Nat West Island Games
The Jersey 2015 Organising Committee, PO Box 142, St Saviour, ​Jersey , JE4 8QJ
www.jersey2015.com/karinwery@jersey2015.comAbout
The first Island Games were held in the Isle of Man in 1985 as part of the Manx people's Year of Sport, with approximately 700 competitors participating in seven different sports. Athletes came from as far afield as Iceland and Scandinavia, the Mediterranean and St Helena, as well as from around the British Isles. In total, 15 islands took part.
The idea was to provide an opportunity for hundreds of young sportsmen and women from small island communities, to compete and enjoy international competition against other islanders with similar standards of performance. Other benefits of such a unique festival of sport were the opportunities for cultural exchange and social interaction with visiting teams, and the chance to establish new friendships with fellow islanders.
In many ways, sporting competition is only one aspect of the success of this event. Just as important are the opportunities it affords to share thoughts and experiences relating to our unique island stories. With that in mind, the theme for the promotion of the Games has been “bringing islands togetherâ€.
The 1985 festival was such a success that it was agreed to continue it every other year and, in 1987, Guernsey hosted the second Island Games. The Games have subsequently been held in the Faroe Islands, Aland, Isle of Wight, Gibraltar, Jersey, Gotland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, the Shetland Islands, Rhodes, Aland, Isle of White and Bermuda.
The number of participating islands has grown substantially since the first Games and there are now 25 islands who are members of the International Island Games Association.Categories: Archery, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Cycling, Event Venues, Football, Golf, Sailing, Shooting, Sport, Sports Centres, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Triathlon, Volleyball & Beach Volleyball, Windsurfing.
