Island Games

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The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are an international multi-sports event organised by the International Island Games Association. The most recent games were held in Jersey (except the gymnastics, which were held on a different island[1]) from 27 June to 3 July 2015, with around 3000 competitors from 24 competing islands or island groups competing in 14 sports.

History

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,[2] 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.[3]

Game venues

Faroese stamp to the 1989 Island Games: Rowing
Football
Year Games Host Island Participating
Islands		 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 1,700 13
1993 V Isle of Wight Isle of Wight 19 1,448 14
1995 VI  Gibraltar 18 1,214 14
1997 VII  Jersey 20 ~2,000 14
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 ~2,400 14
2007 XII  Rhodes 25 ~3,000 14
2009 XIII  Åland 24 ~3,300 14
2011 XIV  Isle of Wight 24 2,306 14
2013 XV  Bermuda 22 1,127 14
2015 XVI  Jersey 24 ~3,000 14
2017 XVII  Gotland ≈ 24 ≈ 3,000 14[4]
2019 XVIII  Gibraltar [5][6] ≈ 3,000 12[7]
2021 XIX Unknown[8]

Guernsey has put in a bid for the 2021 games following the Faroe Islands withdrawal from hosting.[9] There are no other bidders.

Orkney have indicated that they are willing to play host for the 2023 games.[10]

Ynys Môn are contemplating a bid for the 2025 games.[11]

Participation

A total of twenty-seven islands have participated in the Island Games, of which eleven islands have participated in every Island Games.

Island Games participants and total medals won
Island Country Population Years Gold Silver Bronze Total
 Åland Finland Finnish autonomous province 28,666 1985- 157 172 155 484
 Alderney United Kingdom British crown dependency 1,900 1987, 1993- 0 2 3 5
 Bermuda United Kingdom British overseas territory 64,200 2003- 88 80 99 267
 Cayman Islands United Kingdom British overseas territory 56,700 1999- 99 73 65 237
Flag of the Falkland Islands (1948-1999).svg Falkland Islands United Kingdom British overseas territory 2,900 1993- 1 7 11 19
 Faroe Islands Denmark autonomous country of the
Kingdom of Denmark		 49,700 1985- 243 187 194 624
 Frøya  Norway municipality island
of Norway		 4,300 1985- 1 1 2 4
 Gibraltar United Kingdom British overseas territory 30,000 1987- 53 58 88 199
 Gotland Sweden Swedish county 57,200 1985- 243 187 194 624
 Greenland Denmark autonomous country
within the Kingdom of Denmark		 56,000 1989- 17 21 27 63
 Guernsey United Kingdom British crown dependency 65,800 1985- 382 392 429 1,203
 Hitra  Norway Municipality island
of Norway		 4,250 1985-1989, 1997- 3 5 5 13
 Iceland  Iceland 329,000 1985-1997 50 45 41 136
 Isle of Man United Kingdom British crown dependency 84,500 1985- 413 396 407 1,216
 Isle of Wight England English county 138,400 1985- 160 154 190 504
 Jersey United Kingdom British crown dependency 100,000 1985- 491 491 444 1,426
 Malta Malta Malta 445,000 1985-1987 6 2 2 10
Minorca Menorca Spain Spanish island 94,400 2007- 36 34 46 116
 Orkney Islands Scotland Scottish council area 21,300 1985- 20 37 41 98
 Prince Edward Island Canada Province of Canada 140,000 1991-2007 6 6 9 21
 Rhodes Greece Greek island 115,500 1999-2011, 2015- 51 44 43 138
23x15px Saaremaa Estonia Estonian island 31,000 1991- 77 86 77 238
 Saint Helena United Kingdom British overseas territory 4,250 1985-1987, 1997- 1 2 3 6
 Sark United Kingdom British crown dependency 600 1987-2011, 2015- 3 9 8 20
 Shetland Islands Scotland Scottish council area 23,200 1985- 48 68 93 209
 Western Isles Scotland Scottish council area 27,400 2005- 17 13 22 49
Anglesey Ynys Môn Wales council area of Wales 69,700 1985- 27 33 46 106

Islands marked in grey are no longer members of the Island Games.

Sports

The host country chooses between 12 and 14 different sports for their games from this list, which also indicates the number of times each sport has been chosen:

Island Games Sports
Archery 14 Football 14 Squash 3
Athletics 16 Golf 12 Swimming 16
Badminton 15 Gymnastics 10 Table Tennis 14
Basketball 8 Judo 6 Tennis 12
Bowls (Indoor, Outdoor, or Ten Pin) 3 Sailing (may include Sailboarding/Windsurfing) 11 Triathlon 5
Cycling 15 Shooting 16 Volleyball (may include Beach Volleyball) 16

Footnotes

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External links

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