Guernsey will use dates of original 2023 Games
ORGANISERS of the postponed Guernsey 2021 NatWest Island Games are striving as hard as ever to provide ‘the best event possible’ between 8-14 July 2023.
Those are the new dates confirmed by the International Island Games Association for the local spectacle following its initial deferral over the pandemic.
Guernsey Games director Julia Bowditch has welcomed the use of dates matching those originally planned for Orkney 2023, which will take place in 2025 instead.
‘Most of the islands were already holding the date,’ Bowditch said.
‘We have taken some time to liaise with the 14 sports here in Guernsey that will be part of the Games to ensure the dates will work for them.
‘The sporting calendar is still changing due to other events being postponed and moved as a result of the global pandemic, so there will inevitably be an overlap with other events, but hopefully these dates will work for all of the islands and sports.’
Bowditch confirmed that before last September’s postponement announcement, they were ‘well advanced’ with plans for a 2021 Games.
Much of this planning is on hold to resume nearer to 2023, though some elements will need to be re-started, and organisers are prepared to consider any additional guidelines brought about by the pandemic.
Dame Mary Perkins, chair of the organising committee, added: ‘We will use this time to work as hard as we can to put on the best event possible and give Guernsey and the other member islands something to look forward to.’
