Timely 'Oscar' for Jersey

THE Channel Islands sports 'Oscars' live on and we may never know how close the annual celebration of all that's best came close to dying an early death this week. Word is that Phil Sharp sailed it by 400 votes and Jersey finally got that elusive win it had craved.

For the economic survival of the event, Guernsey could not keep on winning. Although primarily it is a celebration of the islands' sporting excellence, neither Guernsey nor Jersey like to consistently lose out to the other and in this case it would surely have had knock on effects in the corporate and media world.

So, take a bow Andy Priaulx.

Thursday's Hotel de France bash was another fantastic night for sport. Just about everyone who is anyone in CI sport was there.

But Priaulx wasn't and did not complete the hat-trick of CI Sports Personality award wins his efforts richly deserved. However, it was surely for the long-term health of the televised spectacular that the world touring car champion was not shortlisted.

There has been no official reason given for his omission from the 'fab five', but having won it for the last two years and his 2006 efforts outstripping even those of the previous two seasons, there was little to be gained by either him or the organisers - CTV and Wallace Barnaby - for having him overshadow the other contenders.

The champion has, in C&W CI Sports Personality terms, moved on to a higher level of recognition and was very relaxed not to feature.

By right, on Wednesday Priaulx should be named as Guernsey's top performer for a third year in a row.

Despite the excellence of his rival nominees, only a fool would not recognise the driver as the island's outstanding performer and if he continues to win the Sports Commission Trophy for another five years, so what?

There is a subtle difference why it is OK for one person to win his own island's top award, but not the CI version.

For a start, the CI event is, first and foremost, a commercial venture which needs to appeal to the general audience of public, sponsors and TV viewers.

The Guernsey Sports Commission awards is a simple, but excellently put together these days, celebration of local sport in the past 12 months and, with the back-up of the Richard Burton Salver and Guernsey Brewery Trophy awards, has two high-profile ones which reward the island's top male and female achievers.

So even if 'AP' is to win the commission trophy for an entire decade, the Garlands, Donaldsons and Watsons of the world will be rewarded elsewhere.

But back to Thursday.

It was heart-warming to see two of Guernsey's most dedicated and respected personalities receive recognition.

Both Alison Frankland and Derek Webb have served as inspirations to so many, albeit in different fashions.

With the swim coach it has been with a stopwatch in hand, with Webb it has been his sheer weight of personality and drive in taking table tennis out of the doldrums and into a position nobody in the sport would have dreamt of five years ago.

By all accounts, Geoff Reed has done something similar in Jersey, where table tennis is in resurgence.