Having returned with three medals from the last of these annual youth games, in Crete, Jersey have increased their commitment to include gymnastics and table tennis as well as athletics, swimming, tennis, and sailing.
The Jersey party is over 40 strong and includes Jamie Stevenson, a silver medallist in Crete (the other medal winners were swimmer Jacy Brown and javelin thrower Becky Slater.
Initially for french-speaking islands, the concept has, like the NatWest Island Games, grown and grown and now includes Islands in the north and south Atlantic and Indian oceans as well as the Arctic and Mediterranean seas.
Danish, English, Spanish, Greek and Italian now all mix in with French at this cultural, as well as sporting, event.
Jersey, as in the past two games they have entered, will be at a disadvantage because the timings clash with GCSE and A-level examinations, meaning the side is a good deal younger than those of most of the other 21 islands.
However, the Island, now affiliated to COJI (the games organising body) and supported by Education and further sponsored by Crills Advocates, will travel in good heart as the games are considered a great learning opportunity not only in sporting terms, but also cultural.
Full preview in today’s JEP.
