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Island Games

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This article is about the international multi-sports event. For the Canadian soccer tournament, see 2020 Canadian Premier League season.

Island Games
GenreMulti-sports event
FrequencyBiennial
Location(s)Various
Inaugurated1985; 39 years ago (1985)
Most recent2023 Island Games
Next event2025 Island Games
Participants~ 2,000
Organised byIIGA
SponsorNatWest International
WebsiteOfficial IIGA website

The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent different island communities (with one team from the peninsula of Gibraltar) which are IIGA members. Currently, all competitor teams represent non-sovereign territories of European nations—some within European waters and some further overseas.

The most recent edition was the 2023, which took place in Guernsey with around 2,200 competitors from 24 islands or island groups participating in 14 sports. The next games will be hosted by Orkney in 2025.

History

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The Island Games began in 1985 as the Inter-Island Games, as part of the Isle of Man International Year of Sport, and were intended to be a one-off sporting celebration only. Geoffrey Corlett, who became the first Games Director, not only contacted the islands surrounding the United Kingdom, but also encouraged the countries of Iceland and Malta, the territories of Faroe Islands, Greenland, Saint Helena, the Channel Islands and others to participate.

Initially, fifteen islands with 600 competitors and officials took part in seven sports,[1] with the total cost of staging the Games being put at £70,000. The track and field events were held on an eight-lane grass track, a far cry from the current games, which now use synthetic tracks in stadiums capable of holding thousands of spectators. The Games of 1985 were so successful that organisers decided to hold a similar event two years later.[2] The Games have grown from strength to strength, with limits now in place for the number of teams, and the number of sports at each Games, currently 12 to 14. Sark could be considered the most successful island, their population of 600 having acquired 20 medals by 2015, one for every 30 people.

NatWest International has been the main sponsor of the Games since 1999. In April 2018, they signed a deal extending their sponsorship until at least 2021. In 2020, Natwest International confirmed the Guernsey games, originally scheduled for 2021, but delayed to 2023, due to the COVID-19 pandemic would be the last tournament they would be sponsoring.[3] At the time the replacement sponsor had not been confirmed.

A traditional symbol of the games was started in 1991 when Åland asked all teams to bring some water from their islands, which was then mixed in a fountain. All future games has water from the previous fountain added to water from each island competing in the new games, creating a symbol of "mixing together".[4]

Games venues

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Faroese stamp to the 1989 Island Games: Rowing
Football
Year Games Host island Numbers of
participants 		Athletes Sports
1985 I  Isle of Man 15 700 7
1987 II  Guernsey 18 1,049 9
1989 III  Faroe Islands 15 800 11
1991 IV  Åland 17 1,500 13
1993 V  Isle of Wight 19 1,448 14
1995 VI  Gibraltar 18 1,214 13
1997 VII  Jersey 20 ~2,000 13
1999 VIII  Gotland 22 1,858 14
2001 IX  Isle of Man 22 2,020 15
2003 X  Guernsey 23 2,129 15
2005 XI  Shetland 24 1,658 14
2007 XII  Rhodes[5] 25 2,343 14
2009 XIII  Åland 24 2,286 14
2011 XIV  Isle of Wight 24 2,311 14
2013 XV  Bermuda 22 1,296 14
2015 XVI  Jersey 24 2,430 14
2017 XVII  Gotland 23 2,333 14[6]
2019 XVIII  Gibraltar[7][8][9] 22 1,700 14[10]
2021 Postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic[11][12]
2023 XIX  Guernsey[13][14] 24 2,194 14
2025 XX  Orkney[15][14] 13
2027 XXI  Faroe Islands[16][14][17]
2029 XXII  Isle of Man[14][18] 14

Guernsey put in a bid for the 2021 Games following the Faroe Islands' withdrawal from hosting.[19] The bid was approved in July 2016. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Games were cancelled and rescheduled for 2023 with Guernsey still as hosts, with future hosts pushed out by two years as well.

