIME and the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) which resulted in the Games being televised “live” for the first time in its 39-year history, providing track and field fans across the region with a “front row” seat. Lime also provided “live” streaming coverage via the web to thousands of viewers across the world.
LIME, the region’s only full service communications company, was the Presenting Sponsor of the meet for the first time and, without doubt, dramatically changed the experience of these Games.
While CARIFTA has always been the platform from which many of our greatest athletes have emerged, it has been a low-key affair that generally is only experienced by the country hosting the Games each year. As this year’s Presenting Sponsor, LIME brought a totally new dimension to Games using its multi-media channels to bring an entirely new level of visibility to the Games.
The live television broadcast of the games was seen in 26 Caribbean countries through the partnership with CMC and their affiliate stations. In addition, the live streaming of coverage on LIME’s website attracted more than 55,000 visitors from 32 countries including viewers as far away as Sydney, Australia. The streaming also proved to be a hit with LIME customers and Caribbean nationals throughout the Diaspora including the US, Canada and UK markets.
LIME also had an on-the-spot correspondent Terry Finesterre who provided regular updates on the action from Cayman via popular social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter.
Chris Dehring, LIME’s Chief Marketing Officer said “CARIFTA 2010 was a fantastic display of the Caribbean’s enormous talent and LIME helped to position the Games in their rightful place as the Region’s premier athletic event.”
LIME invested just over US$300,000 in its sponsorship of the Games providing support for various aspects of the meet including the impressive branding of the stadium and the overall promotion of the event.
LIME also launched “REPRESENT” a Caribbean wide advertising and promotion campaign which gave schools across the region the chance to win a $5000 Sports package for their school as well as a visit from international sprinting sensation and former 100m world record holder, Asafa Powell.
LIME also helped athletic associations in nine of the countries where it operates to send teams to the Games by providing financing to offset the cost of travel and uniforms.
Building on the success of this year’s CARIFTA Games LIME is looking forward to being part of CARIFTA 2011 which will mark the 40th anniversary of the popular event.
Cayman Islands News