Guernsey Press

The sunshine Games - a great opportunity for youth

Alun Williams, the Education Department's lifelong learning manager and president of the Guernsey Athletics Club, looks at the prospects for a very special section of the Island Games 2013 team - the 23 youngsters who are still at school but will next week be competing against some of the world's best...

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Alun Williams, the Education Department's lifelong learning manager and president of the Guernsey Athletics Club, looks at the prospects for a very special section of the Island Games 2013 team - the 23 youngsters who are still at school but will next week be competing against some of the world's best...

This year's Island Games will be a special and unique competition. Forget the long-haul flight, hot and humid conditions, and the talk of really strong opposition from Bermuda and Cayman competitors, these Games present an opportunity to compete in top sport in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Twenty-three competitors, in particular, simply cannot wait to get on the plane and savour the special atmosphere of the Island Games. They have only just stopped sitting in classrooms and taking exams as they represent those Island Games athletes who are still in full-time education.

At each Games Guernsey is well-represented by youth and this year will be no exception.

Guernsey is expecting to take a team of 218 competitors and about 12% of those will still be at school. Add in the majority of competitors who are under the age of 25 and Guernsey will be sending a team which will have one eye on the developmental opportunities that Bermuda offers especially as the next Games will be in Jersey in 2015 and all sports will be hoping to send over teams that can outdo our Channel Islands rivals.

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