Commission thumbs up to scheme

THE head of development for the Guernsey Sports Commission has given his backing to the Fly for Sport initiative that could raise £200,000 locally this year. The initiative will see Blue Islands put £5 into under-18 sport every time a Fly For Sport voucher booking is made with the airline. The island sports development manager, Graham Chester, is getting behind the scheme.

'Any money that comes into sport is a good thing,' he said.

'It's nice that one of the airlines is getting involved to support like Condor are doing on the seas. They knock 20% off their flat rate for sport teams.

'As I said, any money coming in is happy days.'

Fly for Sport was unveiled at a special presentation by Healthspan chief executive and Blue Islands chairman Derek Coates on Thursday evening. The Guernsey Cricket Board president, David Piesing, was at that meeting at the Fermain Valley Hotel and is excited about the scheme.

'It's very positive, it's a great initiative and it's fantastic for sport,' said Piesing.

'Guernsey cricket will benefit if we use it properly and I'm sure we will. You can always do with more money. You can never have too much financial support for a sport.'

It is widely recognised that cricket, under the supervision of development coach Jason Shambrook, has one of the most successful developments plans on the island. Piesing says that the money coming in from Fly for Sport would be used mainly for travel.

'That stretch of water can hold back sport development,' he said.

'Our kids play an awful lot of cricket off the island and that's why we've been so successful because they've been continually exposed to quality off-island opposition. When finances are tight, that's one of the last things we like to sacrifice, not having our youth teams travelling away.'

Cricket is one of the 10 shareholder sports that will benefit from a general fund. The other nine are athletics, badminton, football, hockey, netball, rugby, squash, swimming and table tennis.

They were all chosen on the basis of the number of juniors they have and their youth development plans.

These shareholder sports, along with others, can also benefit from a separate specific fund if they have a particular youth project that needs funding.

Squash is one such sport that could benefit from that fund and Carrie Birch, president of the Guernsey Squash Rackets Association, is a fan.

'I think it's a fantastic idea,' she said.

It is up to the different sports to hand out vouchers and they are also available from HSBC branches, the Healthspan Shop in Church Square in Town and at the Blue Islands desk at Guernsey Airport.

Other outlets could soon follow, one of them being Intersport, whose managing director, Nigel Hurford, was at Thursday's meeting in his capacity as vice-president of Vale Rec.

He hopes to give out the vouchers at the sport shop.

'We're hoping to make the vouchers available from here as it would be our way of getting involved and trying to help a fund-raising initiative for youth sport,' said Hurford.

'I'm very excited about it. On the face of it, it's a great idea and I think it's got every chance of success if the public of Guernsey gets behind it, as I'm sure they will.'

The scheme is the brainchild of Coates and GIAAC president Rob Batiste and treasurer John Goodall.