The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and has taken place every four years ever since (except 1942 and 1946 which were cancelled). The Games are described as the third largest multi-sport event in the world after theOlympic Games and the Asian Games.

It was initially known as the British Empire Games and was renamed to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954 and the British Commonwealth Games in 1970, before finally gaining its current title, theCommonwealth Games, for the 1978 edition. The Games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. A host city is selected for each edition and eighteen cities in seven countries have hosted the event.

As well as many Olympic sports, the Games also include some sports that are played mainly in Commonwealth countries, such as lawn bowls, rugby sevens and netball.

Although there are 54 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 71 teams participate in the Commonwealth Games as a number of British overseas territories, Crown dependencies, and island states compete under their own flag. The four Home Nations of the United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – also send separate teams.

Cayman first competed in 1978. Cayman has won 1 Gold and 1 Bronze.

The Pan-American or Pan Am Games constitute a major event in the Americas featuring summer and formerly winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held between athletes from nations of the Americas, held every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games.

Since 2007, host cities are contracted to manage both the Pan American and the Parapan American Games, in which athletes with physical disabilities compete against one another. The Parapan American Games are held immediately following their respective Pan American Games. PASO is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter. Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Pan American Games in 36 different sports and nearly 400 events.

The Pan American Games were last held in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011. The next edition of the Games will be held in Toronto in 2015.

The Cayman Islands have competed at every edition of the Pan American Games since the ninth edition of the multi-sport event in 1987 and has won a total of 6 Pan Am Medals; 1 Gold, 4 Silver and 1 Bronze.

The Central American and Caribbean Games (CAC) are a multi-sport regional championships event, held once in the Olympic quadrennial (every 4 years), typically in the middle (even) year between Summer Olympics. The Games are for countries in Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Bermuda, and the South American countries of Surinam, Guyana, Colombia and Venezuela.

The Games are overseen by the Central American and Caribbean Sports Organization (CACSO) (the organization also goes by the acronym “ODECABE”, from its full Spanish name: Organización Deportiva Centroamericana y del Caribe). They are designed to provide a step between sub-CAC-region Games held the first year following a Summer Olympics (e.g. CARIFTA Games) and the Continental Championships, the Pan American Games, held the year before the Summer Olympics.

The CAC Games are the oldest continuing regional games in the world, and only the Olympics have run longer. Mexico, Cuba and Guatemala were the three countries present at the first games, which were then called theCentral American Games. In 1935 their name was changed to Central American and Caribbean Games to reflect expanding participation.

The most recent CAC Games occurred in July 2010 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The next edition will take place in July 2014 in Veracruz, Mexico.

Cayman first competed in the CAC Games in 1986 and have won multiple medals.

Faster, Higher, Stronger. While many of the world’s leading athletes compete in various sporting events around the world, no other competition can touch the special luster of the Olympic Games. These Games brought back to life in 1896, representing the pinnacle of accomplishment that athletes and coaches strive for. From the spectacle of the opening ceremonies, to the colours of the Olympic Rings, the Olympic Games and the 52 sporting events under its title are in a class of their own.

In 1976 in Montreal Canada, Carson Ebanks, Gerry Kirkconnell, and Peter Milburn became the first persons to represent the Cayman Islands at the Olympic Games in Sailing. Since that time CIOC has sponsored teams to compete in the 1976, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Games in the sports of Sailing, Athletics, Cycling and Swimming.

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