‘A nice idea but cost could be prohibitive’
A NEW multi-sporting event in Aland next year could provide a shot in the arm for Guernsey’s top volleyballers – if they can afford it.
Volleyball will not feature at the Guernsey 2023 NatWest International Island Games and in fact looks set to miss out until at least 2027, so local representatives have welcomed a provisional invitation to compete at the Aland Sports Week from 26-29 June 2024.
That appears to provide another significant target alongside the annual Hampshire League and inter-insulars.
Island men’s coach Neil Elmy has been in direct contact with representatives from the Finnish archipelago, and while his youthful squad have expressed interest, he sees one particularly significant barrier.
‘If you are a young athlete, you love to represent the island in the Island Games,’ he said.
‘If it’s not there, they still want to represent the island in something similar.
‘We are interested in being involved and we have not dismissed it, but I believe the final factor will be financial.’
Elmy places the annual cost of Island training and competing on the Hampshire circuit at around £800, but he believes they could be looking at £1,500 per head just for that brief trip to Aland.
Sponsorship will cover only a small portion of that – and so he is considering his options.
‘I think that the players who would have the time and the commitment to go there would love to go, and they would have loved to have been involved in the Guernsey Island Games,’ he added.
‘It’s very hard, but we would have an interest in going across there for four days, a week, and playing in a competition.
‘That might be the swansong for a few players.
‘It’s something we’re interested in and I hope it comes off, but it would be too early to say.’
This follows Jersey Volleyball Association president Paul Adamson giving a warm reception to the sports week.
‘This is quite positive and it gives everyone something to look forward to,’ Adamson said after being contacted directly by Aland representatives.
He also reported a ‘buoyant system at the moment with a lot of players keen’, which paints a more positive picture than that of last spring’s inter-insular at Beau Sejour, where Jersey suffered an inter-insular whitewash after struggling to get teams together.