Orkney will host the 2025 Games.[20] They were awarded the right to host on 7 July 2018 at the AGM in Gibraltar.

The Isle of Man made an official bid to host the Island Games in 2029 in July 2023.[21]

In August 2018 it was reported that the Falkland Islands are considering hosting the Games in 2033.[22]

In December 2023 it was announced that the Faroe Islands would replace Ynys Môn as the hosts of the 2027 games due to funding having been directed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Faroe Islands, who had submitted a bid for the 2031 games,[23] expressed a desire to host the games early, having previously guaranteed funding towards the games in 2018,[24] and were selected as a replacement for Ynys Môn.[25]

Participation

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A total of 28 islands, island groups or territories have participated in the Island Games; eleven of these have participated in every Island Games.

Medals

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Every island has won at least 4 medals with Alderney the only island awaiting their first Gold.

Island Games participants and total medals won (to 2023)
Island(s) Country (and status) Population Years Gold Silver Bronze Total
 Åland Finland Finland (autonomous province) 28,666 1985– 191 200 190.5 581.5
 Alderney United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (island; part of the crown dependency (Bailiwick) of Guernsey) 1,900 1987, 1993– 0 2 3 5
 Bermuda United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (overseas territory) 64,200 2003– 107 115 119 341
 Cayman Islands United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (overseas territory) 56,700 1999– 133 107 91 331
 Falkland Islands United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (overseas territory) 2,900 1993– 2 11 13 26
 Faroe Islands Denmark Denmark (autonomous territory) 49,700 1985– 269 255 301 825
 Frøya Norway Norway (municipality island)[b] 4,300 1985– 1 1 2 4
 Gibraltar United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (overseas territory) 30,000 1987– 77.5 86.5 119 283
 Gotland Sweden Sweden (county) 57,200 1985– 336.5 245.5 252 834
 Gozo  Malta (island) 39,300 2023– 1 2 1 4
 Greenland Denmark Denmark (autonomous territory) 56,081 1989– 24 31 38.5 93.5
 Guernsey United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (island; part of the crown dependency (Bailiwick) of Guernsey) 65,800 1985– 536 549 534 1619
 Hitra Norway Norway (municipality island)[b] 4,250 1985–1989, 1997– 4 10 15 28
 Isle of Man United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (crown dependency) 84,500 1985– 530 495 460.5 1485.5
 Isle of Wight United Kingdom United Kingdom (English county) 138,400 1985– 203 208 220 621
 Jersey United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (crown dependency, Bailiwick) 105,500 1985– 634 625 560.3 1819.3
Menorca Menorca Spain Spain (island) 94,400 2007– 57 57 71 185
 Orkney United Kingdom United Kingdom (Scottish council area) 21,300 1985– 23 41 44 108
 Saaremaa Estonia Estonia (county) 31,000 1991– 126 129 101.5 356.5
 Saint Helena United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (overseas territory) 4,250 1985–1987, 1997– 3 3 5 11
 Sark United Kingdom United Kingdom[a] (island part of the crown dependency of Guernsey) 600 1987–2011, 2015– 3 17 7 27
 Shetland United Kingdom United Kingdom (Scottish council area) 23,200 1985– 62 83 113 258
 Western Isles United Kingdom United Kingdom (Scottish council area) 27,400 2005– 28 26 27 81
Anglesey Ynys Môn United Kingdom United Kingdom (Welsh principal area)[b] 69,700 1985– 43 42 57 142
 Iceland 329,000 1985–1997 50 45 40.7 135.7
 Malta 445,000 1985–1987 6 2 2 10
 Prince Edward Island Canada Canada (province) 140,000 1991–2007 6 6 9 21
 Rhodes Greece Greece (island; Regional Unit (Περιφερειακή ενότητα)) 115,500 1999–2011, 2015 53 52 45 150

Islands marked in grey are no longer members of the IIGA and so cannot compete at the Island Games.

