A year to savour

WHO was the fool who predicted 2004 would be a quiet year for local sport? True, there was no home Island Games to get excited about, another Muratti defeat was chalked up and the almost-inevitable Siam Cup loss duly came about.

Study, though, the sporting year a little closer and you reach the conclusion that 2004 will rank as one of the more special ones.

After all, when did we last have a European Touring Car Championship triumph, world mixed bowls champions and a national winner in the swimming pool. . . in the same year?

The outstanding individual achievements of the year have been catalogued in these pages over the past fortnight with the Sporting Achievement series.

But as the '05 replaces the '04 on the cheque stubs, what better time to remind ourselves of the good and bad of the past 12 months, look to what might lie ahead in the next 12 and dish out a few imaginary awards.

As favourite moments go, nothing approaches watching the climax to Priaulx's championship season via a Eurosport internet link beamed into our editorial office and handily discovered by our technological whizz, Mark Ogier. It's just as well as he did, otherwise we would never have got to seen one of the classic pieces of sports video.

As our proud Guernsey-man duly celebrates a career-defining moment, the lens swings around to a disconsolate German driver, Dirk Muller, and the inevitable stupid question is asked of him by the less-than-diplomatic presenter:

'Well, how do you feel, Dirk?

Head down and in heavily-accented English, he simply utters: 'I am p***ed off.'

Cue journalists falling about with laughter.

On the team sport front, it was a classic year for St Martin's AC, Guernsey Rugby Club, and Total Cobo and C&W Rovers cricket teams.

All four clubs were popping open the champagne to celebrate major trophy successes, but spare a thought for North who had the Priaulx title party long planned only to throw the league away in the closing weeks of the season.

Poor Geoff Tardif looked totally Mullered at the end of it. Thankfully, the North boss has shown admirable bouncebackability and the party may yet happen, albeit a year late.

Mind you the beer could well be flowing at St Peter's where Sylvans are showing a welcome resurgence, or is it just a glorious finale?

It's good to see Sylvans winning again and with a true red Sylvan directing operations with the air of a man who knows it is important, but not worth getting too het up about it.

As with every 12-month period, there were the usual selection of big men, small-minded ones and unheralded heroes.

My 'big man' award goes to Garry Collins who shook up bowls and promises to take on bigger issues.

The sporting farce of the year had to be the 'toilet door' episode at Rangers and whoever was truly behind it might choose to reassess his/their self-importance and make a new year's resolution to think before flushing away any more Priaulx games.

The best example of how to accept defeat gracefully came from Gill Burford, who played arguably the finest golf she ever will and still had a smile on her face as she was edged out in a tense island women's golf final by the most magnanimous of winners, Veronica Bougourd. That's how sport should be played.

The saddest moment of 2004 had to be the death of our football buddy, Nigel Gavey.

His massive funeral underlined that the family of Guernsey sport is still strong and the respect with which Gavs was held was no less than he deserved.

On the development front so much good continues to happen and in so many directions. Table tennis has admirably led the way and cricket is up there rivalling Derek Webb's GTTA.

As all sports administrators will readily tell you, it is not easy to develop when the level of volunteers is forever diminishing, funding is a worry and we are all chasing the same talented youngsters.

The Sports Development Unit continues to do sterling work and the Sports Commission is shaping up nicely, while at the same time sports tourism remains sadly under-funded.

So what joys and despairs does 2005 hold?

First and foremost for so many of our sportsmen and women, it is another Island Games year. Can Guernsey top the medals table again and how many competitors will Jersey need to send to Shetland to ensure we don't?

The answers to those two questions are 'most probably' and 'it will need 500 or more'. Come the crunch, I predict more than desirable numbers giving Shetland the cold shoulder to go with its cold fronts. But there should still be sufficient talent among our swimmers, cyclists, athletes, badminton players, bowlers and squash players to ensure we remain the island to beat in July.

Cricket has international competition to look forward to with our ICC membership set to be confirmed this summer, about the same time Dave Hearse's team take on the likes of Namibia and Bermuda.

The horse-racing fraternity has a first domestic meeting in many a year to plan - welcome back to them - and there is the little matter of the Centenary Muratti and all the pre-match palaver that will engender.

Also, Andy Priaulx has a world title to challenge for rather than a European one and no doubt many talented youngsters will burst onto the scene from seemingly nowhere.

I have also highlighted four who possess the natural talent and ambition to make a name for themselves in 2005.

In football, it will be intriguing to see the development of North midfielder Alex Le Prevost, who at 16 has already broken into the club's first team and not looked out of his depth.

Of the same school year, golfer Emile Thompson belts the ball a mile and has what it takes to force his way into the senior island team. The younger of the Thompson brothers, Emile has an impressively mature head on his shoulders and possesses a good all-round game.

In athletics, Laura Arblaster is the latest of a long line of emerging sprinters and will make her debut at the Island Games. The Ladies' College student, also 16, is more than a handy long and triple jumper too and has sufficient natural stamina to be a worthy addition to the island 4 x 400 relay squad which aim to defend its Games title.

In cricket, Kris Moherndl faces the juicy prospect of a first full season in the Total Cobo first team after impressive showings in mainly weekend matches in 2004.

An extra year's physical development and with the guiding hands of Peter Vidamour and Mark Renouf to steer him through troubled moments, should see the 16-year-old worry top-flight batsmen more than ever.

But if I had three wishes for 2005, they would be as simple and straightforward as the following: The Nobes brothers to head into retirement with a third Island Games gold medal and Muratti and Upton winners' medals to match; Guernsey to win the Siam; and the wonderful efforts of the star of 2004, Andy Priaulx, to be fully acknowledged by the entire motor sport fraternity.

Happy new year to you all.