Participation in other games

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Of the 24 current IIGA members, two (Bermuda and the Cayman Islands) have competed in their own right at the Olympic Games.

Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey and St. Helena have each sent teams to the Commonwealth Games.

Olympic athletes

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Islanders who have gone on to participate in Olympic Games events include:

Sports

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The host country chooses between 12 and 14 different sports for their games from this list:

Sport I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX Total XX XXI
Archery Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 16 Green tickY
Athletics Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 19 Green tickY
Badminton Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 18 Green tickY
Basketball Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 11
Bowls (Indoor‡,
Lawn∞, or Ten Pin*) 		Green tickY‡ Green tickY* Green tickY‡ Green tickY* Green tickY‡ 5 Green tickY∞
Cycling Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 18 Green tickY
Football Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 17 Green tickY
Golf Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 14 Green tickY
Gymnastics Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 12 Green tickY
Judo Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 7
Sailing (may include
Sailboarding*) 		Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY Green tickY 14 Green tickY
Shooting Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 19 Green tickY
Squash Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 4 Green tickY
Swimming Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 19 Green tickY
Table Tennis Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 17
Tennis Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 15
Triathlon Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY 8 Green tickY
Volleyball (may include
Beach Volleyball*) 		Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY* Green tickY Green tickY Green tickY* Green tickY* Green tickY Green tickY* 18
Total sports 7 9 11 13 14 13 13 14 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 13

Notably, the Island Games' football tournament is one of the most well-established tournaments of non-FIFA international football.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are not part of the United Kingdom, but their sovereignty is the responsibility of the United Kingdom as they are not sovereign countries themselves.
  2. ^ a b c Connected to their main countries by road.

References

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  1. ^ "Inaugural Inter-Island Games - Isle of Man 1985". iiga.org. Archived from the original on 19 November 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  2. ^ "The Games". Jersey2015.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Guernsey Island Games in 2021 the last to be sponsored by NatWest International". itv.com. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Bailiff of Guernsey McMahon opens Island Games on St Peter Port seafront". 8 July 2023.
  5. ^ "NatWest Island Games - Rhodes 2007 June 30th - July 6th". Rhodes Results 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  6. ^ "2017 sports". Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. ^ James Law. "BBC Sport - Island Games: Menorca pull out of hosting 2019 event". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 July 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  8. ^ "BBC Sport - Island Games: Gibraltar bid to host 2019 competition". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  9. ^ "Guernsey to host the 2021 Island Games". IIGA. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  10. ^ "2019 Island Games: Gibraltar axes football, cycling and volleyball". Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Guernsey NatWest International Island Games 2021 postponed". International Island Games Association. 26 September 2020. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  12. ^ "'Stability needed after Games postponement'". Jersey Evening Post. 15 December 2020. Archived from the original on 15 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  13. ^ "Guernsey to host 2021 Island Games". BBC News. 2 July 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  14. ^ a b c d "2021 Island Games Postponed To 2023". 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  15. ^ "Orkney to host 2023 Island Games". 7 July 2018. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  16. ^ "Ynys Môn secure rights to host International Island Games". 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  17. ^ "Island Games 2027 - New Hosts". 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Isle of Man confirmed as 2029 Island Games host". 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Island Games: Guernsey to bid to host 2021 event". 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Dates for Orkney 2025 International Island Games Confirmed - News | VisitScotland.org". www.visitscotland.org. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  21. ^ "Official bid to bring Games back to Manx soil". 11 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Falklands wants to host the 2033 Island Games". 27 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Faroe Islands to host 2031 International Island Games". 14 July 2023.
  24. ^ "Faroe Islands to bid for the Island Games". 30 May 2018. Archived from the original on 7 July 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
  25. ^ "2027 Island Games: Faroe Islands to host after Ynys Mon pull out". 22 December 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
  26. ^ "About the Games". IIGA. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
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